RHOBH and labelling black people you don’t like as being trans
(If you can read a 10k fanfic you can read this lol)
After the Michelle Obama very racist ‘trans’ comment in the UFC fight. I was reminded of when I saw a short of rhobh and although I have stopped watching it (due to Andy cohen and Dorit support of Israel). Boz was referred to as trans (there isn’t an issue with being trans but Bozoma is Nigerian I believe ) by a lot of haters at the time a certain comment also referring to her as a ‘trans voodoo woman’. Which is exceptionally and explicitly racist. If I find the comment I’ll put a picture down below so I don’t misquote.
Labelling black women as transgender as a way (during colonialism and slavery -all the way to modern day) to dehumanise and masculinise black women as a justification for their rape, abuse and mistreatment, weaponising transphobia to do so. It was also used to police womanhood reducing or removing femininity completely, if black women didn’t fit the stereotypical European standards of beauty, which we still see today with the humiliation and dehumanisation of black women, specifically dark skin black girls. Whether it be through the algorithm pushing and promoting videos of plus size black women only when they humiliate themselves or turning them into a mammy when they don’t fit the standard of beauty. Or even in the ways white people and other poc feel empathy for little black girls. (I recommend watching the day rue turned black on YouTube I will link it below) and how quick white people can reject empathy for a black person simply existing.
We talk about how pervasive it is in alt right, white supremacist spaces but I feel like in spaces like rhobh which cater to white women and white gay men as the majority audience, it often gets ignored. We forget a lot of liberal white people especially white women and gay men use their proximity to innocence to justify a deep seated level of both misogyny, homophobia and racism especially as it pertains to black women, (I will say even black men can also be very racist and misogynistic especially to dark skin black women but that is a topic for another day). Anyways as I was saying before, it causes a dynamic where even in ‘leftist’ spaces black women who are even slightly unlikeable, disruptive or even just different from allocated stereotypes are ostracised and demonised. There is a level of scrutiny applied to black women that is incomparable to any other group. The moment a Black woman fails to perform the role of the agreeable or nurturing, she becomes a target for disproportionate criticism and hostility. We tend to forget that misogynoir does not disappear in liberal/ leftist spaces but just becomes less pervasive and is disguised behind ‘snarky’ or ‘passionate’ critiques. When called out many spaces recast black women as divisive or unlikeable, reproducing the very racial and gender hierarchies they claim to oppose.
It’s so important to address because black women especially now with an increased rate in both femicide and hate crimes against black people are increasing. when fighting for equity, equality and freedom we need to acknowledge that a lot of people who are in the ‘left’ are only there because they believe that they deserve to be on the same level as white straight men and want to propel themselves into the category of being an oppressor without necessarily caring for other communities or actual human rights and I think that is the reason nothing is changing and these billionaires are allowed to control everything because people are yes scared by the financial cost and consequences of a revolution but also are inherently selfish in their ‘wokeness’ so of course they won’t be able to build community or safety net to counteract all the evil and they won’t fight for anyone else. WE NEED TO LOOK OUT FOR PEOPLE WHO CALL THEMSELVES ALLIES TO GAIN A POSITIVE PERCEPTION FROM OTHERS BUT HAVE DARKER INTENTIONS.
Sorry this became really confusing and disjointed but I hope you get what I mean.
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https://youtu.be/Ie9NOhSG6rI?si=6gTinZPIXKv3lWE7
Watch this to see the difference between misogyny and misogynoir
