Conversation

I'm kinda ok with men looking at me with Benson and backing off.

Over the weekend a tik tok was posted from a young Black woman in the hospital. One side of her face distorted with massive bruising and swelling. A man had asked for her phone number and she refused. He picked up a brick and smashed her in the face with it while the men watching did nothing.

This incident has been the focus of BlackTok all weekend. Black women were generally in team #ThisIsWhyWeCantTrustYou and Black men split between 'we need to do better' and 'I don't know you so you're not worth protecting.'

Which is a hell of a take. Wow.

I won't get into a long thread about #misogynoir but it's real (and there are fantastic Black women writers on it) and the analysis of it shines a bright unflattering light on the ways internalized white supremacy and toxic masculinity (sort of related) poison potential heterosexual bonds between Black men and women.

As I approach 54, I'm growing more ok with my impending invisibility.

#BlackFeminist