It's a short little trail of thoughts (someone called it an essay <3 thank you) about anger and gender.
I suggest you read the first part!
It's already complicated to be a woman (transgender and gender fluids inclusive, it goes without saying. I don't know enough about nonbinary to add them to the mix because I do not know if, like the previous ones, have integrated the social norms regarding anger and gender)
It's even harder to be a woman of color because that anger is denied even more, even from Non-POC women. Different dynamics are at play here. One could argue that sexism doesn't see color but it does. It does so extremely well. If it didn't, do you think we would have had the "Angry Black Woman" trope? Black and Brown bodies (read non-black POCS) suffer from an even harsher form of sexism. They do not even have the luxury to be listened to or have their arguments valid because as soon as they open their mouths, they fall into that trope. If you think it's hard enough when the male benefactors of the patriarchal system use this trope to dismiss and ignore POC women's plights and demands. It's even harder and viler when female benefactors of the patriarchal system (you'd have to lace that one with white supremacy which is predominant in western societies and the pursuit of whiteness in non-westernized countries such as India or China or even some African countries who practice colorism.) These women, when opposed to exasperated black and Brown females -curiously those who request intersectionality or basic respect you know?- always fall back to the pits and folds of the comfortable trope created by white supremacy: the Angry black female.
This is another topic (when tackling feminism and the lack of intersectionality in many major white feminists movements) for another trail of thoughts, but I was using it to illustrate my previous point. To keep going, however, I'd continue with the trope and some of the conséquences easily observable if you pay attention. Some I have witnessed or experienced myself. See, there is a term that was coined to talk about the sexism towards black women: Misogynoir, which clearly underlines the violence that black women do experience both because of their gender and because of the color of the skin. Many authors and more eloquent people have tackled the issue, I suggest you do your researches. However, it has been noted, observed and experienced that the anger of women have even less sympathy when it comes from a woman of color. If it's already overlooked on their Non-POCs counterparts or disqualified as non-heroic, hysterical, unhinged then with Black and Brown women it's even worse. It's either weaponized against them " Ah, if you were hit/beaten up/ killed for speaking up it's because you are an angry black woman." or the infamous stereotypes those Hotep love to use when describing us "I don't want a black girl because she's not submissive or is out of control" (read, she has an opinion and doesn't take my bullshit). When they are not weaponized, then they are dismissed, ridiculed and swept Under the rug. " there are far more important issues than your petty ghetto argument" or "well they fight for everything and Nothing so why should we listen to them?"
You have to put things into perspective here. The problem with racism, slavery, and colonization is that it left a very huge print into people DNA. their thoughts, their behavior are direct results of these centuries of oppression. I'm not even touching the disturbing fantasy some descendant of oppressors still entertain (they would do to us what we did to them aka, murder, slavery, genocide, rape and any type of violence without retribution like we see today). I'm talking about self-hate, colorism, coons as some would call it. I'm talking about the fight to approach whiteness and be protected Under the umbrella of white privileged or just be seen as a human being with the right to look, sound, live differently. I'm talking about the criminalization of Black and Brown bodies and the justification of their murder and any types of violence. I'm talking about the systemic attempt at condemning them and tarnish their memory/reputation vs the pristine, saint, innocent Non-POC perpetrator (alleged or not). I'm talking about victim-blaming them, sexualizing their bodies, ensuring their oppression with a judicial/police partnership designed to keep them in a negative loop, the spread of stereotypes and such. When it comes down to women being angry, there is this extra discrimination and straight up hate for women of color being angry.
The sickening impact of it is that not only does their anger justify the violence they experience "she was a black bitch and she riled me up. she deserved it." and "if only she had done this/said that instead of doing this/say that, she wouldn't have been in this situation". There is an indifference surrounding their expression. they are urged to act like Mammy in Gone with the Wind and demonstrate A LOT MORE PATIENCE than it's required for Non-POC women. And this is only to be heard. (to have their demands met and fulfilled is yet another story I won't cover here)
I am sick of it. I am running out of patience and to hell with sexism and racism. To hell with that trend. I would NEVER shut up, let alone comply and submit and if that makes me an Angry black woman, then I'll own that bitch and run in these shoes!
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