Comments on Womanist Musings: Eulogy For Jezebel

Have you read Emilie Townes' Womanist Ethics and t...

2008-10-03T14:21:40.440-04:00

Have you read Emilie Townes' Womanist Ethics and the Cultural Production of Evil? She addresses all the same institutionalized stereotypes you're focusing on, and I'd be interested to hear what you think about it.

Full disclosure: Townes is currently the Dean at my school and I've taken a course from her in which we read her book. Still, it's a good book.

I really like both of these posts. Deconstructing ...

2008-10-02T21:25:57.584-04:00

I really like both of these posts. Deconstructing an offensive stereotype's history and meaning and putting them to rest has some real power.

Great post, Renee.This reminds me of when I went a...

2008-10-01T21:44:08.799-04:00

Great post, Renee.

This reminds me of when I went away to college. Everywhere I went white men approached me as if I were a prostitute. This puzzled me because I was then and am now a frump. I've never dressed to attract attention. Imagine being 18 years old and having strangers approach you wanting you to participate in a threesome or spank them. I finally understood that what made me a potential whore was that I was a black woman. In the same way that white students assumed that I was from the ghetto, on welfare, etc., white men assumed that I was a whore.

My boyfriend the nerd had a completely different problem. Since he was a black male white people assumed that he was a drug dealer. It got to be really tiresome.

Barbara B.

Thank you, thank you, for mentioning Sally Hemming...

2008-10-01T18:46:26.803-04:00

Thank you, thank you, for mentioning Sally Hemmings! So, so, many history books (the first time I heard it being mentioned was sometime in the 70's, I think) call her his "mistress", or "lover". Cac asail(that's something very rude in Irish Gaelic)! Your man raped her! He bought her and he raped her! How difficult is that for anyone to understand? Sorry, just venting.

Renee, not to derail, but what was the resolution ...

2008-10-01T17:57:22.009-04:00

Renee, not to derail, but what was the resolution of the "Color an Indian" kerfuffle? Enquiring minds want to know! Apologies if you've posted it and I missed it somehow--

@LBP I predict that Sapphire will have a serious a...

2008-10-01T16:49:39.644-04:00

@LBP I predict that Sapphire will have a serious accident in the next few days forcing me to pen a eulogy on her demise.

@Renee...WoW! That sounds just like the "Homegirl"...

2008-10-01T16:38:09.231-04:00

@Renee...

WoW! That sounds just like the "Homegirl" desc. I gave you in the toolbar, she fits that desc to a tee. I always felt bad for her.

Ooops... I am dragging this off-topic, sorry

pretty gay right?

2008-10-01T14:44:56.069-04:00

pretty gay right?

@LBP you might recognize sapphire as the angry bla...

2008-10-01T14:44:06.386-04:00

@LBP you might recognize sapphire as the angry black woman. She is constantly ripping the men around her apart and is generally displeased by everything about her life.

@Renee...Ok. :-)Who is Sapphire? Sounds like a str...

2008-10-01T14:36:26.604-04:00

@Renee...

Ok. :-)

Who is Sapphire? Sounds like a stripper name...

As you can see, I am not an expert in Black Women. LOL

@LBP These are written as Eulogies because I am pe...

2008-10-01T13:55:30.975-04:00

@LBP These are written as Eulogies because I am personally rejecting these social constructions. I do not want them attached to my body. The Mammy, Jezebel and Sapphire constructions are harmful to black women. Just as a doctor would try to eradicate disease these my attempt to end something that is harmful to me as a WOC.

@Renee...Hmmm... These Eulogies are inspired by an...

2008-10-01T13:52:12.292-04:00

@Renee...

Hmmm... These Eulogies are inspired by and or for folks...

Not to be paranoid or anything, but...

Lets just leave it at "Hmmm..."

LOL

@Amelia as you know I spend a lot of time deconstr...

2008-10-01T13:31:32.563-04:00

@Amelia as you know I spend a lot of time deconstructing social constructions on this blog. I have simply gotten fed up with the ways in which black female bodies are understood and therefore I have decided to write a eulogy for each social stigmatization that would have me understood as less than. The first one I wrote was a eulogy for Mammy.
This net Eulogy in this series will be for Sapphire.

Hmmm... I am not sure how to digest this one?To me...

2008-10-01T13:31:28.701-04:00

Hmmm... I am not sure how to digest this one?

To me, "Jezebel" was always a "White Trash", "Trailer Park", "Homewrecking", "Whore" (From a Southern States POV of course.). Or the historical Jezebel of the Judeo-Christian Scriptures.

There has never been a WOC relation to it.

But my description of the White Woman with that name was never really cemented in my mind, because I myself, considered myself a "Homewrecking Slut", because of my promiscuity, and dehumanizing of women in my youth, due to an incident as a child. (Which I really need to tell Renee about for some compelling reason! Been wanting to get it off my chest, but not in public first! LOL)

So I might get more from this article if I watch the comments than trying to dissect it. :-)

Very eloquently put. I really hope not to sound ig...

2008-10-01T13:18:17.525-04:00

Very eloquently put. I really hope not to sound ignorant, but did a particular event inspire this post, or did you just decide not to put up with the idea anymore?

Either way, it's wonderful.