Laughing Racism: Beyond the #browntwitterbird

Last week, an article in Slate entitled ”How Black People Use Twitter: The latest research on race and microblogging”   caused a  bit of a stir and some moments of sheer hilarity on Twitter and in the Black blogosphere.  The piece’s incomplete research and (unintentionally) racist and insulting tone  was noted and brought to the attention of the author himself both on Twitter and on personal blogs.  Author Farhad Manjoo’s 6-month surveillance of the Twitter habits of young Black people smacked of virtual cultural tourism.   (By the way, Manjoo defended his article, stood by his theory and flawed research, and as of this write-up, hasn’t changed his tune one whit. )

Adding insult to injury, Manjoo’s piece featured a brown redux of the classic blue (but possibly racially White, apparently) Twitter bird as a brown, oversized-cap wearing bird holding a mobile device.  (Wanna read more? Of course you do!  Click away!)

DAMN, that’s racist!

 

Be brave.

That is all.

I know, I know.

I’m the ooooooooonly Black woman in the Afro-sphere who hasn’t done a post about hair.  SIGH.

The revolution will not be permed.

I have tons of good reasons for not doing so. Just for starters, I feel passionately that the simultaneous denigration, politicization, and “othering” of Black people’s hair has done more harm to the self-esteems of Black girls and woman than any other single tool of the Kyriarchy’s oppression.  I’m also hesitant to have this discussion with anyone BUT other Black women and girls, because sexism and racism coalesce in a very specific way with regard to notions of beauty and the compulsory chemical processing of our hair.  In other words, unless you’ve felt the pressure, you wouldn’t understand what I’m talking about. And I’m not sure I feel like giving clueless people a 101 here. Buuuuuuut there’s been some offline arm-twisting nudging in this direction, so I’ve got something in the queue. I guess it was time.