Walking the Talk
Ever since I wrote that article about people of color and the Fat Acceptance movement, I’ve been thinking more about what it is I’d like to see the white members of the FA community do to start working towards a truly intersectional analysis and framework.
Yesterday, when someone linked to this right-on analysis (go read it, STAT!) of a photograph from a recent photo shoot with Beth Ditto in Nylon magazine, one reaction that I witnessed really crystallized, for me, exactly how some of the underlying racial tensions have played out in the FA community.
Ingredient #1: First, we have the fact that there is a paucity of fat icons in the media for us to look up to. We are starved (no pun intended) to see ourselves represented in popular culture, so it is like a mini coup when there is someone, anyone, who we can claim for our community.
Ingredient #2: Many people, myself included, are calling for the FA movement to incorporate a truly intersectional analysis into their analysis and framework, because it is never just about fat.
Where these two ingredients collide is when a fat icon like Beth Ditto fucks up. Really, the article says it all, but to sum it up: using a working class woman of color as a “prop” in your photograph to make you look is not ok.
This tension plays out when someone who reveres Beth Ditto reads this article or sees this photo and immediately becomes defensive of her actions. My guess is that they feel betrayed and sad and maybe even desperate because all of a sudden, one of their icons has fucked up. And because there is such a dearth of fat cultural icons, they cling, because holding that person accountable for their choices probably means that they should reconsider their support of that artist/actor/performer/etc. And I ventuer this guess because I can imagine exactly how *I* would feel if one of my icons did something that betrayed my values.
For example, a year or so ago, I went to see Dirty Martini perform at the Sex Workers’ Art Show. But, right before the show, I found out that she was a supporter of Shirley Q. Liquor, a white gay man who does drag in blackface. Before I had learned this, I was a huge fan of Dirty Martini, but I was absolutely crestfallen when I found out this piece of information from her. After the show, I blogged about it, and a huge debate exploded. And not only was the discussion disappointing, but I was even further disappointed when someone wrote Dirty Martini a letter about this, and she wrote back defending her support of Shirley Q. Liquor. She said,
“I completely understand the argument against Shirley Q. Liquor and I simply don’t agree with it. I believe her to be a very talented comedian who modelled [sic] her southern character with love and wit. I don’t view her performance as blackface and I don’t believe that she does either. Her comedy is a reflection of our times and it would be very anti american to censor a performer without seeing the actual performance or finding out if it comes from a place of love and respect. I think it is very important to remember that this comedian is a gay man in the south and he may know a thing or two about predjudice [sic].“
Well, that was the nail in the coffin for me. No matter how much I had loved her before, I made a decision that because my personal values did not align with her support of a racist performer, I had to let it (my support) go. But not everyone felt that way. Some people felt that because Dirty Martini was supporting Shirley Q. Liquor vs. performing in blackface herself, it was ok. Similarly, some people have expressed that maybe Beth Ditto didn’t know that the image she put out was problematic, so maybe we should be more gentle on her.
But I have some questions that I think we, as a community, need to seriously wrestle with.
What does walking the talk of intersectionaly look like? Is it “ok” to give fat media icons a little more leeway because there are so few of them? Is the willingness to lower the bar proof that the FA movement isn’t taking race and the racism in our community seriously? How do we hold a media icon accountable for their actions when we can’t always engage or interact with them?
In short, how do we plan to walk our talk?
While I certainly agree with you about the picture itself, I find myself a little confused about where the line is or should be regarding appropriation of non-Western cultures in one’s style. For example, its clear that applying makeup and wearing an outfit to impersonate the Western idea of what a geisha looks like is problematic. However, would you find it offensive to wear a dress or shirt with a design inspired by, say, a Japanese woodblock print? Would it be problematic to purchase such a print to hang in your home? Do you have a post that deals with your views on this more detail? Thanks.
There have been a few discussions about fashion and appropriation on the fatshionista livejournal community (see the appropriation tag: http://community.livejournal.com/fatshionista/tag/appropriation) and there are also other resources on it if you Google the term.
What I find challenging is when people ask me for my personal opinion on different situations regarding appropriation, because 1. I am not a representative for all Asians, 2. I don’t want people to use my opinions to justify theirs, and 3. There are plenty of great resources out there for you to read and come to your own conclusions.
Thanks for the link. I wasn’t intending to ask you as a representative of all Asians (I actually didn’t know you were Asian) or to justify my own opinions, I was just interested in thinking more about the ideas you posted on. If I offended (and it seems that I might have from your response, though I could be wrong), it certainly wasn’t my intent and I do apologize.
Thanks for clarifying. I wasn’t sure whether your questions were directed at me specifically or more generally, so I was expressing my frustration generally about being asked to be a representative for all Asians.
Cultural appropriation fashion is a serious point of contention with me, but I do acknowledge that there are more subtle complexities surrounding the issue that preclude me from saying, “no, wrong forever, bad, no, take off the eyemakeup.” In this case, it takes a really glorious back seat to a more clear transgression.
This is a great post.
I’m very rarely shocked, but this shoot did the trick. I just have an impossible time even understanding exactly how this happened without anybody seeing what was right in front of them. What POSSIBLE narrative could they have been trying to create? I am accustomed to seeing the intention of something, usually good, and then seeing how being thoughtless created an alternate implied meaning or subtext that is worth calling out. With this photoshoot, I can’t even begin to imagine what they were trying to do.
Oh the hand wringing over this picture! When people within or outside the movement engage in problematic behavior, calling them out is the only solution in my book. This was totally beyond sketchy and if she she didn’t know then, hopefully she knows it now. I guess I’m not surprised by the photo because I have never found white activist types that open to hearing about the ways in which their behavior is problematic when it comes to race. It seems if they have any “oppressions” they feel entitled to a pass if they do something problematic.
“I’m fat!” “I’m queer” “I’m working class”. Blah blah blah.
snarkysmachine-
I agree - calling someone out really is the first and best course of action. I have my doubts that she plain didn’t know better, but I was willing to entertain the notion from some of her defenders. Regardless, at least two people I know have sent her letters, so if she didn’t know then, she does now, and then the onus is on her to recognize the problematic actions, apologize, and change the behavior.
Thank you for breaking this down. Looking at the picture, it immediately struck me as racially problematic, but I was focusing more on the quasi-geisha styling than the WOC-as prop. While appropriation and dehumanization are obviously both problems, and linked, you’re causing me to think about how I hung my discomfort on the obvious shiny confrontation without analyzing the picture further.
On a personal note, Tara, thank you for posting about intersectionality because it was your post on Racialicious, that really got me reading about size acceptance. As a woman, at 5′11′ and a size 20 I’m intimately aware of feeling like the world isn’t made with me in mind.
For how to walk the talk, I think it’s possible to hold someone as an icon or role model of fat acceptance, but still openly recognize they, or she is this instance, may be insensitive to matters of race. It’s not about lowering the bar, I think progressive movements have a problem with throwing out something completely because it’s flawed. For the most part activists recognize we all engage in racist, sexist, sizest, ablist statements or situations from time to time. It’s impossible to remain aloof from such a flawed dominant culture and not get any of it on you. Even while we may recognize it as individual activists, emotions run high and we tend to speak in absolutes. Taking a flawed action gets more negative feedback than doing nothing in a lot of activist circles, and I think that’s a big part of why people are hesitant to be more involved.
We can throw out Beth Ditto for offensive, racially insensitive behavior in that photoshoot, but then who do we turn to? Who is going to be the new politically flawless, fierce person of size, until they too do something problematic or offensive, because no one is 100% perfect?
We should absolutely call people on their racism, and hopefully Ditto, who positions herself as an activist, will listen and care if she gets some backlash. However it’s important to point out problematic behavior without invalidating all other points of merit, or general worth as person.
Or the short answer, point things out and make room for discussion and criticism while withholding absolute judgments.
Hi Roni!
I’m so flattered that you found resonance in what I wrote. I also totally hear what you’re saying about not “throwing someone out.” Generally, I agree, and I take that stance in my personal life with the people I care about, but I think for me, it’s harder to do that with celebrities. Now, it is possible that folks may be able to have a dialogue with Beth Ditto because she seems to be connected to the fat/queer communities even as she’s gotten more mainstream famous, but that isn’t always the case. And, how do we hold celebrities accountable if we aren’t able to hold a dialogue with them and offer our critiques of their art/performances/photoshoots/etc.?
Here’s to hoping that Beth responds to the letters that folks have sent her and that she will learn from what we have to say!