Slog
News & ArtsWednesday, January 4, 2012
Etiquette / Comedy / The Ladies / Teh Internets "Not to Sound Racist, but..."
Posted by Anna Minard on Wed, Jan 4, 2012 at 2:45 PM
I just finally found out about this meme that's been running around for the last month or so: "Shit Girls Say," which started as a surprisingly spot-on Twitter feed. It's really just a list of sentences that are often spoken by women. (Samples: "I hate the word 'moist'" and "Are we in a fight?" and "Lindsay, Matt's girlfriend, or Lindsay from yoga?") Simple, and somehow effective as shit at making me laugh. Then they made a series of YouTube videos, and then so did everyone and their sister/brother/grandma/dental hygienist. There was "Shit Black Girls Say," and a million dumb ones, and now—currently blowing up on the Facebook—the truly excellent "Shit White Girls Say... to Black Girls." For your viewing pleasure:
A lot of people find the original and/or its various incarnations not funny and/or offensive (the original was done by dudes, it uses the word "girls" instead of "women," etc.). But this one is pretty unimpeachably awesome.
1
This is NOT racism, this is the "discussion" about Race in America that some have been screaming for. It's between empty headed White and Black girls, but hey it's a start.
2
I just saw this and yes, I did get some chuckles for sure. The original videos pale in comparison. This gal is a stitch!
4
this is great. yes yes we should be able to talk about race openly and honestly without getting our panties bunched
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbdxeFcQt…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbdxeFcQt…
5
American race relations are in a weird place right now. To put it in terms of a heterosexual child's interpersonal maturity, we've passed the "ew girls are gross" phase and moved into the "roughhousing to show we like them / see if they're cool" phase. While isolated attempts may not end well, the whole endeavor ends up being kind of cute when you think about it.
7
On an intellectual level, I understand the importance of people of color speaking out about their very real experiences with racism, and I also understand that the point of these discussions isn't to make white people feel good about themselves. I understand that, as a white person in America, I don't have the first clue about the pervasive institutional prejudice that people of color experience.
But on another, more visceral level, there's a part of me that's kicking and pouting and whining "not fair!" If I created a video in the same spirit as this one, only with the races reversed - "Shit Black Girls Say to White Girls" - I would be flamed off the face of the internet (and I would abso-fucking-lutely deserve it). To be clear, my complaint is not that I want to caricature people of other races but feel that I'm being unfairly silenced by some oppressive PC regime; I just don't want to be caricatured as a vapid bigot myself.
For a more obvious, and unsettling, example of a similar phenomenon: researcher Melissa Harris-Lacewell surveyed attendees of the Black Women’s Expo in Chicago, asking them to list three adjectives describing black women and white women. The most common adjectives for black women? "Strong, beautiful, smart and kind." I have no objection to that, but I was a little taken aback by the most common adjectives given for white women: "passive, stupid, dishonest, arrogant, and privileged." (Incidentally, this information is taken from Harris-Lacewell's book _Sister Citizen_.)
I'm not trying to say "waaaaaah, white people are the ones who are really being discriminated against"; even at my most immature, hyperemotional, and egotistical, I'm not stupid enough to buy that line of bullshit. But I don't like the thought that there may be people out there who see my skin color and, without knowing anything else about me, think "yup, she's probably a dumb, selfish asshole." (Yes, in the grand scheme of things, I have nothing to complain about; people of color have to face far worse assumptions, to a far greater extent. But, special snowflake that I am, I'm still not thrilled by blanket complaints about white people.)
More...
But on another, more visceral level, there's a part of me that's kicking and pouting and whining "not fair!" If I created a video in the same spirit as this one, only with the races reversed - "Shit Black Girls Say to White Girls" - I would be flamed off the face of the internet (and I would abso-fucking-lutely deserve it). To be clear, my complaint is not that I want to caricature people of other races but feel that I'm being unfairly silenced by some oppressive PC regime; I just don't want to be caricatured as a vapid bigot myself.
For a more obvious, and unsettling, example of a similar phenomenon: researcher Melissa Harris-Lacewell surveyed attendees of the Black Women’s Expo in Chicago, asking them to list three adjectives describing black women and white women. The most common adjectives for black women? "Strong, beautiful, smart and kind." I have no objection to that, but I was a little taken aback by the most common adjectives given for white women: "passive, stupid, dishonest, arrogant, and privileged." (Incidentally, this information is taken from Harris-Lacewell's book _Sister Citizen_.)
I'm not trying to say "waaaaaah, white people are the ones who are really being discriminated against"; even at my most immature, hyperemotional, and egotistical, I'm not stupid enough to buy that line of bullshit. But I don't like the thought that there may be people out there who see my skin color and, without knowing anything else about me, think "yup, she's probably a dumb, selfish asshole." (Yes, in the grand scheme of things, I have nothing to complain about; people of color have to face far worse assumptions, to a far greater extent. But, special snowflake that I am, I'm still not thrilled by blanket complaints about white people.)
8
@echizen_kurage
While you have the privilege to not, "have the first clue about the pervasive institutional prejudice that people of color experience", you also have the power to choose to NOT learn about our experience and to NOT learn how to be an agent on our behalf. You intentionally continue to be "passive" and "stupid" because you are "arrogant and privileged". So stop whining when you're made into a caricature as a coping mechanism to offset your power and privilege. Get over it and quit your complaining. Sheesh! The shit white people say . . .
While you have the privilege to not, "have the first clue about the pervasive institutional prejudice that people of color experience", you also have the power to choose to NOT learn about our experience and to NOT learn how to be an agent on our behalf. You intentionally continue to be "passive" and "stupid" because you are "arrogant and privileged". So stop whining when you're made into a caricature as a coping mechanism to offset your power and privilege. Get over it and quit your complaining. Sheesh! The shit white people say . . .
10
@seattlesnob:
Okay, fair enough. For the record, I say that I don't have the first clue about the pervasive institutional prejudice that people of color face because I am not a person of color, not because I've made no attempt to educate myself on the issue. I thought it would be, well, arrogant and privileged to say "I've read about/listened to the experiences of people of color, therefore I totally get what it's like to face the pervasive institutional prejudice directed against ethnic minorities in the US."
Also for the record, I'm not claiming that I'm completely educated or enlightened or what have you; it's very much an ongoing process. But I do think I've reached a sort of plateau, in the sense that I'm just not sure what else I can do to be an agent of change, short of radically restructuring my life and dedicating myself to social activism. (This is not a demand for you to educate me, and I'm not going to risk coming across as even more of an asshole by trotting out a list of my "white ally" credentials.) I don't see what constructive purpose it would serve to self-flagellate myself into a frenzy of white guilt to the point that my reaction to something like SWGSTBG would be unqualified amusement/agreement/appreciation, instead of "I get that what's being said here is important and valid, and I understand it's not supposed to be about me or my feelings, but for what little it's worth, it still kind of hurts my feelings anyway."
So, yeah, those are my delicate snowflake feelings. I know perfectly well that they don't matter more than anybody else's feelings, but I do have a certain investment in them, given that I'm the one who's feeling them. And I'll shut up about them now, I promise.
Okay, fair enough. For the record, I say that I don't have the first clue about the pervasive institutional prejudice that people of color face because I am not a person of color, not because I've made no attempt to educate myself on the issue. I thought it would be, well, arrogant and privileged to say "I've read about/listened to the experiences of people of color, therefore I totally get what it's like to face the pervasive institutional prejudice directed against ethnic minorities in the US."
Also for the record, I'm not claiming that I'm completely educated or enlightened or what have you; it's very much an ongoing process. But I do think I've reached a sort of plateau, in the sense that I'm just not sure what else I can do to be an agent of change, short of radically restructuring my life and dedicating myself to social activism. (This is not a demand for you to educate me, and I'm not going to risk coming across as even more of an asshole by trotting out a list of my "white ally" credentials.) I don't see what constructive purpose it would serve to self-flagellate myself into a frenzy of white guilt to the point that my reaction to something like SWGSTBG would be unqualified amusement/agreement/appreciation, instead of "I get that what's being said here is important and valid, and I understand it's not supposed to be about me or my feelings, but for what little it's worth, it still kind of hurts my feelings anyway."
So, yeah, those are my delicate snowflake feelings. I know perfectly well that they don't matter more than anybody else's feelings, but I do have a certain investment in them, given that I'm the one who's feeling them. And I'll shut up about them now, I promise.
Advertisement
Most Commented on Slog
-
It's Spring! Who's Ready for Street Harassment? by Cienna Madrid
-
SL Letter of the Day: Insane Demands by Dan Savage
-
New Gun Enthusiast... by Dan Savage
-
SL Letters of the Day: Just Say No to DSGs by Dan Savage
-
SL Letter of the Day: Gonna Boil My Laptop After Answering This One by Dan Savage
-
Bigot Florist Files Countersuit by Dominic Holden
-
America Doesn't Care About Black People by Charles Mudede
-
"Bus service shouldn't be optional—it should be a right." by Cienna Madrid
-
US Military Grants Itself the Power to Police American Streets and "Quell" "Civil Disturbances" by Brendan Kiley
-
Fucking NBA Rejects Kings Move to Seattle by Goldy
Stranger Personals
The Stranger
RSSSeattle Art & Performance Quarterly
A complete guide to Seattle's current art, film, dance, and theater season.
Facebook
Twitter
Comments (10) RSS