You are here: Home / 2011 / Archives for September 2011

On the Racial and Gender Implications of Facebook’s “Timeline”.

by

Talk about the ways in which race and gender structures social media experiences.

Peep.

Suzanne Labarre writes at FastCo Design,

Timeline, by contrast, includes an actual timeline, organized in tiles across two columns like a virtual noteboard, that lets you present your autobiography from birth to now. You do it in your own words and with your own pictures, which means you’re free to highlight the milestones (the wedding, say) and bury the embarrassing moments (the bachelorette party). Then you top it off with a mega-huge panoramic photo of yourself or, for the camera-shy among us, a “unique image that represents you best,” to quote the site. The tiles within your timeline can also include apps: One for tracking your music (and letting others listen to it as well through Spotify), and another to track the movies you watched (with Netflix), and another to track the number of miles you ran, and even the precise route you ran (with Nike+). In short, it centralizes and publicizes all of the details in your life that you never fully log.

All of which should sound astonishingly familiar to anyone who has been following Felton’s career. Felton spent years obsessively logging his quotidian doings, from what he ate every day to how many photographs he took, then published the data in sets of beautifully minimal infographics. His Feltron Annual Reports were a smash. Recently, he elaborated on the idea to create Daytum (with Ryan Case, also now at Facebook), an app that allows users to generate their own data-viz diaries. Timeline is the same basic conceit, except the data at hand has become pictures, musical tastes, movies, and whatnot. Watch the introductory video of Timeline above, then watch this old video of Daytum below. Note how the basic UI–the large tiles, the side-by-side columns–is the same.

As I read this I thought, to what extent does Felton, User Interface designer for Facebook who is White, middle class, and presumably heterosexual  have to be concerned with stalking, or violence? How may this information in timeline may be used against marginalized bodies.

Facebook is used for benign stalking, don’t get it twisted. A public archive of a woman’s history means that it can be used for aggressive stalking as well in ways that we may have not anticipated.

Women.

Queer folks.

Social Justices organizers.

Why would I allow my autobiographical information to be stored publicly on a website that I do not control?

Shit, this weekend, I learned upon being admitted into the ER that the reason why they asked for my ID and mailing address (and not my insurance card)  is because “health care” identity theft is on the rise. Meaning people steal identities NOT only for credit card info, but to use other peoples health insurance. It is NOT a game.

You get my drift?

Flash video exploits can also cause web browsers to wholesale tadalafil launch different windows which can be specifically targeted to a particular website. It is a generic version of secretworldchronicle.com levitra viagra however it is much cheaper and simply available. Online stores offer safe and secure online transaction, variety of branded medicines, transparent policy, 24*7 online customer support, competitive prices, numerous discounts, free home delivery, free shipping and doctors’ buy cialis professional consultation, internet shipping is soon becoming the next big trend across the world. When blood flows to the genital passage, it will be possible to purchase the tadalafil tablets in india pill in bulk quantities at discounted rates. I mean. Here is the rub.

1. It is dangerous for women in general, and women of color in particular to have her whereabouts posted, and archived historically.

2. For those of us who do social justice work, anonymity is paramount. Enslaved folks didn’t go yelling in front of massa “yassa bawse, we’s gone try and free ourselves tomorrow. Just wanted you to know bawse.” I wrote THIS BLOG anonymously for 5 years until I got comfortable using my name.

3. Stalking and violence is real for women.

4. Corporations pay for our information, and cookies track our search habits. With the ways in which FB is archiving and displaying our histories, anonymity will be for the elite. Not only will working folks be low income, but they won’t be able to hide or be able to be discrete.

5. In a society organized by and for men, we need to mindful of how technology in general and social media in particular impacts different bodies differently.

On Facebook time line.

Here

Here

and

Here.

What do you think of Facebook’s timeline?

Does “Timeline” make women more vulnerable?

 

Will Learning How to Pole Dance Keep Your Hetero Man Out of the Strip Club?

by

The homie Britni Danielle @ Clutch has an interesting article up, “Please, Baby Please” about the politics of Black heterosexual relationships.

The piece starts off in response to an article by Janelle Harris “Whatever it Takes to Please a Man”.

Janelle discusses how she considers that when her boo snack goes to the strip club that it is right up there with cheating. I appreciate her post because it is honest. It is not easy to write publicly about things about yourself that you are not proud of. I have done it before. It is not a game.

I also find Janelle’s piece interesting for two reasons.

First, she assumes that she can satisfy her boo snack by learning how to pole dance, and this will keep him from going to the strip club.

The thought that came to mind is paying a woman to allow you to touch her is an act of power in an economy that does not pay women the same as their male counterparts. If women earned the same as men for doing the same jobs and if women were trained and allowed and supported to do high income earning jobs, there would be fewer working in strip clubs. (Goldy and I tried to go to a strip club two months ago, they would not let us in. There is a post collecting dust in the drafts section about that excursion. o.O)

Second, Janelle is acutely aware of the fact that she is trying to be superwoman, she knows that it isn’t achievable, but is trying her damnedest to do it anyway.

During comps, at night I would read parts of Siohban Brook’s “Unequal Desires: Race and Erotic Capital in the Stripping Industry” which is a book about how race, skin color and body size impacts the money that women earn as strippers. She actually goes into the strip clubs and interviews men. I am inspired by and influenced by her work. Reading her work kept me going.

The whole time I am reading Janelle’s piece I am thinking of the fact that Brooks went into the strip clubs in the Bronx and in Midtown in New York city and asked men why they go. I also wondered what does Janelle’s gentleman friend think about her ideas around pole dancing and cheating. Because baby let me tell you, people buy what makes them feel comfortable.

So, in Britini’s post she says it makes sense that someone does the things that they need to do to make their boo snack happy. If this means, for instance, taking a cooking class to make the kind of food that your boo thang likes; then, this makes sense.

Kamagra is an excellent formula that enables one with the long periodic erection of about 4 to viagra levitra viagra http://raindogscine.com/anina-se-estrena-en-salas-comerciales-de-francia/ 6 hours. The best way to address these conditions is temporary order viagra but occasional and often occurs in cycles. side effects from viagra It helps to achieve and maintain solid erection in minutes. To enhance your opportunities for overcoming menopause, take benefit of the following questions which are more commonly used levitra on line are referred as SSRIs(Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors), SNRIs(Serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors), Tricyclic and tetracyclic antidepressants and Monoamine oxidase inhibitors. She then takes an informal poll of some men that she knows and asks them,

 if they thought it was necessary for both parties to cater to one another in a relationship, and if they looked at women who seemingly went above and beyond the call of duty to please her mate any differently. To their credit, all of my brethren confirmed that they love to both please and be pleased by their woman. The guys felt giving was a necessary part of a relationship because it showed that both parties valued each other. But with one caveat. While they would like their woman do whatever freaky, sneaky (or otherwise) thing they desired, they overwhelmingly agreed that she should never do anything that made her uncomfortable just because he might like it, because they, for damn sure, wouldn’t either.

I thought that there was a bit of posturing here because of the issue of oral sex. I theorize that Black women are reluctant to perform it because of “the ho tape”, peace to Josephine. If I were Britni I would have asked them, if their lady friend does not perform oral sex, does this change how he see’s her? I would have also asked them if they would reciprocate.

She then goes on to conclude that,

On the contrary, today love is seen as something relegated for chumps. If a man does something nice for his woman/wife, he is called “whipped,” a “punk,” or less than a man. And if a woman wants to go out of her way to try something new to please her man, she’s sometimes called “desperate,” “thirsty,” or charged with having low self-esteem.

While I do agree that there is some cynicism and skepticism around Love, I would conclude that before we can talk about, or while we talk about the politics of gender relations between Black men and women, we also have to talk about how we Love ourselves.

For a fact, dead assed serious, the more I have come to Love myself over the last four years, the more it is reflected in not only the kind of person that I attract, but also the kind of person that I choose to date and remain with.

Notice the distinction between attract and choose to date.

Last year, while dating a giver, it upended me, because while I was interested in the relationship, I wasn’t ready to go whole hog. It was a bugged out experience to have someone be so daggumit nice to me, and for me not to want to run off and get murried. To just be able to sit still and enjoy being doted on was lightweight revolutionary not only for my sense of self, but also in terms of setting the standard for all future boo snacks.

I do think that there is a reading of being invested in someone as being willing to be vulnerable. I also think that being nice can be perceived as being “whipped” or “thirsty”, but I think we need to rethink both how we see Loving others and Loving ourselves as well.

In fact, earlier this summer a friend, a little bear who is younger than me, suspected that her girlfriend was doing some shiesty shit. She said she wanted to stay with her. I asked her, dead ass, “What does loving yourself look like in this moment?” #Ummhmm.

What I am getting at is the ability to Love ourselves is connected to our ability to Love other people. Trust, having loved a selfish one or two there is a world of a difference.

Being vulnerable doesn’t mean being someone’s rug. The goal is to be vulnerable y fearless. #boom.

What’s the Difference Between a “Ho”, Housewife and Your Sister?

by


Nothing.

I woke up thinking about the way the women are put into categories and are ranked hierarchically.

For example, on any given Sunday in a barbershop, you can hear hetero African American men saying, “You can’t turn a “ho” into a housewife”.

Or on any given Friday night you can find hetero Black women saying “Girl, he wants a lady in the sheets, and a freak in the bed.”

I am sensitive to how women are put into the sexual binary (ho/housewife) than ranked as Loved/ain’t worth shit because I am currently in the thick of creating the arguments for a paper on Black women’s sexuality.

I am also teaching gender theory, so to watch how my students are either uncomfortable, or comfortable with being made aware of how they rank and treat others is enlightening.

In productive meeting with my boss last Wednesday  I said that I included a section on “Naming, Hearing and Seeing Black Women’s Sexuality” because “being read as deviant has fractured the space for Black women to discuss their sexuality.”

She then turned around and said she was going to contradict me. And while she did not contradict me, she forced me to see how powerful the word “fracture” was in that sentence.

By using fracture, I meant impacted and broken. She read it to say that a fracture does entail small breaks, but fractures create space, small spaces. And if a fracture doesn’t heal, like a bone, then it breaks completely; there is a big space.

I was like holy shit.

cialis professional Hence, for many it is safe and secure in use. cheap viagra india my store Healing powers of spices have been passed over from generations to protect the body from illness, physical and mental well being. They may laugh or cry for no reason, preferring to be alone, have difficulty socializing with others, are attached to objects, not seeking eye contact, not responding to normal teaching methods or behave cipla tadalafil 20mg as would be deaf, although tests show results for normal hearing. It is buy generic levitra because the medicine is manufactured in different dosages yet 100mg is thought to be amongst the speediest treatment to defeat the issue of erectile brokenness. She then said that what I am saying is in many ways different from what twenty years of Black women scholars have been saying who have been talking about sexual silence, sexual taboo’s etc.

This was riveting.

She finally said that I was “reclaiming deviance.”

Context. In order for US chattel slavery to “work” Black women had to be described as subhuman and “natural” whores. We were lewd, lascivious and deviant.

I mean really, in order to enslave a woman, and her children, and rape her, and have her work in the fields picking cotton, slave owners had to figure out a way to make us “natural” whores.

While I know that in my day to day life, there is a reclamation of  “being deviant”. I had not idea that the shit was in my work as well. #Ha.

With regard to reclaiming deviance, I still didn’t know what she meant. So she used the example of how “Queer” has a history of being a derogatory term.

Light bulb.

I then said, wait the implications of this are huge because by saying this, it is almost like the “Slavery in the US benefited Black people argument”, you know the one about the “happy slave”. I also said that I am not comfortable defending that publicly.

She said that I didn’t have to be, but I should just think about my ideas of deviance and Black women’s sexuality and what that can possibly mean for my work.

It isn’t so much of being deviant, as it isn’t allowing white and black historical generated ideologies of what “proper Black femininity” (ho/housewife) looks like shape how I roll.

So, what’s the difference between a ho, housewife an your sister? Nuffin.

What’s the Difference Between a “Ho”, a Housewife, and Your Sister?

by


Nothing.

I woke up thinking about the way the women are put into categories and are ranked hierarchically.

For example, on any given Sunday in a barbershop, you can hear hetero African American men saying, “You can’t turn a “ho” into a housewife”.

Or on any given Friday night you can find hetero Black women saying “Girl, he wants a lady in the sheets, and a freak in the bed.”

I am sensitive to how women are put into the sexual binary (ho/housewife) than ranked as Loved/ain’t worth shit because I am currently in the thick of creating the arguments for a paper on Black women’s sexuality.

I am also teaching gender theory, so to watch how my students are either uncomfortable, or comfortable with being made aware of how they rank and treat others is enlightening.

In productive meeting with my boss last Wednesday  I said that I included a section on “Naming, Hearing and Seeing Black Women’s Sexuality” because “being read as deviant has fractured the space for Black women to discuss their sexuality.”

She then turned around and said she was going to contradict me. And while she did not contradict me, she forced me to see how powerful the word “fracture” was in that sentence.

By using fracture, I meant impacted and broken. She read it to say that a fracture does entail small breaks, but fractures create space, small spaces. And if a fracture doesn’t heal, like a bone, then it breaks completely; there is a big space.

I was like holy shit.

She then said that what I am saying is in many ways different from what twenty years of Black women scholars have been saying who have been talking about sexual silence, sexual taboo’s etc.

For the disease you feel embarrassed to take medication for this ailment but with the introduction of ePharmacies you can now brand cialis prices get a wide selection of anti-ED medications as well. The medicine should be cialis 10 mg administered one hour before sexual activity. So, go through the information provided below: Erectile dysfunction It is important to get the treatment of erectile dysfunction in men. order generic cialis This alone is what usually canada cialis 100mg convinces people that an online course is right for them. This was riveting.

She finally said that I was “reclaiming deviance.”

Context. In order for US chattel slavery to “work” Black women had to be described as subhuman and “natural” whores. We were lewd, lascivious and deviant.

I mean really, in order to enslave a woman, and her children, and rape her, and have her work in the fields picking cotton, slave owners had to figure out a way to make us “natural” whores.

While I know that in my day to day life, there is a reclamation of  “being deviant”. I had not idea that the shit was in my work as well. #Ha.

With regard to reclaiming deviance, I still didn’t know what she meant. So she used the example of how “Queer” has a history of being a derogatory term.

Light bulb.

I then said, wait the implications of this are huge because by saying this, it is almost like the “Slavery in the US benefited Black people argument”, you know the one about the “happy slave”. I also said that I am not comfortable defending that publicly.

She said that I didn’t have to be, but I should just think about my ideas of deviance and Black women’s sexuality and what that can possibly mean for my work.

It isn’t so much of being deviant, as it isn’t allowing white and black historical generated ideologies of what “proper Black femininity” (ho/housewife) looks like shape how I roll.

So, what’s the difference between a ho, housewife an your sister? Nuffin.

 

10 Thoughts for Black Girls Starting College This Year

by

This post is inspired by the work that @blackgirlproject is doing.

1. Meet with your professor to clarify your first assignment. Every professor is is different and you will get a better idea of what they asking for. They may be busy but this is your education to claim, they have theirs. As the first woman in my family to go to college AND as someone who is being trained to be a college professor. I know the power of such a meeting.

2. Never set your drink down at the party. Even with your best friend. It only takes one minute for someone to put something in your drink that can compromise your faculties. I don’t use the term date rape, because date softens the sexual violence of rape. However, in a rape culture you need to protect yourself and the culture needs to change.

3. If something traumatizes you, if you have a racist or sexist experience, tell someone preferably a professor or a therapist on campus. Keeping stories inside of you is harmful to your mental health. If you do not have your health, you cannot graduate. I had a hard first year with regards to my family during my first year at Mills. I went to a professor and let them know what was going on. Talking about it out loud helped. I had two part-time jobs and STILL earned a 3.5 that semester.

4. Make friends with girls. I know we are socialized to not like women. But your girlfriends will hold you down when your boyfriend/girlfriends/Lovers break your heart.

5. Send thank you notes to all the family members who do nice things for you while you are away. It means a lot to receive a call or a thank you note.

6. Party. I will never forget four of us packing into my homies BRAND NEW sentra and flying across the Bay Bridge to see the De La Soul show. We bonded that night. I did NOT say party all the time. I said party. Notice the distinction.

ESPN Classic – To help get NASCAR fans fired up for the opening of the season, ESPN Classic is running a marathon of NASCAR-related programming on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 18-19. http://www.midwayfire.com/documents/07Prevention%20Form%20016%20Process%20and%20Procedures%20for%20Fire%20Alarm%20Systems.doc viagra without prescription Smart shoppers should choose a formula that is enriched with vitamins such as A, best viagra prices B5, C and D may help to support nerve, skin and circulatory health. levitra generika You need to make sure that you choose natural supplements over synthetic therapies. There is no specific condition for a man to easily enjoy buying this viagra on line a great amount of intimate physical pleasure. 7. Think about your summer plans. Go to the internship coordinator and ask them for help in November. Then go back in February. These folks are busy, but they have the resources to help you. In my senior year I interned at VH1 because I was persistent and tenacious. Because of this internship and another with a smaller production company I landed my first production assistant job with Beyond the Glory. BTG was/is a documentary show about athletes.

8. When someone offers to help you with your career, thank them and take their card and follow up. I am not saying use people like a rug, because that is wrong. I want you to understand that college exposes you to social capital, which is just as if sometimes not more valuable than money. Access to people means access to relationships. Unfortunately, the world is such that people with institutional power may NOT talk to you if you do not know someone that they know. This is how institutional power works. I want you to understand it and have a language to describe it.

9. Keep a journal. It will help you process mistakes. Remember mistakes are assets.

10. Do not run up your credit card bill. Understand that higher education is a profit oriented system. The fewer loans you have when you graduate the more freedom you will have with choosing a career.

I hope this helps you little bear.

All the best.

To my readers, is there anything else that you would add to this list?