Sisters doing it for themselves
One of the interests that ties the various threads of my work together is in intra-racial gender politics. Basically the politics of gender within black communities. How is the anxiety caused by the “down-low” narrative heightened because of the gender gap in professional black spaces? What type of organizing can black students do on black and non-black campuses when women outnumber the men 6 to 1? How can we be truly healthy given the marriage disparity?
Black women have been historically forced to choose between their gender and their race. While it is very possible to be discriminated against because you are a black women, it is literally impossible to sue for race AND gender discrimination. How does the race vs. gender choice influence their attitudes?
I’ve been working on a paper that answers that question. I haven’t really shared my academic work here…but I expect a rough draft to be ready soon. It’ll be a bit technical, but I think it’ll be worth reading for folks who are looking for something more than NPR commentaries and black voice essays.
June 21st, 2006 at 8:33 pm
about time you put some of your research up…