Representation of gender in color

Bell Hooks does not hold back in her interpretation of how Black men and women are being portrayed in media. I was offended by her frank description of how Black females are dehumanized in the media. For my thesis at Eastern University, I studied the male gaze and the objectivity women faced in art. However, I found that Hook's study does not have the scholarship and tact of Laura Mulvey. Mulvey does not sugar coat how women are positioned and adorned to attract the male gaze, but I felt her writing had more class. Hook also discusses the Western fantasy of the black female body. Many authors have examined the interactions of early settlers and the "exotic" women. In my post-colonial class, we read an excerpt about the mistreatment of black women by Christopher Columbus and his men. Though this was centuries ago, the attitude towards these women has not greatly improved. As Hook's article points out, Black women are very much still sexualized and objectified for the male gaze. She incorporates very suggestive images of the nudity that is associated with Black women in media. She emphasizes how they are commonly in a pornographic setting with emphasis on the black "butt." Though there are many photographs to display this aspect of Black female representation, I could not bring myself to support such images on my blog.

In her chapter analyzing on Black masculinity, Hooks describes that Black men not only grapple with their identity as males, but also how their race complicates matters. Because of the color of their skin, these men are left as inferior versions of their white brothers. This representation and lack of respect is especially difficult in a patriarchal society. In Buchi Emecheta's book The Joys of Motherhood she explains the difficulties of the position Black men face in a white dominated society. Through the eyes of her female character, Emecheta describes how the woman's husband is emasculated by the white society. He is a treated poorly by the white men in the town and washes the underwear of his white mistress. The woman of the novel struggles with how her husband is being stripped of his masculinity to the point where she cannot respect him as the man of the house. Hook reflects this idea on her chapter by saying "Black men and women who wanted to conform to gender role norms found that this was nearly impossible in a white racist economy that wanted to continue its exploitation of black labor." Another factor that Hook ties to this chapter is the sexual representation and rights to private property. In regards to sexual representation, Black men are often seen as less inferior to white men and also portrayed like women in that they are highly sexualized. Like women, Black men were seen as private property instead of owning such items. The prime example is the events preceding the Civil War. Even after slaves were free and into today's society, Black men are not given the respect they deserve. In my school that was predominately white, I watched my black male peers suffer injustices and judgments from teacher. If my friend was to ask a question of the teacher, he would usually get into trouble. If I asked the same question, I would be greeted with a smile and receive my answer. This always infuriated me. Though some may claim that racism is a problem of the past, I believe it is an issue of the subconscious.