In some ways, the conversation around dead women in Kanye’s video reminds me of the conversations that happen around feminism and black women. The reality of black women is assumed to be exactly the same as white women – if it is mentioned at all. The fact that the majority of the women pictured lying dead where white, while black women are all part of the monster crew is generally not mentioned.
So, I’m not surprised that no one has looked at the very specific positioning of white women in the video as opposed to black women, which dives deeply into the history and construction of black women as beast-like and fearsome, the sexualization of violence, and how the video is a win for both normalized misogyny and upholding the ideals of white supremacy.
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Really, really happy Latoya wrote this.
(via champagnecandy)
When I first watched the video, I was really struck by the divide between the dead women being used as props, in an obvious attempt to offend and disturb (as well as titillate, sad to say) and the threatening, “monstrous” women who were still alive. I did not notice the racial divide! Which now seems really obvious.
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