I’m tired of black women being objectified even in satirical videos. I’m just tired of seeing black women gyrate because “they’re so good at it,” or because it adds an element of (exoticized) sexiness to a video. I’m tired of people being seen as too uptight, or unable to have a sense of humor because there is this very real ideal they don’t find comical.

I get it. This video what’s her face did is suppose to be making fun of all of the crap women go through in life. It’s suppose to be this retrospective on women in pop culture, but it just seems like time and time again black women are on the outskirts. They’re being represented but not in the same way other women are being portrayed in these grand commentaries on feminism. I’m just kind of over it. I don’t need a pop star telling me about feminism.

I don’t need anyone to continuously defend (never apologize- that would be ludicrous!) their, though ~~stupidly~~ oblivious, sordid decisions. I just want more people to read. Read a book on why these videos satirical or otherwise are incredibly offensive. Read a book about why certain cultures have evolved into what they are and that culture (EVERYONE’S CULTURE) is so much more than what society insists on showing through tiny little filters in the media. Read a book about race. Read a book about race-relations or talk to someone who is black who is willing to explain, why, yes, anger is an appropriate emotion to project when black culture is constantly misconstrued and perpetuated absurdly in flagrantly unbelievable ways. Nobody likes to talk about racism which is why I guess I find myself writing about it on multiple occasions. There needs to be an open dialogue. People should get irritated, bewildered, flustered, startled, alarmed, amazed, confused about racism. It’s a confusing thing considering it’s all a global social construct, but whew. That’s for a different time. Let me reiterate here how perturbed I am by the lack of open discourse not only about race, but race in feminism.

I went to this forum about a month ago, where a whole bunch of “lady bloggers” (some worked for The Hairpin and Jezebel among other feminist/women-focused websites) addressed all sorts of vapid questions about how they fund their sites and how they got to where they are today, but there were absolutely no questions about race and feminism. I won’t even bother to talk about how ridiculous the term “lady blogger” is- OMG *takes a breath* Ok. Then it was the audience’s turn to ask questions. When one lady at the end of the Q&A attempted to get the panel’s opinion about race in terms of the feminist perspective, the moderator simply didn’t get to it. She just ignored it. I was floored. That would have been the perfect setting to discuss issues with minorities in feminism, but even there, WITH MINORITIES ON THE PANEL, no one wanted to talk about it. Mind-blowing. Sometimes, I just don’t ~~care~~ know about society…

I have been battling with this ongoing idea in American culture about the apathetic nature of this generation and how that general consensus enrages me. On previous occasions I have stated how much it irritates me when anyone groups this generation together in this sweeping, offensive way that makes us seem like a bunch of mindless, drooling corporate drones, looking for handouts from our parents and connecting with each other on the most superficial levels, using the the internet against us like it’s a fatal flaw to know how to use Photoshop and enjoy interacting with each other on social media platforms. I know so many people my age who have passionate conversations about the state of this country and its seemingly unstoppable downward spiral unless there is some significant change not only within the government but in society. There are people I know and admire for participating in Occupy Wall St. because they genuinely felt this movement would change lives. My warring opinions about OWS aside, this passion is an argument against the apathy that the mainstream media and various professionals have been perpetuating about millennials. It’s true we haven’t rallied together in some uniformed, flagrant ef you to the government/state, but it is not true that none of us are thinking about it.

I had a conversation with a friend at a bar the other night after I proposed we work together on some sort of writing project to which he responded he would be down if it meant it would actually happen. He said he was tired of people always talking about things and not doing them. Although, I do want to be able to wholly defend this generation from harsh terms like, “selfish,” “insolent,” and “lazy” but when it comes to starting a solid, massive movement our generation has in fact failed.

Where is that fire from the 50s and 60s? Where is that rage against inequality and unnecessary wars? Where is the refusal to be allayed by compromise? That “thing,” that fervent, radical desire to make this world better. I thought OWS was it, but it has failed me in so many ways, but that is an entirely different blog post. Anyway, that “thing” is buried deep within a lof of us, but it is absolutely gushing from others. Our generation as a whole is not completely useless is my argument, but that does not mean there is no room for improvement.

I for one am a prime example of someone who can be doing and contributing so much more to society. My resolution this year was to get more involved, but somehow it dissipated once that champagne hit my lips at the start of the new year. America as a whole has so much potential and there are so many amazing ideas out there, but the thought of reforming our infrastructure, which I am convinced is the only way we will see any significant change seems so out of reach, not to mention an extremely tedious task.

I honestly think this rant was brought on by the fact that I just started watching The Newsroom and the horrible thought that what if all those articles are right and this generation is doomed to become batteries like in The Matrix.

What do you think?