I think it's official.
I don't think that I am going to be able to talk about the First Lady without hearing the theme from Xena Warrior Princess and having an urge to reach for chakram and machete.
When I watched , well semi watched I fell asleep for an hour so missed most of the drama, election night one thing TRULY struck me about President Elect Obama's Speech was the fact that he chose to tell the story of America through the eyes of Ann Nixon Cooper .
A president elect had talked about a woman of color not as a demographic, not as an object not as a tool to be used , but an agent and experience of history. That the idea of America being ( even if I don't always agree with it or him) able to prove itself through the eyes of a black woman especially after this election, an election where women of color were treated so poorly in the guise of getting their votes.
And we all heard that cheer when he announced Michelle Obama as the Lady .
That there was the sistahs. And that wasn't every sista but the SISTAHS. That was every WOC who had ever been told she asked for too much in a partner. That was every woman of color who was told she was good to have around but would never be a part of the group, that was every sistah who WASN'T jack and jill, who wasn't ideal be it by paper bag or video girl, that was every black woman who had the audacity to be grown. That was every woman who had sat through CNN,Newsweek ,BET, and self published black relationship expert saying she was asking to much and would be single forever cause all the brothers were taken or in prison. That was every woman who had any kind of personal standard not only for her self but her life .
However even as these women for one shining moment made themselves heard , and in one speech were actually valued by no less than the future President of the United States and SPECIFICALLY how much that president valued his wife, a black woman, the reception and reality of black women and Michelle Obama specifically has been tokenized commercialized and subsumed to answer a " greater question"
For a woman who for MUCH of this campaign was shunted aside in feminist discourse for the more identifiable figures ( to white women) of Hillary Clinton and Sara Palin her future role as the First Lady seems to leave many scrambling to " explain her" in terms that are comforting and familiar.Because the reality is that even NOW the belief is that is unless their identity is in service to some greater goal the actual lived experiences of black women, and you better believe that doesn't stop even for the wife of the soon to be " leader of the free world"
That there was the sistahs. And that wasn't every sista but the SISTAHS. That was every WOC who had ever been told she asked for too much in a partner. That was every woman of color who was told she was good to have around but would never be a part of the group, that was every sistah who WASN'T jack and jill, who wasn't ideal be it by paper bag or video girl, that was every black woman who had the audacity to be grown. That was every woman who had sat through CNN,Newsweek ,BET, and self published black relationship expert saying she was asking to much and would be single forever cause all the brothers were taken or in prison. That was every woman who had any kind of personal standard not only for her self but her life .
However even as these women for one shining moment made themselves heard , and in one speech were actually valued by no less than the future President of the United States and SPECIFICALLY how much that president valued his wife, a black woman, the reception and reality of black women and Michelle Obama specifically has been tokenized commercialized and subsumed to answer a " greater question"
For a woman who for MUCH of this campaign was shunted aside in feminist discourse for the more identifiable figures ( to white women) of Hillary Clinton and Sara Palin her future role as the First Lady seems to leave many scrambling to " explain her" in terms that are comforting and familiar.Because the reality is that even NOW the belief is that is unless their identity is in service to some greater goal the actual lived experiences of black women, and you better believe that doesn't stop even for the wife of the soon to be " leader of the free world"
There was little to no in depth support of Michelle Obama as a woman. I charge you for EVERY single " Hillary Clinton Sexism Watch" please note how long it took for a Michelle Obama Watch to be started, also note how quickly the Michelle Obama Watch was replaced once Sara Palin was announced as a candidate and there were PUMA's or right wingers to chastise. Even after the default " discussion" was to point to Michelle Obama Watch and magically avoid speaking about the reasons the Watch got started , namely when in time of great distress and in NEED of real thoughtful committed support to a woman whose life was in constant danger, was passed off to SOMEONE ELSE.
And still the question was how women of color had not done enough, in terms of speaking out against sexism, even though the speaking out has magically stopped when it came to WOC.
The president- elect's speech achieved something that subsequent news coverage and editorial seems to completely have missed by a whole swath of people.
WHile President-Elect Obama seems more than comfortable regarding WOC and SPECIFICALLY black women as agentsparticipating in history capable of using their own life experiences to make choices that are respectable and their choices alone, it seems teh rest of the media...
missed the memo completely.
While the piece above annoys me on multiple levels, it is the psuedo enlightment that gets me most. Traister mentions that MIchelle's blackness is " scarier" than Hillary's womanhood but includes no analysis and in a way I find disingenious and pretty apalling cheerfully throws it to the " mainstream media" the way Michelle Obama is being covered.
Mind you this same mainstream media has more so than Traister at any point in the article ( except for lipservice to her two daughters, even her conjecture at Michelle's opinions are filtered through BARACK Obama's book ) , seems willing to recognize the significance of Michelle Obama to teh OBama campaign and now presidency.
However my barely contained fury at this coverage?
Comes from the fact that the same experience being lamented and brandished about as not good enough for Feminism as performed by Michelle Obama
was consider solid enough for Hillary to run on, but paltry for Michelle Obama. Paltry enough that Traister and Steve Kroft 60 Minutes can with clear conscience met out questions about whether an Ivy League educated ( two times)knows her own mind enough to be hapy with raising he rown children.
It is a fury that stems not just from the condescension masquerading as journalism, but from the myopic perception of women that has become accepted that allows this to be considered "searching". It is an odious double standard that subsumes Michelle Obama as WOC into a debate that has " raged within feminism of mommyhood versus career and choice versus social pressure
That MIRACULOUSLY ( every week or so) is based on an Amnesia of the actualities of work and family in the history of WOC. That the option of work being a thing unknown to black women in the US ESPECIALLY CONCERNING CHILDCARE. Since the work for the child work or office work debate is ousourced to WOC , let me not even start into hard on that insulting demands here of what Michelle needs to be because it twists the knife for other women on the basis that stay at home moming is a "white" thing or desire
Because let us all remember that while white women get to make choices, Women of color MUST remmber to serve as symbols. It is more insulting because while WOC concerns are OFTEN ( looks over her internet history ) subsumed for discussions of how to be a feminist in a hetereosexual ( white ) relationship, and a constant call to embrace the choices white women make in that debate, a WOC of color is not allowed that latitude.
OR as Wifey says:
Rebecca Walker's response to Michelle Obam makes a crazy notion available . Absolutely nutty. That Michelle OBama is living a life that in being her own is not being lived to fulfill other women's ( often racist and a historic desires of her) but I disagree that this is a secondwave writhing death.
This is what happens when people who have formed an entire idealism out of ignoring shunting or idolizing but never humanizing black women. This is what happens when the third wave and the loud and overproud non mainstream reveals itself to have no real difference in it's consideration of these women.
Because Anna Nixon Cooper isn't important enough , and Michelle Obama is only important if she is a symbol instead of a woman.
Because even if the President to Be Of the United States values her judgement and choices, as a black woman we don't unless their ours.
The president- elect's speech achieved something that subsequent news coverage and editorial seems to completely have missed by a whole swath of people.
WHile President-Elect Obama seems more than comfortable regarding WOC and SPECIFICALLY black women as agentsparticipating in history capable of using their own life experiences to make choices that are respectable and their choices alone, it seems teh rest of the media...
missed the memo completely.
While the piece above annoys me on multiple levels, it is the psuedo enlightment that gets me most. Traister mentions that MIchelle's blackness is " scarier" than Hillary's womanhood but includes no analysis and in a way I find disingenious and pretty apalling cheerfully throws it to the " mainstream media" the way Michelle Obama is being covered.
Mind you this same mainstream media has more so than Traister at any point in the article ( except for lipservice to her two daughters, even her conjecture at Michelle's opinions are filtered through BARACK Obama's book ) , seems willing to recognize the significance of Michelle Obama to teh OBama campaign and now presidency.
However my barely contained fury at this coverage?
Comes from the fact that the same experience being lamented and brandished about as not good enough for Feminism as performed by Michelle Obama
was consider solid enough for Hillary to run on, but paltry for Michelle Obama. Paltry enough that Traister and Steve Kroft 60 Minutes can with clear conscience met out questions about whether an Ivy League educated ( two times)knows her own mind enough to be hapy with raising he rown children.
It is a fury that stems not just from the condescension masquerading as journalism, but from the myopic perception of women that has become accepted that allows this to be considered "searching". It is an odious double standard that subsumes Michelle Obama as WOC into a debate that has " raged within feminism of mommyhood versus career and choice versus social pressure
That MIRACULOUSLY ( every week or so) is based on an Amnesia of the actualities of work and family in the history of WOC. That the option of work being a thing unknown to black women in the US ESPECIALLY CONCERNING CHILDCARE. Since the work for the child work or office work debate is ousourced to WOC , let me not even start into hard on that insulting demands here of what Michelle needs to be because it twists the knife for other women on the basis that stay at home moming is a "white" thing or desire
Because let us all remember that while white women get to make choices, Women of color MUST remmber to serve as symbols. It is more insulting because while WOC concerns are OFTEN ( looks over her internet history ) subsumed for discussions of how to be a feminist in a hetereosexual ( white ) relationship, and a constant call to embrace the choices white women make in that debate, a WOC of color is not allowed that latitude.
OR as Wifey says:
michelle,strong black woman,is supposed to be working, and she has worked hard and been successful in career terms,or her to go "i'm going to be a WIFE and MOTHER",that's for the white ladies to do,how are white women going to have their successful career minded ideal
or any "independent" ideal if they don't have a brown woman upholding it? white women like to have images in their minds of strong, independent women who don't "need" men
who can support themselves but how many white women are actually going after that on their own?
Rebecca Walker's response to Michelle Obam makes a crazy notion available . Absolutely nutty. That Michelle OBama is living a life that in being her own is not being lived to fulfill other women's ( often racist and a historic desires of her) but I disagree that this is a secondwave writhing death.
This is what happens when people who have formed an entire idealism out of ignoring shunting or idolizing but never humanizing black women. This is what happens when the third wave and the loud and overproud non mainstream reveals itself to have no real difference in it's consideration of these women.
Because Anna Nixon Cooper isn't important enough , and Michelle Obama is only important if she is a symbol instead of a woman.
Because even if the President to Be Of the United States values her judgement and choices, as a black woman we don't unless their ours.
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4 comments:
Totally understand the machete response to Kaplan’s piece. Cannot agree more, also, that the “scrambling to explain in terms that are comforting and familiar” is a on odious phenom – as you know, we spoke of that at my place recently.
I do feel that the increased feminist focus on Clinton and Palin had something to do with their being candidates for office, however. And also, because of that, there was more press coverage of them and their positions. There isn’t as much public info on Michelle. And some people have indeed tried to piece it together to talk about her as a woman and as an impressive and complicated human being.
I totally agree, though, that there should have been more of an attempt to discuss Michelle as a person, at an earlier time.
Totally with you on Traister’s piece. I’m not sure why many feminist publications have cited it approvingly. I like her generally, but felt that piece was superficial and completely unfair in citing MO as a representation of feminism’s failures. As you and Wifey say, until it’s the choice well educated, predominantly white women are making across the board with the same frequency men do, to suggest that a WOC, who is combating the scrutiny of female and racial expectations both, should ideally take a stance that could risk her family’s current primary goal, is quite shortsighted. And also, yes, dehumanizing to her.
MO shouldn’t be criticized for prioritizing a meaningful life, period end of story. I think there’s a way of saying: it would be nice if someday women were at the highest levels of all endeavors in higher numbers, it would be nice if women had visibility and economic power equal to that of men. Without imposing specific obligations on specific women.
Great post.
I tried to write something substantive about this post but it wound up really navel-gazy which is the exact opposite of this post, so I deleted it and am instead saying this is a really good post that has left me with a lot of complicated thoughts I haven't totally figured out yet, so thank you for that.
Because let us all remember that while white women get to make choices, Women of color MUST remmber to serve as symbols.
You know our lives have no value to these white women unless we're furthering THEIR goals and reinforcing their perceived status as the only REAL women.
Hello there!
I am so tired of the discussion about what Michelle is giving UP by focusing on her children.
In slavery, black women were forced to put others' children before their own...if their own children were ill...they left them in bed and had to go and care for the massa's children.
Now, a black woman makes a choice to put her OWN children first and there is a national discussion about how much of a consolation prize THAT IS???
{shaking my head}
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