I am technologically challenged...

I've tried to add pics on here for weeks...but i get error file size to large or characters too long...i don't get it?

Digital Media and Black Feminist Theory

After reading Judith Wilson's article, "One Way or Another: Black Feminist Visual Theory" I came to realize a key reason as to why black theory and visual theory aren't usually combined in digital media. In her piece she suggests, "...a function of differential statuses of theoretical discourses around race, gender, and the visual-a situation, in turn, rooted in material relations of cultural privilege and institutionalized power" (p.23). Cultural privilege and institutionalized power are to factors that continually keep black writers and visual artists at the margins of technological and visual advancement. Black artists are central to the struggle for the liberation of ideas. Many artists like Sylvia Wynter and Hortense Spillers, as suggested by Wilson, have paved the way for other women to dig deeper and find meaning in all facets of life, to explore more about black women besides their hair politics, and self esteem. I haven't seen a lot of writing on black lesbians or transsexuals because sadly a large amount of black people are homophobic. Gender issues and black people suffering from race, class, gender, and sexual orientation oppression needs to be addressed in order to further black visual theory. Thinking back all of the black movies I have viewed or visual images produced by black people have dealt with similar issues race, class, and family structure. Very few deal with sexual violence, domestic violence and sexual orientation. The only films I can remember that dealt with domestic violence were "What's Love Got to Do with It", Brewster's Place, G, and The Color Purple; the only film I can remember that featured a black actor, Will Smith, as a gay/lesbian was "Six Degrees of Separation". Before taking this class I never noticed how much of black visual culture is defined by "dominant ideals" and very few if any that make it to "the big screen" or are widely disseminated ever deal with "unpopular issues" and if they do the author is black balled. Wilson presents some ways in which black authors can change black visual culture and expand it, however I believe that some of her goals are a bit too lofty, like breaking from U.S. imperialist mental prisons...that will take more than expanding visual culture, that is an issue deeper than digital multimedia, but maybe digital media can help address that issue. Ultimately, classes such as this one, will hopefully insight changes worldwide and help to connect black feminists and black people in general and empower them to create more opportunities for black theory.

"Black Women are Beautiful"

Black women are beautiful, however American society limits the beauty of black women by creating and enforcing negative stereotypes, upholding standards of beauty catered to a white male and exploiting black women's bodies in photography. The representation of black bodies and that of white bodies are very different. In many of the photos of the 18th and 19th centuries showcase white women in positive light, their attributes are glorified. Whereas the black women in depicted at the side, foot or lower position (i.e. the figure of the black servant to the nude white woman, Olympia 1863) to that of the white woman. The black woman's body parts are either covered or are hidden. When the black woman is exposed, she looks unhappy and her posture is crooked or unnatural. Why are black and white women represented in this manner?

"The Triple Negation of the Colored Women Artists"

"...American society is now imposing a Eurocentric, Christian, heterosexual male ethos on all of us in order to maintain a uniquely American identity against the incursion of other...gays, coloreds, and practitioners of outlaw sexuality into its inner sanctum." Adrian Piper grapples with the oppressive force hegemony uses to control the creative expression of black women in American society. HERstory is a powerful one, and creates a different account of HIStory because history has neglected to express the strength of black women. Accepting this story of pain and suffering would defy the principles of freedom and truth that the American public holds so dear, therefore deconstructing the centuries of psychological and physical abuse white men have used to hold black women down. Of course, they will not allow this to happen, therefore black women are silenced and allowed only certain rights to freedom that will not threaten the dominant political or cultural structure which would make them a more dominant and powerful force.

As a child I can recall showing interest in reading black authors. I have attended school in areas where all of the teachers were white and a large percentage of the student body were also white. Until I came to UCSB, all of my educators were white women and a few were white men. When considering the curriculum and academic resources I was often frustrated with the lack of scholarly texts dealing with black issues, black Women's issues or black people in general. All of the assigned texts were written by every other race besides African Americans/Blacks. At one point I was confused about whether black people wrote books. The lack of black novels and articles or record of these works is problematic and depressing. Academic institutions around the country deny the agency of black writers, their histories, stories and talents are ignored and supplemented w/Joy Luck Club and Animal Farm, not to say that these novels aren't useful or to take anything away from the author, however I would have enjoyed sharing Toni Morrison's "Bluest Eye" with my classmates in addtion to writing a paper on the novel for a book project and turning it in.
The world needs to know that there are wonderful and informative texts written by black people and women in particular. The creation of archives and biographies would serve the purpose of expanding academic curriculum and educationg many people about the history and on going struggles of black women. As a black woman these resources are significant because they provide a voice for those women that lack one, therefore it is empowering to view the thoughts and feelings of black feminists across the globe. Second, it creates a platform from which not only black women, but also women of color can create coalitions and build on their research and projects to help them expand on their ideas and stregthen their work. Third, it displays the intense history of black women and the progression of works in that field, creating a guide from which people can add to and learn from. Fourth, it challenges the dominant culture and exposes the talents of black women by showcasing their intelligence and power. In such a conservative society archives and bibliographies are a subtle way to create the most effective change because the masses are being educated through a medium that is not often recognized by those outside of the academic realm, therefore this kind of medium can serve to promote new ideas and strategies aimed at developing positive spaces for women in media. Archives and databases, if expanded, can operate to include blogs and writings from not only black women but can also include white women as well, and because white women are educating a large percentage of America, their support in the struggle to uplift African American women in academia is essential.

"Colonial Conquest"

hey this is really cool!
The colonial conquest of the female body is the reason why the black body is treated and depicted in photos. Auhtor Sandra Gilman discusses the iconography of female sexuality. During the 19th century the black female was defined as a prositute or promiscuous woman. The hottentot venus was prized for her large buttocks and "awkward" appeareance (awkward for white men). White men were intrigued by her shape and some scientists, Buffon in particular compared her body to that of a female ape. The body of black women was scrutinized and her sexuality patrolled. Photos served as a means to survey and control her freedom as a woman. In Patrica Hill Collin's article on Black womanhood and sexuality she talks about black women falling victim to race, class, and sexual oppression. She quotes Sandra Gilman, "Pornographic images are iconographic in that they represent realities in a manner determined by the historical position of the observers, their relationship to their own time, and to the history of the conventions which they employ (Gilman 1985)." These iconographic images of black women stem from the Hottentot Venus, long ago and today black women's bodies are still exploited and their sexual parts are examined. White women are objectified however black women are seen as animalistic therefore they are not allowed to receive criticism from a cultural standpoint and therefore they can not reclaim their human identity. The difference between black and white women stems from the divergent histories that they experienced and shows that sexuality is linked with race, class, and societal forces.