#joyce v

first posted in facebook july 28, 2018

jennifer packer -- "joyce v" (2012)

"tenderheaded" ... jennifer packer

"tender head, my denim skrong" ... cam o'bi

"i’ve been thinking about black female subjectivity in my work for a long time and i think about how black women often use this term 'tenderheaded' to describe other black women. i’ve been called tenderheaded. it’s an assessment of not only physical sensitivity, but also an emotional sensitivity, perhaps bordering on weakness. but the weakness isn’t necessarily a fault—it’s more of way of noting the need to take extra care of that person. i liked it because it was a really concise way of assessing a level power and strength between women and the people—friends, family, children, etc.—they look after. and it became a shorthand way to assess the value of black women’s bodies" ... jennifer packer

"in this culture, the phrase 'black woman' is not synonymous with 'tender,' or 'gentle.' it's as if those words couldn't possibly speak to the reality of black females" ... bell hooks