power and control

On the continuation of expressing my frustration with street harassment, I would like to further point out that street harassment has patriarchal roots and is essentially about maintaining power and control over other human being’s actions and that for people of color street harassment has racial implications. Take these two stories for example:

“On May 19th, 2008 Orlando police say three to four men drove up beside Beaubrun and two of her friends at a red light near the intersection of John Young Parkway and Princeton. The men were asking for their telephone numbers, but the women refused. After being rejected, one of the men fired a shot into the car.

Her friends were uninjured, but Beaubrun was shot in the back and rushed to the Orlando Regional Medical Center in critical condition, where she remained until she died Tuesday.” More information here

or worse:

“Five years ago, Sakia, an African-American 15-year old girl who “dressed like a boy,” was attacked while waiting for a Newark, New Jersey bus after a night out with friends. The girls were approached by two African-American men in a car who made uninvited sexual advances. When the girls declined, stating that they were lesbians, 30-year old Richard McCullough fatally stabbed Sakia while shouting homophobic slurs. She bled out at the intersection of Broad and Market during the wee hours of Mother’s Day morning.” Article is here.

What, besides the urge to physically dominate and control another human being, would prompt another being to take another’s life over rejection? In a world where men are told to day in and day out that they are the bread winners and the head of the household, men who do not fit into the powerful white, hetero, capitalist paradigm may feel powerless and may try to find other means to lay claim to power, ie subjecting another to one’s will. This is where I would like to point out that black women not only have to deal with inter-racial harassment, they have to deal with intra-racial harassment as well. Historically, women of color have always been viewed as sexually approachable beings. White slave masters would sexually terrorize their black female slaves in order to control and induce fear into the slave mentality, white ’scientists’ othered and hyper-sexualized the black female and objectified her body as one of many means to justify the inhumane treatment of black people, and as result, nowadays white men, with out conscience, can approach black women as prostitutes on the street and get away with it in the courts. This idea of racialized sexist thinking has transcended race and now many black men, instead of questioning the racist implications behind the sexualization of black women, now harass black women as well. Addressing the reason as to why black men can harass black women with ease, bell hooks reasons, ” that when black men harass black women they seek to occupy ‘the position of whiteness’ occupied by white men because men of color are not able to reap the material and social rewards for their participation in patriarchy.” Street harassment ultimately stems from the deeply rooted notion of patriarchy and it allows men of color to ‘rightfully’ exert power and control and falsely boost their sense of self-esteem, while women of color suffer as their scapegoats. Sadly, these men are dealing with psychological issues as a result of low self-esteem. See my self-esteem post.

Also, had you ever heard about these incidents? I am guessing more than likely not. Note that the two above victims and perpetrators were black. Unfortunately, news coverage on black on black violence against women of color is hardly ever as widespread as the coverage is on violence against black women by white men or violence of white women by black/white men. And the same standards apply to Latina women as well. Take for example, the Dunbar Village case where Gem from what about our daughters writes about the gang rape in Dunbar Village of a woman by 10 African American teens who in addition to repeatedly raping the woman ( FOR OVER THREE HOURS) while beating her 12 year old son made them lie naked in the bath tub together and forced the woman to perform oral sex on her own child before burning her skin and blinding her son by pouring cleaning solution on their skin and eyes. They also took cell phone pictures of their deeds and were so brazen that one of these monsters left his condom behind. Surely indicating that they thought they would get away with it. Oh yeah, and the neighbors that didn’t see or hear anything and are currently not talking to police…. Well not a single living thing in this “community ” of folks even bothered to offer a glass of water when this was over. This woman and her blinded son had to trudge to the hospital in the dark on their own.

This behavior abhors me, but I needed to post that in order to give a voice to their story and the countless other horrific stories that go undocumented. My heart goes out to that poor mother and child.

Apologetically, I forgot to offer solutions or alternatives to street harassment in my last post. Here I have included advice taken from the website, stop street harassment, on how to approach a person in public that they find attractive.

How to Talk to Women in Public:
How should a man interact with a woman in public? Politely and repectfully.

Instead of whistling, honking or yelling something about the way she looks as a way of saying hi, treat her like a normal human being and actually say hello and smile or nod. If you want to meet or talk to a woman, follow a similar pattern. Say hello and if she says hello back and doesn’t hurry away, try to politely start a conversation. Don’t touch her or call her names. If she looks busy, distracted, or nervous, leave her alone! She may not have the time or inclination to talk right then. Don’t be rude if she doesn’t talk to you. You don’t know her personal history or what’s on her mind or her schedule. Be respectful of her as a human being.

stay positive and keep talking.