I had originally planned to do a full and proper follow-up piece, but in doing my research (yes, I do my research so I can back my shit up) I ended up down a rabbit hole that basically demonstrated why wasting my time rebutting would be pointless. This thing with Jezebel.... it's happened before, and it'll happen again. Nothing that I could ever do on that site will change the fact that they Jezebel is not intersectional because it does not want to be intersectional. It's not hard to instigate a paradigm shift, not really. Not when you have so many WoC speaking up, reading and willing to tell their stories.
Jezebel is not intersectional because intersectionality is not cool. It's not profitable. It's too gauche to give a voice to all the dirty brown poors. It took all of this to make me finally see that, but now that I have, I know that I'm right.
I decided I wouldn't rebut, but I ended up vomiting my displeasure all out on twitter anyway, so I'm posting the Storify after the jump. The most important point I wanted to get across was that I'm not doing this because I think I know everything. I will freely admit to be being blind to most of this until SIFWW blew up. But in that time, I've done the work and the learning and I continue to do it everyday, by surrounding myself digitally with women who know more than I do. It's not impossible for white feminism to do the work too. It's not my job to educate well meaning white folk. You have the same google I do.
And I want people to understand that I talk about this stuff because it affects my LIFE. It affects the way people view me. It affects the way I'm permitted to move through this world. This shit is important to me, and it bums me out that all that white feminism does is pay lip service to WoC, while expecting full support for their issues. I have been in tears over this stuff more than once. I'm very sensitive and it affects me significantly. I don't want to subject myself to something that is making me physically unwell, so I'm not going to.
Professor Google's office is open 24/7. Consult him.
"Getting some weird chatter that I left Jez because I'm mad they didn't
ReplyDeletemainpage the Miley post. Really? You think THAT'S what it's about?"
HHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Cue the Nick Denton tweet that showed how that post got more traffic than all gawker media sites combined, right? It didn't need the Jezebel mainpage. How stupid.
That is some bull. You didn't need to be mainpaged. You said exactly what a lot of us WoC was thinking. I cannot write my thoughts down in articulate manner like you and I thank you for everything you have written so far. Thanks for the storify. The nerve of someone trying to say you mad cause you didn't get mainpaged. This makes me upset that someone is actively trying to minimize the issue at hand.
ReplyDeleteNinjacate, thank you for all your writing on Jezebel and GT. You are such an articulate writer and are able to explain so much to people. You gave so much mental energy to that site -you will be missed. Seeing you leave stirred up a lot of crappy feelings and anger for me - you're not the first WoC commenter (they've lost a writer too-LaToya Jackson from Racialicious) to leave because of the callous and disgusting way issues that affect WoC are treated. I'm floored that anyone would think that your departure has to do with being mainpaged. It's not even missing the point, it feels like they couldn't even comprehend that there was something wrong with their online community and it had to have been your ego that was out of whack - not their attitude towards other people.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to reading more of your writing here, thanks for sharing your blog link on your goodbye post. I hope to see you on the goodreads book club (it is not affiliated whatsoever with Gawker Media).
Maybe it makes them feel better? Putting the blame on me is easier than admitting that there is an institutionalized problem with race on that editorial board.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the support. It really was a difficult decision but I think it was the right one for me. I think that it became pretty obvious that they aren't even trying to be better at addressing these issues and that to me is a flat out admission that they don't give a shit about women like me. So I don't think it makes anymore sense to keep trying to force them to accept me and treat me with respect. I have my own blog and my own space. I'll use it as best I can to do exactly what I was doing over there.
ReplyDeleteExactly. The stupid thing made its way across the world and back WITHOUT being mainpaged. I got pretty much the exact result anyway...
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. I was so upset by your leaving because you're not the first to react like this. This has happened before and they JUST WON'T LISTEN BECAUSE IT'S NOT CONSIDERED PROFITABLE.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in grad school, a friend and classmate of mine (in real life and on Jez) was completely DOGPILED on by commenters and THE WRITERS when she made the simple comment that she often felt more unsafe in larger cities in Europe as a WoC and she received street harassment that was much more threatening in nature in Paris than she ever did in the states. Nobody believed her, the writer (who now has left Jez) said she was exaggerating and commenters just couldn't believe that it could happen in enlightened France. It was beyond infuriating to see a WoC's experience dismissed as false and not 'real harassment'.
It pisses me off to no end to see this crap continue. They have made it evident that they don't care and that it is only a "safe place" for women who look like me. We will try to keep pushing back.
Hey Ninjacate,
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to say thank you for being a big part of my education on all of this. I'm so glad I wandered over to GT from Jez. Your voice will be missed over there, but I'll be following you here, along with a bunch of the other blogs you recommended.
<3- Peachywithasideofkeen
NinjaCate, all I have to say is that we miss you. I don't want you to come back unless you want too. Hell, I'm thinking about leaving because I'm tired of Gawker Media's bullshit (they now posted pictures of someone getting raped) and just as a woman of color, I feel like an outsider there.
ReplyDeleteOh honey... you started off SO WELL and then you took a left into mansplaining crazy town. Judging from the other comments you have left on my blog in the last few days, you're the LAST person I want as an ally.
ReplyDeleteYou have every right to your snark. You probably can't help it since that's the language you discovered with your feminism, and of course any tone I take where I suggest confident knowledge or statements is going to be triggering for you.
ReplyDeleteI get that, I really do.
Well naturally! My bullshit allergy MUST be because of my feminism and not because you're spouting nonsense. Whatever helps you sleep at night my darling.
ReplyDeleteFair enough - but your smug dismissals of are no better than (and in fact the same thing as) what the feminist establishment did to you. Driving you away with, what did you call it?
ReplyDelete"Bullshit."
Well no. My smug dismissals are a product of me refusing to let you dominate my time. Frankly, I'm exhausted of you and your nonsense. If you disagree so vehemently with my practiced philosophy, WHY ARE YOU HERE? Read (if you must) and move on.
ReplyDelete