The SILENCE of Black Women

On a daily basis some of the most degrading, misogynistic and racist images of Black women are presented in the media. But oddly in the face of all these images presenting Black women in a negative light, there has been an eerie silence from the “Strong Black Sistas” of the Black community.

The Pornographic Website Ghetto Gaggers depicts Black women being humiliated, and degraded by White men. On this site women are called Nigger by White men while being slapped in the face, forced to choke on penises and sit in their own urine. Some of the sex scenes are so violent they’re borderline rape.

But not a PEEP is heard out of Black women.

The video site World Star Hip Hop presents videos of Black women fighting in the street, fighting in fast food places, and shaking their butts on camera in twerk videos. And some videos have presented Black women having sex on camera!

But not a PEEP is heard out of Black women.

Black celebrities like Nicki Minaj, Beyonce, and Rihanna behave like porn stars promoting the Jezebel stereotype as the standard for little Black girls to follow.

But not a PEEP is heard out of Black women.

Reality shows like Basketball wives, Love & Hip Hop, Teen Mom, and Real Housewives of Atlanta show Black women as loud, ignorant, foul mouthed and violent litter cable TV. Syndicated Talk shows like Maury, Jeremy Kyle, and Bill Cunningham have turned fat, loud mouthed ignorant Black women fighting over cheating spouses and baby mama drama into a niche market on television.

But not a PEEP is heard out of Black women.

Numerous YouTube Videos and music videos feature scantily clad Black women depicted as from their backsides in twerking videos.

But not a PEEP is heard from Black women.

Film producers Like Lee Daniels and Tyler Perry produce movies that present the Black woman as a victim and a joke.

But there’s not a PEEP heard out of Black women in protest. Instead, sistas have made these men millionaires at the expense of their own dignity and self-respect.

Women like Halle Berry, Mo’ Nique and Octavia Spencer are praised for choosing to star in roles that present the Black woman as a Mammy and a Jezebel, putting a TARNISH on the image of Black women.

But there’s not a PEEP out of Black women in protest. Instead, they praise these women and laud them as pillars of the community.

TV shows like Scandal feature a Black woman settling for less by being a side piece to the President of the United States.

But not a PEEP out of Black women. In fact, Sistas support this program and look forward to it. Many a Black woman clears her schedule to watch another Black woman degraded onscreen.

I find it odd I’ve heard more from Black men about the degradation of Black women in the media than I have from Black women these days. In fact I find it disturbing. Don’t Black women care about their image? Don’t they love themselves? Don’t they care about the numerous negative messages this media is presenting about women who look like them to their daughters?

Or are they comfortable being presented as a mammy and a jezebel to the world? A complete and utter laughingstock among all women.

The last time I actually heard Black women protesting about the degradation of Black women was when rapper Nelly swiped a credit card in a woman’s butt cheeks. And that was close to ten years ago.

But these days Black women are quiet as church mice as some of the most degrading, misogynistic and racist images of Black women are presented in the media.

I wonder where is the outrage from our numerous “Strong” Black female leaders? Where are those Black feminists who fight so valiantly against misogyny and the oppression of Black men when White Supremacists present them as mammies and Whores?

Seriously, Where is bell hooks? Where is Angela Davis? Where is Alice Walker? Where is Maya Angelou? Where is Oprah Winfrey? Where is Michelle Obama? Where is Queen Latifah? Where are the women of the NAACP? Where are the women of the Nation Of Islam? Where are the Black sororities like AKA? Where are the strong independent Black women who have all these high-powered high paying jobs?

To quote YouTuber David Carroll: Silent as a rat pissin’ on cotton.

I’d think all those strong independent sistas would be out in FORCE to protest their own degradation by the White Supremacist AmeriKKKan media. I think they’d be the ones speaking out about all the repackaging of the Jezebel and mammy stereotypes in all the media these days. According to these organizations, the Black woman is a leader and supposed to be a “goddess” and a “queen” that is to be respected.

But by her silence she shows she just follows the status quo.
What queen would be proud of being presented as a White Man’s Whore? How respectable does a Black woman make other Black women look when all she’s showing the world is her backside? And how much character does it show when older Black women don’t take the time to correct those younger women?

Worse, what does it say when those prominent Black women who see this degradation transpiring and they remain silent? And what does it say when Black women like Shondra Rhimes produce degrading content like Scandal?

Outside of a few bloggers like La Reyna and Sharazad Ali, I haven’t heard a thing from most Black women. For the most part it’s been Black men speaking out against all these degrading images of Black women.

Unfortunately, when these decent caring brothas and these responsible sistas make efforts to protect the image of Black womanhood, a small faction of Black women and their Mangina and Simp supporters come out to silence them. Either by flagging their videos on YouTube and having their channels deleted, or, making ad-hominem attacks against them, or by flooding the comments sections of their blogs and articles so others cannot feel comfortable express their opinions. Censorship of the worst kind.

All while the numerous masses of Black women remain silent about how their image is being maligned in the media.

To me, the silence of Black women in the face of all these negative images makes a powerful statement: That it’s okay to degrade and humiliate Black women. That Black women themselves are comfortable with the degradation of themselves and other Black women. Them saying nothing is them saying YES to their own degradation.

Black women have the power to shut down all of this misogyny and degradation of Black women in American media in an instant. As the one who controls the purse strings in the Black community, she could refuse to spend her $1.1. trillion dollars until companies started producing more positive images of African-American women in the media.

But instead she does nothing but go along to get along.

All it takes is for good Black women to say and do nothing for the White Supremacist producers of these degrading images to win. I’m urging all you good sistas out there who have remained silent to start speaking out against these misogynistic and racist depictions of Black women. Because when you’re silent you allow others to speak for you. And when you allow those people to speak for you, they take your power away.

Black woman you’re better than this! Take your dignity and self-respect back! Take control of your image and stop letting others speak for you!