Solidarity is for Miley Cyrus

[Gormy Cuss]

Last edited Wed Aug 28, 2013, 03:27 PM - Edit history (1)

I like the way this blogger used the Cyrus VMA event as a platform for discussing why intersectionality is important (and far too often ignored) in feminist discussions. As she points out, condemning the slut shaming of Cyrus isn't the only feminist issue here.

http://battymamzelle.blogspot.com/2013/08/Solidarity-Is-For-Miley-Cyrus.html#.Uh4iNTbrxYy

Because Miley's performance last night, and the subsequent ignoring of the racial implications of what she did is just the latest incident in the long line of things that shows me as a black woman, that white feminism does not want me, or care to have me.

Jezebel's piece on the performance chose to focus on the slut shaming that has been thrown Miley's way in the wake of the performance. All fine and good. Slut shaming is bad, don't do it. On that we can all agree. What it didn't acknowledge was the incredibly racist nature of that performance. So I brought it up.

Okay.... but can we talk about the problematic and racist nature of her performance? Her literal use of people as props? Her association of her newfound sexuality with the traditional codifiers of black female culture, thereby perpetuating the Jezebel stereotype that black women are lewd, lascivious and uncontrollably sexualized? Can we talk about the straight up minstrelsy of that performance? Can we talk about how not a single black person won an award last night even though the people who did win awards have been mining black music and culture for years?
No? Ok... I'll just sit at the back of the bus then. #solidarityisforwhitewomen

See the problem isn't that they talked about slut shaming. That deserves attention. The problem is that they completely sidestepped the other glaring teddy bear in the room, and that is the commodification of black female sexuality in Miley's performance. But it's not a thing that white women deal with, so it didn't warrant inclusion or discussion by the white-led mainstream feminist media.

(snip)
Here's the thing: historically, black women have had very little agency over their bodies. From being raped by white slave masters to the ever-enduring stereotype that black women can't be raped, black women have been told over and over and over again, that their bodies are not their own. By bringing these "homegirls with the big butts" out onto the stage with her and engaging in a one-sided interaction with her ass, (not even her actual person!) Miley has contributed to that rhetoric. She made that woman's body a literal spectacle to be enjoyed by her legions of loyal fans. Not only was that the only way that Miley interacted with any of the other people onstage with her, but all of her backup dancers were "black women with big butts" as Violet_Baudelaire so astutely pointed out. So not only are black women's bodies being used as props, but they are also props that are only worthy of interaction if that interaction involves sexualization.

[Little Star]

1. This line makes me sad.....

Because Miley's performance last night, and the subsequent ignoring of the racial implications of what she did is just the latest incident in the long line of things that shows me as a black woman, that white feminism does not want me, or care to have me.

[Gormy Cuss]

2. Me too.

I agree with her, as feminists we should be discussing both the racial and gender issues raised by that performance, yet it's easier as a white feminist to just deal with the gender aspects.

[libodem]

3. I don't quite know where to stand on this

I didn't care for the twerking moves but it seemed like she was embracing and emulating hip hop culture. Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. I don't think she meant to disrespect the other dancers on purpose.

Is the article saying it puts down AA women? I may have missed the point?

As I said, I don't know what to think. I'm torn.

[Gormy Cuss]

4. Oops - forgot link.

It's there now

Yes, she talks about using the A/A women as props and how it felt like a bit like a minstrel show.
Now that I've provided the link you can read it for yourself.

[libodem]

5. Thank you

I love learning by exploring other's points of view. I'm hoping this will help me understand more clearly. Thanks again. Be back later.

[libodem]

6. .

http://feminspire.com/how-do-we-defend-miley-cyrus-from-slut-shaming-while-calling-out-her-racism/

[Gormy Cuss]

7. Good link. n/t

[Tuesday Afternoon]

8. Thanks for the link. Explains it very well. Last four paragraphs really hit it dead on, imo:

However, picking on Miley’s body, how she was dressed, the style of her hair, and how she couldn’t manage to keep her tongue in her mouth just takes the focus away from the fact that she culturally appropriated millions of people, their ancestry, and how they engage their own culture within a society that has not ceased to marginalize them.

But wait, we’re not finished. Let’s not forget everyone who is talking smack in regard to Miley getting all up on a married man. Yes, Robin Thicke is married to actress Paula Patton. He was also entirely complicit in the performance, and has given interviews on multiple occasions in which he is asked about his wife’s reactions to his performances with half-naked women, and he reveals that he and his wife understand that it can be part of the job as artists, and nudity can and has been involved in both of their careers to heighten the art.

How does any of this help? I’ll let you in on a secret: It doesn’t. These non-constructive negative reactions do nothing to start a conversation. It does nothing to deal with the issues at hand. All it does is continue a vicious cycle that keeps everyone down and away from the potential to become an open, accepting, and liberated society of equals.

It pisses me off to no end that I have to defend Miley Cyrus for some of her artistic choices while calling her out on others, but if this is indicative of anything, it is that we have so much farther to go. Until we can stop shaming one another and begin to honestly confront the uncomfortable truths before us, we’re always going to be stuck in a rut where no one makes it out alive. And, even more than that, I’m going to be stuck defending Miley Cyrus once again, and, let’s be real, no one wants that.