A THIN LINE
It is hard being a black female in America because it is hard to fit into either one of the aforementioned labels in America due to the cultural implications of being either black or a woman. Being black means that you are a commodity from the view of American history.Individuals lie about equality. They are wrong. The 13th amendment didn’t abolish slavery; it changed it. Niggas are still struggling in school due to de facto segregation, which is arguably worse than the law. White America attempts to say that since racism and discrimination are hidden that it isn't real. White America is wrong.
Note to my brothers and sisters: Racism still exists. No one will go to your face and call you a nigger, but they’ll think it. They won’t ask you to get back on the plantation, but they’ll expect you to want to work for them. They still want you to learn their language and code switch to them whilst abiding by the rules they’ve made to keep you under their control. You will try and break the chains, but they’ve concocted a monster to keep you it’s bitch. This monster is called capitalism. Capitalism will bend you over more times than a man ever will and you’ll tell yourself you like it.
There is a thin line between economic rape and the physical thing. Both will make you feel powerless and you will blame society for either action, but there is no solution for the phsycial rape. We only have a sactuary for its emotional responses. Studies show that “fear of rape is, in addition, partly shaped by women’s perceptions about their own self-efficacy…” (Pryor). I’m sorry I didn’t realize that my fear of rape, as in “penetration... of [my] vagina...without [my] consent” was a result of my inability to obtain my goals (Federal Bureau of Investigation). That’s it, my inability to raise my GPA is the reason why I am afraid of the fact that I could be penetrated by a man at any given moment. My self-efficacy is the reason why I am afraid of the looks I get from across the hall, why I question every smile I get, and why I never put my drink down at parties. I didn’t know that my “fear of rape is, in addition, partly shaped by women’s perceptions about their own...ability to defend themselves from sexual attack” (Pryor). So, taking a kickboxing class will reduce my fear of rape. No, “exposure therapy...helps reduce the power [that traumatic events] have” (Prolonged Exposure Therapy). That’s it, getting raped will reduce my fear of rape. If experience is the only thing that will cure my fear of rape then maybe I should relive that moment. The moment when I was vulnerable. The moment that I could not stop.
Note to my sisters: There is an extremely thick line between the the body of a woman and the body of a black woman. White women will continue to link themselves to your struggle in an effort to say that due to the common anatomy that you are one in the same. Please, remind them that the common anatomy didn't mean shit to them when you and your father were in chains. Explain to them that common anatomy didn't mean shit until it was in your pants. Remind them that your anatomy has kept you powerless and you will not allow them to use the same justificiation for unity that has been used for separation. Then, turn to her father and tell him that there is a thin line between economic and phsycial rape.
Perhaps the main similarity is that we blame men for both even though they are affected.