#palmaviolet

Anonymous asked you:

hi i’m a bit dumb and i don’t really get how lily allen is marginalising woc i’m not being sarcastic i’m genuinely confused thanks

Hello! Thank you for the questions. I’ll try to answer it the best I can.

Allen states that her video is supposed to be a satire of popular culture/the objectification of women, like the hypersexualization and use as props of black women that she “”addresses”“. She’s going for ironic racism, which to quote, means

executing racist actions (or saying racist things) under the guise that it is okay to do so because you know you’re being racist - i.e. it’s okay to be racist if you’re doing it ironically and not seriously. This is often done when people are joking or trying (desperately) to be funny. (source)

You see this a lot in comedy (which I sum up as lazy writing). But a very big problem with ironic racism is that it’s still racist. It’s not “satire” unless it addresses the point, unless it challenges the foundations. The Colbert Report by Stephen Colbert is an example of satire (at the very least); it makes his audience think critically. The main point of satire is made to make people think, that “hmm, this is flawed/something is seriously wrong here”.

In Allen’s case, she was “satirizing” Miley Cyrus, hip hop culture, etc., ie the oversexualization of black women. You see her surrounded by black women in more revealing clothing than the rest, gesturing overprovocatively/sexually, waiting for the punchline. Because at this point, it’s just plain racist. She’s doing the exact same thing as the people/institution she is attacking. When the black women start twerking or throwing champagne all over themselves, all hope of the “punchline” is lost. Allen is criticizing the hypersexualization of black women in popular culture….by doing the exact same thing? How does that work exactly? How is copying the people she is attacking sending a message? What would have been more effective is if she had crusty old white men in place of her dancers.

She’s marginalizing women of color (specifically black women in her case) by throwing them under the bus to “prove a point”. She’s perpetuating the stereotype of black women to make a statement. She’s using them as props to send a message. She’s degrading and objectifying them to elevate her status.

I’m far from the best person to explain this, but I hope I made at least some sense. There are some really great posts circulating Tubmlr, which I highly recommend you read:

Ironic Racism