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I attended the LA Art Book Fair and what stood out to me was the sheer number of nude and explicit photos I saw. There was a whole wall filled with smut and even early 20th century books of white women…spread eagle. Child, I saw so tired of seeing white lady tail! All I could think of is…that’s somebody’s momma!? I moved on to wondering why in the hell would they do that. Now a bunch of hipster, artsy generation X and Y’ers can buy pictures of some mess you did in 1973. There was no diversity in the perversion, all white women. What makes them so comfortable and happy with being photographed in such an intimate and provocative way? Is it freedom of expression? Why was I uncomfortable? Why aren’t black women out in these nudey streets?
I personally want to be respected; so I can’t be out here with my cookie pie on platters for lapping pervs to jerk off to. I was raised to believe that my body is just that, my body. I am a bit conservative and am fearful of the backlash from my people and judgment of others. What makes this type of behavior such a taboo for black women?
Historically a black woman’s sexual exploits were not that of her own volition. Our existence in America is always within the context of a man. The European perception that white women were pure and chaste and black women were lustful and promiscuous still haunts us. Some people even used the bible to justify racism, I.E. the curse of Ham. Ergo, black women have a double whammy; salaciousness and worthy of oppression.
Raped by slave masters and with no protection from the black man, the psychological wounds run deep. Identity lost and adapting to a foreign world, we coped. We were seen as Jezebels so we took hold of the bible from the white perspective for comfort, further falling into the oppressive scheme. Unknowingly coveting all that they said was good and being ashamed of our blackness. They called us Mammies, Big Mama, Madea. The black archetype of asexual. We held tight to our duties of motherhood and domestic ability as our men had been emasculated. This is the origins of the “strong black woman” stereotype.
We have never had the same opportunity as our white counterparts to be vulnerable and sexually free without severe judgment. The simple truth is that we cannot do the same things that our white counterparts do because of the white influence on our everyday lives. It is what it is. Megan (or insert any other white girl name here) can strip on Monday, bake cookies on Tuesday, do porn on Wednesday, make a quilt on Thursday, have on orgy on Friday, garden on Saturday, be the first lady of Pilgrim’s Rest Christian Fellowship in Sunday, and still be a respected member of her community.
Look at the sex tape scandals. Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton have launched lucrative careers off of their videotaped sexual escapades, while Mimi Faust and Montana Fishburne were scandalized, shamed, and haven’t made a life changing profit. Not to say that black women can’t capitalize off of a nude photo shoot or make a sex tape, but the repercussions of doing so are more severe due to the effects of our history and the way that we are perceived by others who hold tight to negative stereotypes about black people in general. It’s not fair, but it’s real.
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