Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Emergent Village

Home
Progressive Christian
Radical, Subversive, Defiant, Self-Love

Radical, Subversive, Defiant, Self-Love

Last updated on: February 13, 2016 at 10:41 am by AhnnaLise Stevens Jennings

Radical, Subversive, Defiant, Self-Love 2016-02-13T10:41:10-06:00 AhnnaLise Stevens Jennings

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Black Women live in a crossroads of oppression where racism and sexism meet, and that is without even mentioning those of us that a queer, experiencing poverty, disabled, new to this nation, elderly, or adolescent. We face a unique struggle because we are constantly told that we are not good enough and we have to ask ourselves if the hate is because of our race, our gender, or both this time.

Our bodies are consistently, historically, and unapologetically policed. Our hair, noses, butts, hips, thighs, skin tone, everything about us is scrutinized. If we dare to speak up about this; if we dare to get upset, we are passed off as just another angry Black Woman.

A quick google image search of the phrase, “Beautiful Women” will turn up with overwhelmingly White results. A casual flip through the glossy pages of a magazine, or through your T.V. channels will show you who is considered desirable and who is not.

For anyone who is still skeptical about the kind of hate Black women get, please go look at how the media treats Serena Williams, and Michelle Obama. After that, please look into the response that people had when Amandla Stenberg was cast as Rue in The Hunger Games. Then, go see what people had to say about Quvenzhane Wallis who played Annie. Finish up by looking into how people reacted to the idea of a Black woman playing Hermione Granger in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. If you still aren’t convinced, try having a conversation with a Black woman about what she has been told about her body, her worth, or her desirability. Ask a Black woman how many times she has been told, “I just don’t like Black women.”

When I was growing up in my majority White hometown with all of my beautifully pale and blue-eyed friends, I could not see my own beauty or worth. When I was five years old, my ballet teacher asked me and my family if they really thought I should continue with the class. She wanted to be clear that there was not much future in ballet for an overweight Black girl.

When I was ten, after a lesson about the Civil Rights Movement, some kids thought that it would be funny to tell me that I couldn’t use the water fountain because it wasn’t for “Colored” people.

When I was thirteen, I was called a nigger for the first time. The only person who came to my defense was suspended for slapping the boy that was yelling it at me in a hallway filled with our fellow students, faculty, staff, and administration.

When I was fifteen, I was sexually harassed for the first time by a boy that I really liked. He had a crush on my best friend, and told me that I would do for awhile until he could get her attention. I accepted any attention I could get from him. No one had ever shown any interest in me before.

When I was twenty, the first real boyfriend that I ever had broke up with me. He went home to tell his parents about me, and when they found out that I was Black they told him that he needed to break up with me. His mother said she didn’t want the relationship to go anywhere because she didn’t want bi-racial grandchildren.

Now, I am happily married to a wonderful man. He is White, and so is the rest of his family. They are wonderful, loving and welcoming people. I hate taking family pictures with them. Everyone one of his four sisters is a perfect picture of beauty. Looking at us all together in a picture makes me feel terribly out of place. It makes me think about how very different I am from them, and how I will never be their kind of beautiful.

But I am trying something new.

I’m vowing this Valentine’s Day to love myself. I’m starting here, with this Poem by Joshua Bennett. It reminds me of what I read in Psalm 139. I am fearfully, and wonderfully made in the image of God. There is something of the divine in me, and in every Black Woman.

The next time that you consider getting angry about a social media Black-out day, or the existence of Black History Month, or all Black beauty pageants, or B.E.T (looking at you Stacey Dash), please remember what Black women are up against.

Don’t get upset when we praise each other and take pride in our uniqueness. Don’t get upset when we dress up as Black Panthers, fists raised in the air. Don’t get upset when we call each other Queens and speak up for ourselves.

No one else is going to lift us up, so we lift ourselves up. We are radically, subversively, defiantly loving ourselves.

We love our dark skin

We love our thick thighs

We love our kinky curls

We love our wide noses

We love our large butts

We love our full lips

We love ourselves

We love ourselves if you like it or not

We revel in our melanin

We are made in God’s image

and we slay.

Previous Post

February 12, 2016

Fast of Embodied Solidarity

Next Post

February 13, 2016 How I Found God After Leaving Religion

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Addiction Advent Atheism Authority Bible Cartoons Christian Year Christmas church church planting Civil Rights Community Contemplative Spirituality Culture emerging church Empire Eschatology Evangelism Events Gender Healing Humanism Islam Justice Kingdom Lent Movement Building Multi-Faith Music mysticism New Wave Emergence origins Personal Poetry politics Prayer Preaching Privilege Racism Religious naturalism Resurrection salvation SKEPTIMERGENT Theology Trauma Uncategorized

Select a Month December 2017 November 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What two things does Paul say about those who preach a different gospel?

Select your answer to see how you score.

They are false teachers They have fallen from grace Let them be under God's condemnation They will face judgment