Womanism and the Leslie Jones Effect
And Why Twitter Doesn’t Really Care About Hyper-Visible Black Femmes
First things first, when discussing womanism, we must understand why it is and will always be more applicable and reserved for the black woman/femme. Let’s discuss the difference between feminism and womanism. Feminism began and ended with the white woman and her agenda. Granted, it has done good for and benefited all kinds of women, BUT it does center around them. Their 22¢. Their right to #FreeTheNipple. All that jazz. Womanism was created for every other woman, specifically black women, who felt left out and not included in the liberation that white woman were/are offering. Feminism is having the mean comments under your IG deleted after you’ve been exposed for lying to and on someone for months. Womanism is you speaking up, having to beg Twitter to report people verbally and mentally harassing you for simply being in a movie/girlband. You get the gist. No tears, just tea.
Around this time last year, Leslie Jones was announced along side, current and former, SNL co-stars as part of a cast for a Ghostbusters reboot featuring all women. Now, we all know it went:
“Wah Wah, women aren’t funny!”
*cry_me_a_river.mp3 blasts in the background *
Typical crying. That is, until, Leslie came under ridicule that her other, shall I say, melanin deficient, co-stars weren’t getting. You had the usual ‘I-Can’t-Believe-How-She’s-Being-Treated’ performative sympathizers, but I, along side every other black femme with life experience, saw it for what it was; misogynoir.
Misogynoir: the act of oppression and discrimination of black women/femmes based on racism and misogyny.
Frankly, America has always been very vocal on how they perceive black women. As Malcom X said: “The most disrespected person in America is the black woman”. So, when the cyber-bulling continuously got worst for Leslie, I knew that it would result in a shit storm of events.
Watching her go through all of the people sending her death threats and referring to her as Harambe the ape, I could feel my heart breaking more and more. I could also feel my anger growing with a fiery passion. The things black femmes have to go through for simply existing is so extremely unrivaled for anyone else. And even more so for dark skinned, short haired, bigger black femmes.
What’s worst about it all, where as the media finds it a spectacle, our associates/bystanders find it irrelevant.
Take note, that yet, not ANY of Leslie’s co-stars have spoken up about the harassment she’s been getting for months, if not a year. But they’ll speak up for the 22¢ on the dollar they’re missing from their pay checks, though… That’s feminism.
The same situation happened a few weeks ago, with the only black member of Fifth Harmony, Normani Kordei. She, like Leslie, came under a hell fire of racial harassment. Stuff so cruel as photoshopping her face on a lynched, pregnant slave. Yeah. She had to personally ask Twitter to suspend the “fans” who were sending her the hate and then her bandmates had to be cyber-harassed into even half way acknowledging it.
Even more recently, Gabby Douglas, of the U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Team, was attacked for simply not putting her hand on her heart and not standing and cheering when everyone else was. The media ran with it. The racists had a field day. And her team mates said nothing.
The Leslie Effect.
Sadly, Leslie, Normani, and Gabby aren’t the only ones who experience this. Ask any hyper-visible black femme on Twitter. Hell, ask me. I go throughout the day having to block people all the time from harassment. There is never a time in the day that there are not racists mentioning me with some fuck shit. I’ve learned not to let that stuff get to me as much, but it’s exhausting. Being everyone’s Angry Black Woman is mentally and emotionally /exhausting/.
As black women, we are always told we are ‘strong’ in the face of abuse as a way to force us to take it. It’s not fair and it’s not healthy. By imposing that agenda, black femmes are not given the opportunity or the vulnerability of being hurt. By stripping us of that emotion, you make us seem anything but human which causes us to be /targeted/ as anything but human. Our health and well being never seem to be on the top of anyone’s priority list. ESPECIALLY not Twitters. We shouldn’t have to BEG to not be racially harassed. These “trolls” abuse and disobey the rules of Twitters health and safety regulations everyday. And yet they’re still given the freedom to ruin our social media experience. If Twitter really cared about us, they’d create an option for blacklisting certain phrases and users. Or suspending someone whenever they use a slur.. you know, just like they made sure to suspend Azealia for good (once she took a breather from calling people who looked like her ‘tar babies’ and ‘porch monkey n*ggers’) when she racially harassed Zayn Malik… :)
Like I said. :)
No tears. :)
Just tea. :))
