Frantz
Fanon’s works are all very personal. Black
Skins, White Masks, a treatise on the lived experience of being black is
based on his experiences in Martinican society, being a student and then a
black doctor in France. A Dying
Colonialism is the Algerian War through the prism of his work with the FLN
and The Wretched of The Earth arises
from his experiences visiting post-colonial African countries, interacting with
future African leaders and observing colonial and native elites. Even though
Fanon was a man his oeuvre have great
relevance to women and this piece will focus on the representation of black
women in Fanon’s works and how his observations can be used to analyse
contemporary depictions of black beauty in popular culture and hip-hop. This
essay will also address the dimensions of black female sexuality and the
similarities between sexism and racism.
Of the
woman of colour and her psychosexuality, Fanon writes, “I know nothing about
her” (Fanon, 1986: 138) but here he sells himself short. Babha (1986)
recognises that Fanon can be used to “site the quest of sexual difference
within the problematic of cultural differences” (Babha,1986: xxiv).
For
centuries, black women have been exoticised and viewed as hypersexual beings.
Sara Baartmann was exhibited across Europe for this reason. Her large buttocks
were displayed during what was termed a cultural exposition but was really a
exploitation and more of a zoo viewing with audience gasping and “prodding at
her” (Collins, 2005: 10) . Her supposed wild sexuality was manifest in her large
bottom and her entire act was used as a tool to other her and black women,
while upholding white superiority and contrasting Sarah Baartman to the ideals
of white beauty. It was assumed that black people’s inability to subdue their
rampant sexuality and sublimate their desire into civilisation, progress and
decency was seen as justification for their subjugation.
Using
Fanon this essay will argue that this idea continues to the present day and is
somewhat perpetuated by hip-hop culture, the precarious nature of black
masculinity and the unchallenged pre-eminence of white female beauty.
Beauty and Inadequacy
Fanon
describes the black man as suffering “from an inadequacy” and a “feeling of
insignificance” (Fanon, 1986: 35). He describes how black men want to be
“powerful like the white man” (Fanon, 1986: 36) and while women undoubtably
want power too, they are particularly prone to wanting to be beautiful like
white women who are held up as paragons of beauty. Black women look for
themselves in the mirror of popular culture and never see themselves reflected
accurately or at all. So they endeavour to make themselves look more like the
white characters they see portrayed. They are subtly taught to hate themselves.
This hate is “constantly cultivated” (Fanon, 1986: 37) and the black woman
becomes her own abuser. As Fanon says:
“Hate demands existence, and he who hates has to show his
hate in appropriate actions and behavior; in a sense, he has to become hate.” (Fanon, 1986: 37)
In The Wretched of The Earth, Fanon speaks
about the colonial elite who leave the country after liberation and the black
elite who fill the existing social vacuum. This “native elite” (Fanon, 1963:
7), “intellectual and economic elite” (Fanon, 1963: 61) or “young nationalist
bourgeoise” (Fanon, 1963: 62) was co-opted even before the revolution started
and has been groomed to take over the reigns. Fanon calls them figuratively -
“whitewashed”. I would argue that for black women, Fanon’s description of
whitewashing manifests physically as well as mentally. Black women can have a
relationship with a white man to lactify themselves but they can also act out
the lactification process on themselves. This is something that post-colonial
society, still oriented around white values encourages and black women uphold
and partake in.
A look
at popular culture shows how much light-skinned women are prized over
dark-skinned women. Sharpley-Whiting writes that most women chosen to feature
in hip hop videos are “fairer-skinned, ethnically mixed or of indeterminate
ethnic/racial origins” (Sharpley-Whiting, 2007: 27) meaning they can pass for
white or their blackness is not so prominent as to be out of line with
prevailing standards of beauty. The same
can be said for the Hollywood film industry where there are few roles for black
women. In keeping with lighter-skinned privilege, the only woman to win an
Oscar for Best Actress in A Leading Role has been the light-skinned, Halle
Berry in 2001. Viola Davis the comparatively darker-skinned actress of film, The Help (2011) who was nominated in the
last Oscar ceremony for the same prize complains, “It’s just the politics, you
know. It’s just the politics of it all...There’s just not a lot of lead roles
for women who look like me”[1] .
That is
not to say that things have changed. Even as recently as thirty years ago there
would not have been as many full-length films devoted to black women, or as
many black women on screen. “One drop of
black blood” (Collins, 2005: 194) as Patricia Hill Collins puts it, is no
longer criteria for exclusion from popular culture which is becoming more
accepting of “racial fluidity” (Collins, 2005: 194). For example, Halle Berry
has been cast in roles like Destiny in X-Men and Swordfish where due to script
ambiguity, “white or Latino actresses” (Collins, 1995: 195) could have been
hired too. So ideas of beauty are mutating and it is becoming more acceptable
for black women to play a variety of roles. However it can be argued that these
ideas are still operating within the constraints of white beauty.
Nina
Simone, the famed jazz singer, born Eunice Waymon but often styled as the High
Priestess of Soul, is remembered by her daughter and peers for her outspokeness
about colourism and the rejection she received because of being a dark-skinned
black woman. Filming has been started on a biographical movie about her life
but the lead actress, Zoe Saldana, is much lighter-skinned than Nina Simone
ever was and perpetuates the industry standard of favouring lighter actresses
over darker ones. Earlier this year, Thandie Newton another light-skinned
actress was chosen to play an Igbo women in the film adaptation of Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi
Adichie. This continual misrepresentation of black women on screen hides the
fact that there are talented darker-skinned women in Hollywood, who could play
these parts and whose skin colour hinders their selection for choice roles. It
also creates the illusion that only lighter-skinned women have stories worth
being told and shown on screen. It recreates real black women in the image of
the white Hollywood ideal and in the process erases their being and parts of
their story.
This
situation extends to all areas of female visual culture. Singer Beyonce Knowles
has been routinely criticised for sporting lighter skin on the covers of
magazines, adverts and on album covers with the aid of digital enhancement. It
appears to have helped her career and public image as she is according to the
readers of FHM Magazine, the 38th Sexiest Woman in the World (FHM, 2012).
Beyonce is one of only four black women included on the list and was placed
lower than Barbadian singer, Rihanna, who is naturally light-skinned.
In the
make-up world it is difficult to find foundation that suits darker skin tones.
Iman, Ethopian supermodel founded one of the few companies to cater for a wide
range of skin tones, especially for darker complexions. She has related how
hard it was to do so with critics saying “black women don’t buy foundation”
(Daily Mail, 2012) and shops refusing to carry her line of products, pushing
her to sell them online. If the shops did agree to carry her products they
insisted on separating the Iman Cosmetics and placing them in the back of the
shop in a way that sinisterly mimics, former US bus segregation laws.
Another
kind of best-selling cosmetics are skin lightening products marketed to black
women as having the power to lighten their skins, make them more beautiful,
confident and successful in their careers (Kpanake, 2011). Even the names of
such products, like Fair and Lovely, encapsulate the colour binary their trade
and adverts subscribe to: fair is to lovely as dark is to ugly. The WHO estimated in a cautionary report
about the dangers of skin-lightening chemicals that approximately “77% percent
of women in Nigeria use skin-lightening products” (The Economist, 2012) and it
is likely that similar figures exist in other black societies where
light-skinned privilege exists. Some scholars theorise that this prejudice
arose out of slavery, where slaves who lived inside were sheltered from the sun
and kept a lighter complexion than the slaves who worked outside. The latter
were looked down on and treated as inferior as they worked harder and were
treated more cruelly. The lighter-skinned, “house-niggers” had a greater chance
of education and rising up through the ranks. Although formal slavery is gone,
this colourism continues to the present day. While exploring the stigma of
women aging visibly and unflatteringly, Naomi Wolf makes a point relatable to the
colourism discussion in her book, The
Beauty Myth. She contends that the beauty industry plays on “women’s fears
of looking older” (Wolf, 1991: 106) and being called out as looking old in
public in order to propel women “indoors once more” (Wolf, 1991: 106) towards
the “locus of the separate sphere and the Feminine Mystique, the proper place
for women in every culture that most oppresses us” (Wolf, 1991: 106).
Fanon’s
argument penetrates the psychology of the black mind and colonisation that
continues even after the ‘master’ leaves. Knowing no other positions apart from
slave and master the black women tries to ascend to the position of master, or
rather mistress, by impersonating her old mistress’ whiteness and inflicting
her power on other people. This action can be interpreted as the black woman
attempting to “annihilate [her] own presence” (Fanon, 1986: 43). The black
women does physically assault herself since these lightening creams contain
mercury and hydroquinone, chemicals which can cause long-term scarring, kidney
failure, chemical burns, skin infections and cancer (Kpanake, 2011). Wolf makes
an accurate observation, saying these products and their makers are “selling
ersatz light” (Wolf, 1991: 106). Every time a black woman uses a skin-lightening
cream, she is co-opted into her own subjugation. She must confess her sins of
being too dark, and then absolve herself of them by using the cream. But you
can never capture something as ephemeral as light forever and the black woman
engages in a destructive journey where oppressive beauty standards and her
self-resentment “feeds her own artificiality” (Fanon, 1986: 30).
Hair is
another source of beauty, pride and sometimes concern for black women. Emma
Mashinini, the secretary of one of South Africa’s largest trade unions, the
CCAWUSA, during Apartheid was a figure of strength and determination and was
nicknamed, “Tiny Giant”. Despite her professional achievements, in her
autobiography she details the struggles she had with her looks. She was born
dark-skinned and like many women of the era used lightening creams on her face
so she could benefit from the privileges afforded to lighter-skinned women at
work and in society in general (Mashinini, 1989: 5). Of her hair, she remarks:
“We used to wear wigs, too, to help give the appearance of
being fair, and we used to have terrible struggles with our own hair to make it
straighter.”
(Mashinini, 1989: 9)
To this
day, behaviour like this has become the norm amongst black women, many of them
use damaging heat or chemical processes to straighten their hair. This
temporarily changes or hides the natural texture of their hair which is curly
or sometimes referred to more pejoratively as kinky and nappy. Many black women
believe their natural hair to be ugly as white hair is higher up in the
hierarchy of femininity (Collins, 2005: 195).
They are encouraged to believe this fallacy by a wealth of advertising
as well as misogynistic remarks levelled at them by people like Don Imus, the
sports commentator infamously called the Rutgers University Women’s basketball
team, made up mostly of black women, “a
bunch of nappy headed hos” (Chiachere, 2007). Unfortunately this kind of
incident is not a rarity in a society where black women, their natural beauty
and sexuality are used to mock or control their behaviour.
The Hope of Hip-Hop: A Fanonian
alternative?
In
Fanon’s time he encountered black people portrayed as mentally feeble . They
were used as the butt of jokes, the comic relief, the foil to white characters’
intelligence and wit. They were presented as dependent on white people to bring
civilisation, but incapable of keeping it flourishing without white people’s
support. He comments on this at length with regards to language. White people
teach the black person English and the black person, it is implied, is unable
to grasp it properly, due to their inferior nature. So they create a creole,
slang or “nigger talk” (Fanon, 1986: 20). This manner of speaking becomes
unfairly representative of all black people. It is concretised into a
stereotype disseminated across all forms of media with the black person always
at the ready with quips like “Yes Massa!”, “Sho‘ good!”, or “Yassuh boss!”
(Fanon, 1986: 22). Today this continues in a more insidious way.
The
black person is still often used for comic relief in television, where an
accent, particular dialect of english associated with black people is played up
to contrast the black character with other white characters. Their dress as
well as dramatic hand gestures is often used to mark them out as different from
the rest of the cast. Donna Meagle, is a large, dark-skinned office worker in
the Parks and Recreation Department of Pawnee in the comedy mockumentary
television series, Parks and Recreation.
Her character undergoes little development. By Season 4 of the programme all
the viewer can tell is that she cares little about her career, drinks too much,
is self-indulgent and status-obsessed. Donna dishes out judgmental looks to the
rest of the cast, preys on men, has a lake house and tries to mention as often
as possible that she has a Mercedes-Benz. She is the archetypal superfluous,
lazy bureaucrat. She is the antithesis
of the blonde, slim Leslie Knope, the diligent white civil servant, the show
focuses on. Leslie is presented as giving and kind and devotes her life to
creating more parks for the citizens of Pawnee. The function of Donna’s
character is really to fill up office space and some screen time every episode
with inappropriate behaviour and self-centred commentary. She is promiscuous,
jumping from man to man and trawling local nightclubs for new lovers, while
drinking large amounts. One of her classic lines is: “I never said anything
about a boyfriend. Use him. Abuse him. Lose him.[2]” In the same episode, she
remarks, “Are you going to hit that?”
referring to a male patient who is about to lose consciousness in the First Aid
tent. In another episode, her stupidity is highlighted when she butchers a
Italian elegiac poem for town hero - Little Sebastian, by reciting it poorly,
mispronouncing all the words and showing her dearth of education. “As Fanon
says, “the Negro has to be shown in a certain way” (Fanon, 1986: 22)
According
to Fanon, in this world the black person can never find freedom. They are up
against this stereotype and when they do not conform to it confusion abounds -
“nothing is more astonishing than to hear a black man expressing himself
properly” (Fanon, 1986: 22). People will remark surprise at their middle-class
accent, superb grasp of the English language or deviance from stereotypes. As a
jibe, they may be called “coconuts”, black people perceived by others as
imitating white people’s demeanour. So some find it easier to lapse into being
a slave to white-created archetypes (Fanon, 1986: 22).
Fanon’s
solution is a different cultural world, not oriented around white-created
ideals, values and norms. This is what he means when he speaks of “the
establishment of children’s magazines especially for Negro children, and
ultimately, the publication of history texts especially for them” (Fanon, 1986:
115). In these spaces, black people do not have to feel inadequate or
stereotyped. Here, the black person finds themselves valued intrinsically and
not compared unfavourably to another race. They do not have “to turn white or
disappear” (Fanon, 1986: 115) they can exist outside of the race binary.
One
could argue that hip-hop represents an attempt to do just that - to “negrify
the world” (Fanon, 1986: 31) and create an alternative space for black people
to express themselves and value themselves on their own terms. Through hip-hop,
black people tell their stories. In ‘99 Problems,’ Jay-Z raps about the
problems facing black men. He raps about police harrassment :
“So I...pull over to the side of the road/
And I heard ‘Son do you know why/
I'm stopping you
for?’/
Cause I'm young and I'm black and my hat's real low.”
and later in the verse,
“ Are you carrying a weapon on you?/
I know a lot of you
are.”
He describes the bias of
the legal system:
“D.A. tried to give
the nigga the shaft again/
Half-a-mil for bail cause I'm African” (Jay-Z, 2004)
These stories deserve to be heard and are an
important counter to white-dominated popular culture which by and large ignores
many issues and experiences pertinent to black people. This song like many in
mainstream rap industry in particular shows the necessity of rap music
concomitantly hamartia. The chorus is as follows:
If you’re having girl trouble/
I feel bad for you, son/
I got 99 problems/
But a bitch ain’t one
He then describes having
to “strong-arm a ho” in another verse:
A nigga like myself had to strong arm a ho
This is not a ho in the sense of having a pussy
But a pussy having no God Damn sense, try and push me (Jay-Z, 2004)
Here
Jay-Z is not describing violence used against a woman, he is talking about
another man. He identifies inferior, weak or irritating men as hos. So in a
misogynistic move, women are aligned with the negative. Traits gendered as
female when found in men are shown to be deplorable and a hindrance to strong
hypermasculine men at the top of the rap hierarchy.
Jay-Z
features in a more recent track by Kanye West, ‘Monster’. In the track, West
raps about media criticism, gossiping (an act routinely gendered as female),
his wealth and popularity. Most of the track is consecrated to his evil nature
and how he is evil, but is also portrayed by others as a monster. His evil
takes the form of abuse of women exemplified by the following:
“Have you ever had sex with a pharaoh?/
I put the pussy in a sarcophagus/
now she claiming I bruise her esophagus”
“less talk, more head right now huh?” (West, 2010)
“I kill a block/ I murder avenues
rape and pillage a village, women and children” (West and Jay-Z, 2010)
West
treats women as sex objects in his lyrics and the corresponding video that
glamourises violence. It shows numerous dead corpses lying in bed with the
rapper, on the floor and hanging from nooses. The white women are in pristine
make-up, high-heels and lingerie but all have the pallor of death. Kanye
rearranges their bodies and holds up a severed woman’s head unperturbed by the
death surrounding him. It is implied that he is the killer and they are his
victims. As Anita Sarkeesian, pop culture media critic puts it, the video
“fetishises the aspects of women that don’t even require us to be alive”
(Sarkeesian, 2011). The women, though dead can still be used for their beauty.
All the “beautiful” eroticised dead women are white and in contrast the black
women are portrayed as ugly animalistic savage, soul-eating demons
hounding West and weaving in and out of
dark corridors.
A Modern Cerberus: Sexism, Racism and Hip-Hop
The
‘Monster’ video shows how interlinked sexism and racism are. One discrimination
is used to uphold the other and hip-hop music at various times shows elements
of sexism, racism and colourism. Initially one would not expect this. One would
expect black people sensitive to discrimination to create a cultural space free
of this. Fanon warns us of this assumption. In The Wretched of The Earth he describes how the native population
inherits the “primitive Manicheanism of the settler” (Fanon, 1963: 144). They
view white as evil and black as virtuous but later come to realise that they
cannot predict what people will do based on their race. During the
revolutionary war they realise “the iniquitous fact of exploitation can wear a
black face” (Fanon, 1963: 155).
hooks
makes a similar point about women involved in the Civil Rights movement in the
United States, where she says women’s contributions were viewed as less
important and integral to success (hooks, 2004: 10). Elaine Brown chaired The
Black Panther Party from 1974-1977 and organised their involvement in electoral
politics. Brown decried the sexism which eventually provoked her to resign from
the Black Panthers especially the beating of Regina Davis, a teacher at the
Black Panther School. Elaine herself was whipped for insubordination some years
earlier as many women in the movement were, but the attack on Davis struck a
nerve within her (Brown, 1992). Davis was beaten so severely by a male Panther,
her jaw was broken and she hospitalised for her injuries. In her autobiography,
A Taste of Power, Brown writes about
the gender conflict within the Party:
“A woman in the Black Power movement was considered, at
best, irrelevant. A woman asserting herself was a pariah. If a black woman
assumed a role of leadership, she was said to be eroding black manhood, to be
hindering the progress of the black race”
(Brown, 1992: 357)
However
one cannot demonise hip-hop without looking at the rest of popular culture
which has a problematic approach to gender or the parts of hip-hop culture that
are positive. There are hip-hop songs which encourage social change and
equality of the sexes. Hip hop like any other cultural movement is undergoing a
mutation where there are more and more female rappers. In the past five years,
female rappers like Nicki Minaj, Rye Rye, Azealia Banks, M.I.A. and Santigold
have experienced widespread success and are changing the face of the industry.
Some
women like Queen Latifah have attempted to reclaim the genre and use it to
fight misogyny. In her track, ‘U. N. I. T. Y.’:
Everytime I hear a brother call a girl a bitch or a hoe/
Trying to make a sister feel low/
You know all of that gots to go...
A man don't really love you if he hits ya/
This is my notice to the door, I'm not taking it no more/
I'm not your personal whore, that's not what I'm here for (Queen Latifah, 1994)
Men are
also involved in changing the dominant sexist message of commercial hip-hop.
Dead Prez, a male duo rap about social justice, pan-Africanism and rejecting
domination, be it corporate control of artistic creativity or violence against
women. Their song, ‘Mind Sex’ subverts rap conventions where songs are focused
on sex and male pleasure particularly.
Dead Prez say:
It's time for some mind sex/ we ain't got to take our
clothes off yet
We can burn the incense, and just chat/
Relax, I got the good vibrations/
Before we make love let's have a good conversation...
Later we can play a game of chess on the futon/
See I ain't got to get in your blouse/
It's your eye contact, that be getting me aroused/ (dead prez, 2000)
Other
forms of popular culture, including those dominated by white artists are rife
with sexism. Hip-hop and black people are not the only people supporting
patriarchy. Rock music and the sub-genre of death metal in particularly
noteworthy in this regard. Artists like Slayer, Marilyn Manson and Cannibal
Corpse have been at the centre of controversy surrounding their lyrics and
videos.
‘She
Was Asking For It’ by Cannibal Corpse condones violence against women and
encourages ‘victim-blaming’ in their song with lyrics like the following:
I wrapped my hands around her neck/
Squeezing out her breath/
Eyes rolled back in her head/
Clawing at my skin/
I know now it's not my fault/
She was asking for it (Cannibal Corpse, 1994)
Mainstream
pop culture is littered with the references to women’s main purpose being sex
objects to sate male desires. There is a history of encouraging female
dependence on men, trading sex for goods as well as presenting women as
avaricious. Songs like Madonna’s ‘Material Girl’ (1984) and ‘Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend’ famously
sung by Marilyn Monroe in ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’ (1953) are prime examples
of this. Marilyn coquettishly sings,
“Men grow cold as girls grow old/
And we all lose our charms in the end/
But square cut or pear shape/
These rocks don’t lose their shape/
Diamonds are a girl’s best friend!” (Robin and Styne, 1949)
So
black people are not only to blame for the dissemination of sexist ideologies
but they do find themselves as the focus of this essay. I would argue that it
is because hip-hop does not distance itself enough from mainstream culture that
it ends up replicating the sexism, subjugation of women, and objectification of
women present there and incorporates it into what should be a revolutionary
sphere with a new social order.
Hip-hop
like any other cultural movement is filled with contradictions. Some artists
and songs praise women, treat them as equal to men and encourage independence.
Songs like Destiny’s Child’s ‘Survivor,’ reject dependence on men and
subservience.
Lines like,
“Thought that I would fail without you/
but I’m on top/
Thought it would be over by now/
but it won’t stop/
Thought that I would self-destruct/
but I’m still here/
Even in my years to come/
I’m still going to be here
(Destiny’s Child, 2001)
send a
clear message of feminine strength but they are transmitted in a way that
panders the male gaze. In the music video, the members of the group are
scantily-clad wearing “a melange of animal skins” (Collins, 2005: 29) and
performing dance moves that “focus on the booty” (Collins, 2005: 29). One could
argue that in this set-up the women are taking back control of their sexuality
but equally convincingly one could argue that the only way black women can get
then attention of men and the media and sell records is by being overtly sexual
and exposing their bodies. In this way, the message of the song fades into the
background while the sexuality of Destiny’s Child is foregrounded.
Destiny’s
Child have a later song that actually encourages dependence on men, called
‘Soldier’. The women sing about needing male protection from a hyper-masculine
figure. Only those who fit the following description need apply:
If his status ain't hood/
I ain't checkin' for him/
Betta be street if he lookin' at me/
I need a soldier/
That ain't scared to stand up for me/
Known to carry big things/
If you know what I mean...
Gotta know to get dough/
And he betta be street
(Destiny’s Child,
2004)
One
need only look at the myriad of similar tracks like “Hot Boys” by Missy Elliot,
“Money Talks” and “Custom Made” by Lil’ Kim or “Money In The Bank” by Timati
and Eve to see that women in hip-hop often perpetuate sexism and dependence on
men, reproducing what T. Denean Sharpley-Whiting calls “the pimp-ho nexus.”
(Sharpley-Whiting, 2007: 142). This relationship is treated as the norm in rap
culture, where the male pimp manipulates women and keeps them under control. He
seduces them and uses their sexuality to satisfy himself and/or sells them as
prostitutes, keeping a cut of the money for himself and doleing out presents
(sometimes drugs) and gifts as well as violence and threats as he sees fits.
This hustler is cool, “fearless, insensitive and egocentric” (hooks, 2004: 57).
Accessing a black women’s sexuality is “is prized as a testament not of love
but of control” (Kubrin et.al, 2009: 9) over them. As the ultimate ‘playa’ he
avoids commitment, never gets attached to women, viewing them as replaceable
and he constantly seeks to add more and more to his ‘harem’ as it were. As
Kanye West boasts in his song, ‘So Appalled’:
“I keep them bitches by the twos, nigga”
and
“Thirty White Bitches”
(West, 2010)
The
Oscar-award winning group, Three Six Mafia, who won the award for Best Original
Song in A Feature Film with their song ‘It’s Hard Out There For A Pimp’ express
the expectations of black men in the industry and in the greater society :
That’s the way the game goes, gotta keep it strictly
pimpin’/
Gotta have my hustle tight, makin’ change off these women/
You know it’s hard out here for a pimp,/
When he tryin’ to get this money for the rent/ (Three 6 Mafia, 2004)
There
are some similarities between the racism experienced by black people and the
sexist sentiments that male rappers direct towards women. Women are
essentialised in various ways (Kubrin et.al , 2009: 9). Rappers call them
“chickenheads[3]”,
“triflin’ hos”, “bitches”, “golddiggers[4]”. They are reduced to
objects recited in hip-hop mantras like “Guns, bitches and bling” and “Cash,
Money, Hoes” alongside other inanimate things. Their bodies are linguistically
chopped up and divided into parts to be sexually devoured - “the booty”, “big
titties” and “pussy”. They are othered and either presented as the sum of their
overt sexuality or portrayed as scheming she-devils out to ruin a pimp.
So in
hip-hop, black women are depicted as being sexual beings but their sexuality is
policed by black men. They must toe a line, that is difficult to pin down
exactly and is drawn by others. If they are too free with their sexuality and
have many partners they are mocked, at the same time if they refuse to
acquiesce to a pimp’s demands of them they are subject to threats and violence.
So black women are trapped by their sexuality, the same way they are trapped by
images of white female beauty that surround them. They are manipulated into
chasing an ideal that they will never be able to attain. Wolf (1991: 11) calls
this “beauty pornography” where sexuality and beauty are linked as commodities
and while they can be sources of power for women, more often they are used to
“undermine” and destroy “women’s vulnerable sense of self-worth” (Wolf, 1991:
11) by taunting them with their imagined inadequacy.
This
leads to a bizarre situation similar to the one described by Fanon in his
discussion of black people and the type of servitude society expects from them.
He writes that white people demand the black person to be obedient, serve with
a smile and make jokes even though both parties knows the black person lives
under the spectre of duress and oppression (Fanon, 1986: 35). Similarly it is
demanded that women accept their place and and do not complain when threatened
with sexual harrassment. Rape culture and inequitable gender relations make it
clear they are expected to acquiesce, smile and take it in their stride. As
Eminem in his song, ‘Kill You’, puts it:
“Just bend over and take it like a slut, okay?” (Eminem, 2000) (Kubrin,
2009: 15)
Black Imperialism: New Faces,
Same Problems
One can
argue that sexism and discrimination against women in black communities can be
read as a form of colonisation, of men colonising women in the same spirit as
black men and women were colonised by white foreign powers. So black-on-black
sexism is in some ways a legacy of colonialism.
In A Dying Colonialism, Fanon describes the
western male gaze directed at the veiled Algerian woman. He sees her in terms
of how she can be uncharted territory to be exploited - virgin land to be
conquered. He writes:
“Every rejected veil disclosed to the eyes of the
colonialist’s horizons until then forbidden, and revealed to them, piece by
piece, the flesh of Algeria laid bare.”
(Fanon, 1965: 42)
To
unveil and expose the woman is to weaken her and break her resistance. Wolf in The Beauty Myth argues the same point,
that society continually exposes women to use their bodies against them. She
says, “constant surveillance is used on political prisoners for similar
reasons: an enforced lack of privacy strips dignity and breaks resistance”
(Wolf, 1991: 99). If the coloniser, cannot see the woman to the extent that he
wishes he becomes frustrated and aggressive, threatening violence or actually
committing violence against her. Numerous sources[5] describe how rape was used
as a tool by the colonial masters to assert their dominance. The rapper follows
this lead. Rap songs are filled with entreaties to women to expose themselves
like the following:
“It’s Young Money baby, take your clothes off” (Lil’ Wayne, 2011 )
and
“She gettin crunk on my camera phone/
And her birthday suit is what she got on/
She bustin’ that thang...wide open/
Hold on baby let my camera focus” (Chamillionaire, 2008)
Or references to rape
and sexual abuse:
(Tyler, The Creator, 2011)
Women to some extent
encourage this exhibitionism.
“You like it when I shake it?/
Shawty on a mission, what yo name is?/
What, you want me naked?/
If you likin' this position you can tape it
on your video phone” (Beyonce,
2008)
Since
society teaches black men that they are inadequate, they make themselves
visible by their braggadocio and “unacceptable criminal behaviour, by doing
violent deeds” (hooks, 2004: 54). Similarly, women fight feelings of inadequacy
by using their sexuality to make themselves visible. Patriarchy, the gendered
division of labour, glass ceilings and discrimination mean their other assets
are undervalued and their work goes unrecognised. In the search for recognition
from others they demean themselves.
Black Women and Bad Faith
In every country of the world there are climbers, “the ones
who forget who they are,” and, in contrast to them, “the ones who remember
where they came from.”
(Fanon,1986: 24)
This is
Fanon’s objection to Mayotte Capécia in his analysis of her memoir Je suis Martiniquaise published in 1948.
Fanon takes issue with the way she demeans herself. In Chapter 2, “The Woman of
Colour and The White Man”, Fanon analyses Capécia’s novel as well as how black
women can fuel racism with their sexuality and their choices of partner.
Sharpley-Whiting
finds a lot of criticism in feminist discourse over Fanon’s discussion of
Capécia. Feminists like Gwen Berger and Susan Andrade write him off as
misogynistic (Sharpley-Whiting, 2007: 38) and discount his work because of his
treatment of Capécia and how he views as her ‘blackphobia’ and her book as “a
sermon in praise of corruption” (Fanon, 1986: 29). He sees the authoress as a
social-climber who uses her relationship with a white man to ‘lactify’ herself.
These
writers assume Fanon is ‘slut-shaming’, policing Capecia’s sexuality and is
unjustly critical of a “black woman working in the service of whites, using the
only commodities of exchange she has to eke out her existence in the colonies:
her body” (Sharpley-Whiting, 1998: 38). Feminists’ reading of Capécia’s
character is underpinned by a racist assumption. The book clearly shows that
she has no need to trade sexual favours for money as she rejects gifts from
André the French officer (Sharpley-Whiting, 1998: 39) and she is a successful
laundress but these facts are ignored. Instead, the feminists have taken away
Capécia’s agency and portrayed her as a victim instead of a rational actor with
racist prejudices.
It is
clear that Fanon’s criticism of Capécia is not levelled at her because of her
gender but rather because of her support of the racist ideology of the French
colonisers and inauthentic love. Fanon’s conception of love is diametrically
opposed to Capecia’s. His idea of authentic love is that it is an honest and
true expression of deep emotion for another where one wishes for another what one
“postulates for oneself, when that postulation unites the permanent values of
human reality” (Fanon, 1986: 28). Furthermore Fanon’s authentic love is “the
mobilisation of psychic drives basically freed of unconscious conflicts”
(Fanon, 1986: 28). Capécia’s memoir shows her engaging in inauthentic love
because she heralds the white lover as a “form of salvation” (Fanon, 1986: 30)
and she would feel shame at taking a black lover. Her love is tied to her
knowledge of the social status courting a white man will bring her and is thus
conflicted. She does not love André intrinsically, she loves the evidence that
he is white - his blue eyes, blonde hair and the mansions in the rich suburb of
Didier he visits (Fanon, 1986: 29). She is guilty of what Sartre calls, la mauvaise foi. By this Sartre would
argue Capécia is not acting as an authentic being and making her romantic
choices freely. She engages in self-deception because she does not truly love
Andre and on some level recognises that. She is loving for others, to wit, she
uses false values and discriminatory societal norms to shape the dimensions of
her love.
It can
be argued that in a sense Fanon treats Capécia more fairly than the feminists
who critique her do, measuring her with the same yardstick as her male
counterparts. Perhaps one should extend the same logic to the women who operate
in the hip-hop sphere and play by the male rappers rules, upholding patriarchy
and sexism. In order to be successful in the industry these women feel they
have to fall in line with the codes and status quo set up by the male rappers
before them. In this situation, they become a slave not to white created
archetypes (Fanon, 1986: 22) but archetypes set up by other black people,
particularly black men, which are just as exploitative.
They
other themselves by distinguishing themselves from men physically by putting on
display “indicators of womanhood” (Collins, 2005: 194), like breasts and hips.
Yet they futilely try to ingratiate themselves with male rappers by using the
same language as them and trying to reclaim words with negative connotations
like ‘bitch’. It is debatable as to whether they are entirely successful but
what is clear is that more and more women are entering the rap industry and the
industry is mutating.
Hip-Hop: A Mutating Movement
In A Dying Colonialism, Fanon discusses
mutation, the changing in meaning and value of things like the radio, or the
veil over the course of the Algerian Revolution. For Fanon, nothing is static,
everything is in flux and the values of each culture mutate through
experience. Language expresses a
culture’s world view and is the legacy of a specific history. Mastery of a
language allows one access and status in a culture. As Fanon says, “to speak a
language is to take on a world, a culture” (Fanon, 1963: 25). Interrogation of
this history, and the birth of these words can reveal underlying assumptions,
morals and beliefs. The word “booty” is used often in rap music like in Bubba
Sparxx’s 2006 hit, “Miss New Booty”, whose refrain is “Booty, booty booty
booty, rocking everywhere”. ‘Booty’ is slang which refers to a woman’s buttocks
but also sex, in the sense of “I got some booty last night”. Although this is
the more modern use it can be argued the word ideologically still retains links
to its etymology. The word comes from Middle Low German words būte or buite, meaning ‘exchange or distribution’. Booty is used to refer
to treasure stolen from an enemy from a raid or during war time. Collins (2005)
emphasises that it cannot be given away but must be taken by force and the use
of this word to refer to a part of the female body is heavy with violent
meaning. The word “booty” sets the man up as the brutal seizer of the woman’s
sexuality. This ties into the pimp-ho nexus and generally unequal relations
upheld by hip-hop culture.
Fanon
discusses mutation of gender roles during the Algerian War. Some patriotic
women who wanted to contribute to the war joined the FLN and smuggled fake
identity cards medicine, money, bombs and guns for the Algerian side (Fanon,
1986:53, 58). The very fact that the men of the FLN allowed women to be active
participants was revolutionary. The organisation made the decision to treat
them as equal to men. They faced the same threat as men, if captured, of
torture or even death (Fanon, 1986:49). The role of women mutates, they are no
longer only operate in the private sphere, raising children and keeping house
(Fanon, 1986: 106). Through activism and war, they can enter the public realm
and are afforded access to new opportunities. The woman is no longer,
inadequate, and regarded, “always as a minor” (Fanon, 1986: 106) destined to
pass from under the stewardship of her father to her husband. “The
woman-for-marriage” transforms into “the woman-for-action” (Fanon, 1986: 108).
Her sexuality is no longer viewed only in terms of her child-bearing capacity
and nubility. Her sexual relations with men change because she speaks out and
expresses her desires. For example, she vows not to marry a man who is not part
of the FLN or not actively involved in the war (Fanon, 1986: 112). The Algerian
man and woman are on equal footing in their relationship. They are the “united
militant couple” (Fanon, 1986: 114) who are integral to the creation of a new
Algeria.
Fanon
warns that the revolution is not just a singular event. He says that the people
must maintain the rupture with an exploitative past. The gains made are
threatened on an daily basis even after it seems the battle is won. Everyday
actions contribute to keeping society from reverting back to the injustices
that characterised colonialism. After the colonisers leave, the public becomes
lax, society is not radical enough so it falls back on old inherited
ideologies. This is what hip-hop has done. It reproduces the sexism and female
subjugation that was inherent in the colonial era and does not contest it the
way it has done racism. It is still mutating but it unclear if it will mutate
enough as a genre to create an anti-patriarchal sphere.
Rape Culture in South Africa and The Other Jay-Z
“The goal of the sexual conquests is to make a fool of the
young woman. . . .” (Kubrin et.al, 2009: 9)
The
same questions surround South African society with its violent history and
quite violent present. As a patriarchal society, South Africa is rife with
“serious manifestations of women abuse” (ANC, 2007: 6). Some men seek to assert
their masculinity and place at the top of the gender hegemony through the
subjugation and abuse of women. 70 000 women reported rape to the police in
2009 (Marais, 2011: 228) but this is only a fraction of the real picture, due
to the stigma surrounding rape, indifference of the police and dismay with the
justice system which lead to rape victims keeping silent. Even the current
president Jacob Zuma, was involved in a rape trial in 2006. Though he was
acquitted, the discourse surrounding the trial, his supporters and his
testimony all point to a codified rape culture.
Zuma’s
supporters were fiercely loyal to him at the expense of the complainant.
‘Khwezi’ was threatened with death threats and protestors outside the court
toted signs with sexist slogans like “Burn the Bitch” and “How much did they
pay you, nondindwa [bitch]?”
(M&G, 2006). Female Zuma supporters were seen burning A4 size photos of the
‘Khwezi’ as well. Julius Malema, then ANC Youth League member, infamously
rubbished ‘Khwezi’s’ claim of rape commenting:
“when a woman didn't enjoy it (sexual intercourse), she
leaves early in the morning. Those who had a nice time will wait until the sun
comes out, request breakfast and taxi money. In the morning that lady requested
breakfast and taxi money. You don't ask for taxi money from somebody who raped
you,” (IOL, 2010)
Throughout
the trial, Malema as well as Zuma himself claimed he was not a rapist but
rather the victim of a witchhunt by white-led media and the machinations of
Khwezi and her father, a member of a rival ANC faction. As was his
constitutional right, Zuma gave testimony in Zulu, which had the effect of
bolstering his image as a traditional black South African man. He presented himself as not in control of his
actions because they were dictated by Zulu culure, a culture which a Western
system of justice could not understand (Maré et. al, 2010: 52) and which was
unfairly punishing him for.
Zuma said,
“In the Zulu culture you don’t leave a woman in that
situation[6] because if you do then
she will even have you arrested and say that you are a rapist.” (M&G, 2006; Maré,
2010: 57)
So he
used, as has been done before, a black woman’s sexuality against her.
He also
fed on the stereotype of the duplicitous woman often referred to in rap songs
who seeks to ruin the reputation of a pimp by running to the courts. Zuma’s
defence led by Kemp J Kemp, presented the court with the ‘Khwezi’s’ unpublished
memoirs which showed she had been raped at ages “five, 13 and 14” (M&G,
2006). This made it seem like she was promiscuous, commonly had sex with older
men and cried wolf, or rather rape, habitually.
In this way rape claims, like those of the defendent ‘Khwezi’ are
systematically delegitimised. Nas in Dr. Knockboot raps,
Don’t take the pussy, if she fightin’/
‘Cause you saw what happened to Tupac and Mike Tyson/
‘Specially if you large [famous], some hoes is trife [petty]
/
Get you on a rape charge, have you servin’ your life.
(Nas, 1999) (Kubrin
et.al, 2009: 16)
This
stereotyping of women and deligitimisation of their claims encourages rape
because men can commit crimes against them with impunity. Zuma also had his own
song, “awuleth’ mashini wami” or ‘Bring Me My Machine Gun’, which he sung
during public appearances often outside the courthouse. This traditional
struggle song, due to the context in which it was sung acquired became loaded
with sexual innuendo and conflated sex and violence in a disturbing fashion.
This fusing especially by a revered public figure, serves only to perpetuate
the patriarchy in South African society and contribute to violence against
women.
In
conclusion, Fanon’s works are concerned with struggle, mobilisation of people
and revolution but are also pertinent to societies that believe they are
post-apartheid, post-colonial, post-slavery or even post-domination. It is
clear looking at the cultural capital these communities create that those
assertions must be interrogated. Fanon reminds us to be ever-vigilant and track
the changing face of oppression which mutates but uses similar means of
retaining control including colonising victims and encouraging them to abuse
themselves.
Reference List
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Accessed On: 24th November 2012
Collins, P. H., 2005, Black Sexual Politics, African Americans,
Gender and The New Racism, Routledge : New York and London
Daily Mail, 2012, “How
defiant Iman built a $25m beauty empire - after retailers told her 'black women
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South End Press: Boston
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November 2012
James, C. L.R., 1963, The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L’Ouverture
and The San Domingo Revolution, Vintage Books: New York
Kubrin, C. E., and
Weitzer, R., 2009, Misogyny in Rap Music: A Content Analysis of Prevalence and
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T., 2010, “Tradition’s desire: The politics of culture in the rape trial of
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Sarkeesian, A., 2011,
Kanye West’s Monster Misogyny - Feminist Frequency, Available From: http://www.feministfrequency.com/2011/01/kanye-wests-monster-misogyny/
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November 2012
Sharpley-Whiting, T.
Denean, 2007, Pimps Up, Ho’s Down: Hip
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Songs Referenced
Beyoncé Knowles,
Anthony Dent, Matthew Knowles,
2001, “Survivor”, Survivor, Columbia
Records
Beyonce Knowles, 2009,
“Video Phone”, I Am... Sasha Fierce, Columbia
Records
Cannibal Corpse, 1994,
“She Was Asking For It”, The Bleeding,
Metal Blade
Dwayne Carter, Sean Garrett, 2004,
“Soldier”, Destiny Fulfilled,
Columbia Records
Dwayne Carter, 2011,
“Two Shots”, Tha Carter III, Cash
Money Records
dead prez, 2000, “Mind
Sex”, Let’s Get Free, Columbia
Records,
H. Seriki, 2010, “Camera
Phone”, Universal Records
Jay-Z, 2004, 99
“Problems”, The Black Album,
Roc-A-Fella Records
Leo Robin and Jule
Styne, 1949, “Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend”
Queen Latifah, 1993,
“U.N.I.T.Y.”, Black Reign, Motown
Records
T. Okonma, 2011, “Bitch Suck Dick”, Goblin, XL Recordings
W.
Mathis,
M. Crooms, E. Jackson, T. Abbey, 2005, “Miss New Booty”, The Charm, Virgin Records
West, Kanye, 2010,
“Monster”, My Beautiful Dark Twisted
Fantasy, Roc-A-Fella Records
West, Kanye, 2010, “So
Appalled”, My Beautiful Dark Twisted
Fantasy, Roc-A-Fella Records
[2]
Parks and Recreation (NBC) - Season 3, Episode 7: Harvest Festival
[3]
“All the chickenheads, keep quiet!” - Fatman Scoop, “Be Faithful” (2003)
[4]
Oh she’s a gold-digger, way over time, that digs on me - Kanye West,
“Golddigger” (2005)
[5]Fanon,
1986: 104; Hooks, 2004: 64; James, 1963 :88
[6]
i.e. a state of arousal
