Erasing the Line

Informáte: The Dream Act and why we need it

Phallic Envy

I am a female. I am expected to obey, submit, clean, and wait on my fellow man; I am expected to lay with him when he wishes and I am expected to be virtuous, yet fulfill his desires; I am expected to be dumber than him, otherwise his dominance will be threatened; I am expected to not talk too much; I am expected to put my dreams aside, while he continues his own, if I become pregnant; I am expected to have and maintain a model-like appearance even after I birth children, or he may lose interest in me. He does not tell me all of these things, yet he infers them with his actions. Overhearing boys jeer with their friends does not surprise me at all. They joke and pick out which girls they will “do” and which girls they will need to be intoxicated in order to “do.” Even though this totally disgusts me, it does magnify my self-consciousness. I understand that we all have certain qualities that are and are not attracting, but objectifying them in public is completely offensive. However, boys will be boys right? Moreover, I am merely a girl; therefore I must have penis envy, since I cannot be equal any other way.

A prime example of putting females in their place is the Bible. Timothy 2:9-15 reads, “Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.” Basically, like children, women are to be seen not heard and to speak only when addressed to by a man. It then goes on to mention that women are being punished, since Eve, the first woman, deceived Adam, the first male, to eat the forbidden fruit, driving them out of Eden. Thus, childbearing and keeping the house are deeds to achieve salvation. However, such as white Americans who do not want to be punished for the deeds of their ancestors, I do not want to be punished for Eve’s wrongdoings.

I am the youngest of three children, and I am the only girl. Growing up, I imitated my brothers immensely; I wore all of their hand-me-downs and I would never be caught dead in a dress. Sometimes people would actually ask if I were a girl or a boy. I am surprised that it did not really bother me then, since now I would cry in embarrassment if I were asked that question. Anyway, I also had all male friends, and we would play basketball every single day in front of my house; I would actually beat everybody, might I add. The point is that, before I hit puberty, I was more focused on physically being a male than socially, because growing up surrounded by males conditioned me to believe that I would be taken more seriously than the one girl trying to fit in amongst all of the guys.

It was not until I reached puberty that I stopped wishing to physically be a boy. Of course it would be fantastic to not have a period every month, but I cannot imagine being the opposite sex. Instead I would socially want to be a male in order to be insured the same rights. The nineteenth amendment did not make females males socially equal to males just as the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments did not make non whites socially equal to whites. If women are truly equal in the twenty first century, then why do females earn only seventy seven cents to the male dollar?  Furthermore, I want to be ensured that I do not have the stigmas associated with being a woman. For example, if a male sleeps with eight women, he would be given a high five, but if a woman were to do the same, then she would be considered a whore. Another example would be an independent unmarried career woman in her mid-thirties being mistaken as an overworked bitch; whereas, a man, in the same position, would be considered an eligible bachelor.

I understand that physically females and males can never physically be equal, but they can be socially equal. A man cannot expect a woman to be a stay at home mother and be fully satisfied with her life. Obviously it is fulfilling to be a great mother, knowing that you were there emotionally and physically for your children, but you also need a sense of accomplishment away from your family. The children will eventually grow up, and the housewife would then look back and regret that she did not follow her dreams in her youth. After reading all of this, you may think that I am some kind of man hating feminist, but I wish to eventually get married and have a family of my own. However, I do not want to have to do wifely duties because I am expected to do them; I want it to be because I choose to.

Holy Bible: New American Standard Version. New York: Thomas Nelson, 1985. Print.

(Source: 3erasingtheline.blogspot.com)

Disney: too many stereotypes?

There is a common misconception floating in the air lately, choking many like a plague. These are the years of the satirist. The person that takes nothing seriously and makes fun of those who do. The misconception that relations between people of color and whites are fine, that we don’t have to fight as much as we used to. We see caricatures of our ethnicities begin etched into the minds of our youth, something to be taken lightly. Take for instance the Disney Channel Show, Jessie. It’s a show about a nanny who watches the four children of a celebrity power-couple. This couple have a white teenage daughter, a pre-teen son who is African-American and Caucasian, a young daughter who hails from “Africa” (though, they don’t bother to specify which country), and another preteen son who is from India.

Seems like a nice blended family, right?

The show, which relies on stereotypical quips from the talentless Disney writers is enough to make one cringe. The show constantly picks at the Indian and black cultures, making them the objects of humiliation. Ravi, the young pre-teen son of the Brangelina-like power couple, is made to fake an accent and does things that are poked at as peculiar. In one episode, he dressed in traditional clothing for his first day of school and was laughed at, one of the people laughing being his nanny, included with jokes and the cheap laugh tracks Disney abuse.

Zuri, the youngest, stiffly says her lines, meant to be versed as a angry black woman, snapping and rolling her neck.

Are these really the images we want to show our children? Now, the goal of this article is to make the readers really think about what their younger family members are watching, and Disney has done much to help many different cultural issues, but where should a line be drawn? Should these types of portrayals be considered appropriate and funny? Take in mind that stereotypes have and continue to negatively affect minorities.

So what do you think? In a way, especially with the uproar parents give about the LGBT community being represented in children’s television, it seems like the lack of stance against this issue is saying, “show stereotyped images the kids can make fun of, but god forbid you put an open homosexual couple on my kid’s television!”

(Source: 3erasingtheline.blogspot.com)

What PoC are demanding of whites

brazenbitch:

• Check their privilege, and own up to their whiteness.
• Don’t apologize for being white. We aren’t looking for sympathy, and we aren’t looking to shame you. We need whites to understand how their whiteness  impacts PoC. Although you yourself have not committed the crimes of your ancestors or fellow white scum, you are all connected through your whiteness and benefit from that system of privilege. We don’t need you to hold our hands and apologize for every wrong doing a white person has ever done in the history of ever, but we do expect you to own up to that history and stop trying to disconnect yourself from the whiteness you benefit from for the sake of “solidarity”
• Stop claiming racism. Interpersonal acts of oppression=/= what Poc have and continue to go through because of their coloredness. 
• You are NOT Troy Davis,Trayvon Martin, or a Strong Black Woman. You are the George Zimmerman’s of the world, you ARE the system that was created by whites to oppress, and terrorize PoC. You may worry that your children will grow up and join the patriarchy that fights against you, but you are not the Black Mother fearing that her child will be shot dead in the street for “looking suspicious”. Here is how you show solidarity as an white activist towards PoC
• Stop nit picking. Maybe ourr grammer is wrong, maybe we mispelled something, maybe you don’t like our “tone” or feel the need to bring up THAT ONE  THING THAT HAS NO RELEVANCE TO THE ARGUMENT BUT YOU FEEL NEEDS TO BE SAID BECAUSE YOUR FEE FEE’S WERE HURT. This is derailing, and because of your whiteness you end up speaking over us. This shit isn’t cool.
• Claim color blindness. First and foremost this is extremely ableist. The notion that we should all forsake attachment to race and/or cultural identity  and be “just humans” within the framework of white dominated culture means that the subordinate groups must surrender their identities, beliefs, values, and assimilate by adopting the values and beliefs of privileged class whites. This does not create racial harmony nor does race suddenly become obsolete. Rather this thinking creates a fierce cultural protectionism and allows whites to continue with racist behavior unchecked. 
• Keep changing the definition of racism so that you don’t fit into the definition of racism. 
• Collect your folks. When you see a fellow white person actin’ a fool, it’s time to take the trash out. 
• Stop questioning our validity, claim we’re being too emotional or “obsessed with race issues” 
• Not to expect a damn cookie for meeting the basic qualifications of a decent human being

(Source: blck-grrl, via decolonizeyourmind)

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