Before I get into this weeks blog post, I wanted to take about the short video we watched in class, A Girl like Me. The end of this video, had to be one of the saddest most depressing things I've ever seen. These young kids are being told to choose which doll (white or black) do they prefer, 15/21 black children chose the white dolls. One girl was asked why the white doll was better she said because it was bad. She was then asked which one was bad, she chose the black one because it was black. She was then asked which doll she was like... at first she went to grab for the white doll then realized that that doll didn't look like her, and she pushed the black doll forward. This literally killed me. These young, beautiful, gifted girl believed she was bad because she was black, and seeing her coming to that conclusion killed me. No kid should ever feel like that, ever.
Okonji, J.A. et al. (1996). Young black men prefer black counselors. Journal of Black Psychology.
Q: What can we make of this if only 2% of psychologists are African American?
A: The fact that only 2% of psychologists are African American is a problem. I would imagine it's hard for an African American to go talk with a psychologists (who's white) when that person may not be able to identify with them. Meaning they don't experience the same day to day problems i.e. systematic institutionalized racism, harmful stereotypes, prejudices, etc. It makes it difficult to relate in my opinion. Think about a person of extreme privilege trying to help a person who is at an extreme disadvantage. Q: What are the major areas of concerns for Black men?
A: Responsibility. Black men want to be able to provide for their families. It's interesting because both gay and straight black men have the same aspirations to be a responsible man as seen in the documentaries.
“Self in community: African American women’s views of self-esteem”.
Q: What were the 2 components of self-esteem for Black women?
A: social support and self-reliance.
Found: 85, 000 Black gay households. Essay by Alain Dang & Somjen Grazer.
Q: What do Black heterosexual and Black same-sex couples have in common?
Pitts, L (1998) The choice to be gay AND Watson, J (2004). Strange Bedfellows
Q: Is being gay a choice? Who are the strange bedfellows that Watson is talking about?
A: NO! NO! NO! I do not believe being gay is a choice. This is the way I think about it... why would someone choose to be gay? Why would someone willing choose another dimension of oppression. Why would they choose to be victims of hate? Why would many try so hard to be straight? Why would people (like KIDS!) commit suicide because they're gay? Why would they choose to have laws disallowing them to marry someone they love? Why would people try and hide who they are from their friends and family on purpose? Why would someone choose to be ostracized? When you consider these questions... do you really think being gay is a choice?
McCready, L. T. (2004).Understanding the marginalization of gay and gender non-conforming black male students. Theory into Practice, 43 (2).
What’s your opinion about how to address homophobia in Black community? On college campuses?
A: In order to address homophobia in the Black community, I think community organizations (maybe one day churches) need to be more accepting of homosexuality. It's not easy being gay and black, and having to come out to your friends and family is not cakewalk. It can be terrifying and horrible. I believe if black community organizations and churches were more accepting, offered programs, information, group therapy, etc. to help cope with accepting their children. Yes, it might sound bad that they have to "accept their children," but there's such a stigma around being gay and parents really do need to accept their children. In my opinion, I think black parents have a hard time of accepting their children as being gay because it's just another level of oppression that is placed on them, making it that much harder to be accepted in society. They could just be fearing for their children's well-being.
Froyum, C. (2007). At least I’m not gay: Heterosexual identity-making among poor teens. ABSTRACT ONLY
Q: What does this mean for African American gay and lesbian teens? How difficult would a coming out process be for Black gay and lesbian teens, particularly in Quadrant 4 of the African-centered behavior model?
A: It means that they're not comfortable in the skin they're in, and they're struggling to fit in. As stated earlier, I'd imagine that it's extremely difficult to come out to one's family.
I agree with you in regards to how hard it must be for Black parents to accept their children. I think a lot has to do with protecting them from scrutiny. Like we discussed in class, once a child has the support of family, they tend to become comfortable in who they are so approval is a key issue in the Black community.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you about the video we watched in class. It tore at my heart when the girls thought being black was bad. This video made me think of The Help, where the maid tells the little white girl “You is smart, you is kind, you is important.” I believe every girl no matter how she looks should believe this about themselves! I agree with you that if only 2% of the psychologists were African American most African Americans then would not seek out help since they feel like the psychologists who are not black cannot identify with them. I agree wholeheartedly with you that being gay is not a choice. I thought of all the same reasons you did, except for kids committing suicide, which is a great point to mention. Being gay is not a switch that someone can just switch off and on when they feel like it. I also agree that black communities should be more accepting of homosexuals, starting with children’s families.
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