When the author is a woman or person of color, who is either speaking out about lived experiences that we donât share, or shining some light on the ways in which they are not aligned with the whiteness that is not only comfortable and familiar to us, but also affords us protection, we are quick to work up an incredible amount of naked hostility.
Thereâs this pervasive, unspoken, attitude that women of color owe us media that we can relate to, media that coddles us, with a gaze thatâs kind to our lived experiences instead of their own. And if it doesnât, itâs somehow acceptable to speak out, loudly; to discredit or tear into them, like weâre hoping for some show of submission or apology because something about what theyâve said has struck a nerve on a level we donât want to consider.
We take it upon ourselves to rake them over the coals over tone, credibility, and identity, especially if they arenât speaking in a way or voicing an opinion that we deem appropriate. And we donât just do it by posting a comment and calling it a day.
Instead, a lot of the time we work together, maybe without realizing it. We support other women in tearing down the author, as well, so it turns into a joint effort. Sit with that for a sec. White women getting together in the comment section of an article to tear down another woman, not because she wrote something actively harmful, but because we donât like where sheâs coming from. We donât like what sheâs saying or the way sheâs saying it. We donât like that sheâs not working to please the part of her readership thatâs white.
