A Personal Examination of Race in Print (Novels)
(8:58 P.M. – 10:03 P.M. US Central Time/Thursday/Home)
Note: Linking/Reccing/Etc. is encouraged. If you leave a comment in reply, please be sure to read the entry/think your comment(s) through.
Crossposted: My LJ
[imood moos at time of entry: pissed]
Personal Mood: Pensive
I do suppose that it is entirely too much to expect to be able to simply enjoy a book, and not be reminded that a character/real person has a better chance of getting a job, having a more meaningful relationship, and living in general due to their lack of skin coloring. I cannot even pick up one of my favorite series without being reminded that black people were of such non-importantance, that they were not even considered worthy of inclusion. But a certain group is gushed over to such an extent that it makes me sick. It truly does.
And then, in the first couple of pages of this nanny book that I decided to purchase and read tonight because absolutely everyone gave it shining reviews, there it is again. Lily white. Perfection. The main character’s just that much better because she looks “the part” of a nanny, and could not possibly be a danger to anyone, or their child.
I have another book, that I purchased during the library book sale, and I would love to recommend it to everyone. But why should I? It’s an in-depth novel that captures an inside view of what it is to be an actual tennager. The book is not even written by a teenager, and the author gets it! Amazing. Simply freaking amazing. But then there are the “negro” comments to consider. Why would I recommend a novel that so eagerly writes black people off with something I personally consider a slurish label for people considered low and filthy, all of whom should retain only the positions of washwomen, cottonpickers, housekeepers, and nannies for little perfect, clean children? I should not bother wasting the effort to type up a review.
What is more is the flagrant use of ‘old time’ “slave language” on top of the celebration of her (the nanny character) whiteness. I do wish to finish the book, because it could potentially be a good read, but why do so when the twin-looking authors have already shown their colors? Whiteness is beauty and professionalism. They possessed the creativity to say so in more than a few unsubtle instances. Including remarks about references not even needing to be ckecked, the character being better because she speaks French, and the remarkable quality of her parents’ professions.
If I am Black, and my mother is not some college professor, and I do not speak French fluently, and I am not the “American Dream” in appearance, what exactly does that make me?
I do not feel that I should have to read “black” novels in order to read about Black people enjoying a relationship, having a life-changing experience, or sharing their lives with me from an intimate perspective. I should have not have to seek a certain “genre” that is “better suited” for “my people,” just to enjoy a well-written story. I truly should not have to read through a ton of smut in order to enjoy the work of a lot of the current, best-selling Black authors. If I can find a Black author in the newest crop who does not feel the need to force in the obligatory sex in hopes of selling a few more copies of their book, I would gladly buy a copy. Two or three even to share. I do not need a sex scene to appreciate the talent of an author. In all honestly, I am more likely to skip the smutty stuff all together in most stories that I read now. I do not write it, so why should I need to read it all of the time?
Frankly, what does that say about Black people and our culture? That we need endless pages of smut to mirror our lives and keep us interested in a book? Are we so illiterate/simple-minded that the only thing that is able to (1) keep our attention, (2) inspire us to pick up a book, and (3) HIGHLY recommend that same book to a friend, is sex? Are we so debauched that only a romping and grinding confess-all, sleaze-fest novel would interest the whole of the Black race? I would never agree with such generalized notions. I am Black, and I do not need any damned love scene to capture my attention.
So after all of this, where does this leave me? Should I read the book, hope that it is a good read, and say no more? Or should I write off the book as a racist manifesto, and send a flaming letter to the joint-authors? If I were to send them anything, it would probably be this entry, in its entirety or cut, a letter more directed at them, and only after I had finished the book. There’s no need to write to anyone if I cannot site sources.
*sighs*
The very last bit for now that I am upset about would have to be that I should not have to create a Black character for a fan fiction story soley because there are none in the entire book. That pisses me off more than anyone could ever know, (unless they were black, and even then maybe not because they are not me) yet presents the opportunity to ‘right’ what I saw was wrong. It’s not like the original author could see any creation I made though, he has not been with us for sometime now.
I think that I will look at my email, and then go watch the movie I rented (Van Helsing!). I must to have an early night tonight. I have to be at work for 9 A.M. at my first job, and then work at my second job at 6 P.M. At least I get paid tomorrow (Friday, April 8. 2005). *sighs* Wish me luck.
Danielle
EDIT (4:45 P.M. US Central Time): In response to a comment made by my friend Queen Chaos (*winks*), I am adding an EDIT to both postings of this entry.
No, the books in question are not period books, and they were not written before our current “pc-ness” gained popularity. If they were period books, I would have still been upset, but I would have mentioned that they were period.
Also, I am removing the note about my entry being a bit long. It really wasn’t. 🙂
I dont’ know why you thought the entry was long. It really wasn’t. Besides who really cares if it’s long. As long as you break it up into paragraphs it’s not bad. You’ve seen those diaries where it’s one solid paragraph forever.
When thinking about books you have to remember that period books use period language. And they also capture that period that they are describing. Or they try to incite some racial thinking. You know what I mean? They are there to elicit that emotion of it not being right. Also books written before the 1970’s are likely to have words deemed derogatory now. You have to remember that the politically correct terminology has changed. I mean I remember when black and white were proper, pc things to say. Now it’s African American and Caucasion. And I know both of those are on the verge of changing again.
I have read many books by black authors that have taken a portrait of the reality of various time periods. And it’s just as off color and non-pc as what white people write.
See literature for what it is. IT is a snap shot. It is there to elicit emotions. It is not there to be proper. That’s why books are banned and such. Because they are not always picture perfect super positive. If they were that’s not reality. The reality is that there is racism. And there is/was bigotry. If we ignore the reality it gets worse. The books aren’t justifying why these characters are they way the are. They are stating that they are that way.
I’m always somewhere. Just been busy the last few months with work and school. Both are kicking my ass at this point.
Sometimes I think current writing that is purposefully derogatory is because people are fighting back against pc. I mean there are so many words none of us can use and people use them just to piss people off. Remember the nineties were the height of being pc.
As for the other people who unintentionally do it, people write what they know. I live in podunk Minnesota. What I know is that white people are nannies because the handful of black people in town foudn better ways to make money or spend their time (like most of them go to our college here) than being a nanny. Nannying is a really shitty job.
I don’t know. Just remember change what you can in the world. If everyone did that we’d have a changed world. You can’t change what they wrote but you can bust through the stereotypes.
I know what you mean. I’m very conscious of racial sterotypes, and I usually notice when white people are over-represented in various depictions. I’ll watch a commercial and say, "Where are the Asians and blacks in this supposedly all-inclusive group of people?" "Why is it usually only white people shown driving expensive cars?"
But it doesn’t stop there for me. I ask, "Why is the woman in the commercial coming home from work and whipping up dinner for the nuclear family?" "What the fuck is up with these stupid-ass beer commercials? You buy a six-pack and now a sexy stranger wants to sleep with you?" "Why is the "cute" baby in this ad blonde with blue eyes?"
I thought we were WAY past thinking minstrel shows were amusing, and yet, here comes "White Chicks." Was that script written by black people? I doubt it. And, by the way, I get REALLY irritated by white boys who dress like rappers and talk "like dey frum da hood." Morons. Get your own cultural identity and stop trying to rip off someone else’s. Grr.
I probably don’t notice racial and feminist issues as much as you do; it’s different from the inside. I’m kind of finding that out since I’ve really comprehended and embraced Humanism: Christians often don’t realize how exclusive (and often hateful) they are to non-Christians.
Ron Sims, a King County (WA) executive who ran for governor last year, said this during a debate, regarding whether an atheist should ever be appointed to a judgeship: âI think itâs important for a person to feel they are not the only answer and that if they donât have to account for what they say and what they do, those people are very dangerous. People who think they are the beginning and end of every question and answer are very dangerous people. Anyone who does not hold a belief in a higher authority is a very dangerous person.â
Apparently, the godless have no ethics.
BTW, Mr. Sims is black. Prejudice exists everywhere!
–Solo