Word

One Human Family

I have found that the best time for me to write anything logically coherent is when someone has, to some degree, pissed me off. It never fails - say some inane comment and I’m off - gears grinding and arguments flying.

In my head, at least. I rarely let it pass beyond my lips, merely because of one too many experiences where my foot had inadvertently ended up in my mouth.

Such was the case this evening, as I pondered the perplexity of writing a paper for my women's study class. I had dropped my husband off to Theatre rehearsal and was embarking for the bus ride to the library when who should appear but a few of Nathan’s classmates and the director of the Theatre department himself.

After the usual polite and banty excange, I was asked where I was headed. Remarking that I had a paper to write, that it was on the topic of women studies, and that I was thinking writing about [images of] black women [in literature], the director said, and quite assuredly, I might add, “Well, they are different from white women.”

Of course, this was not what I had in mind when I began! My mind was off at once, thinking of a retort such as, "in what way do you mean?" Or, "in what context?"

Of course there is difference between white women and black women! But, even more strikingly, there is more diversity between black women than there is between white women and black women! A lecture on Anthropology I attended last week presented information that showed that the genetic diversity in the continent of Africa was greater than the diversity between a "white" European and a "black" African!

AND RACE IS ONLY SKIN DEEP! Human diversity exists, but to classify it as we do by skin colour is just plain silly!

Seeing that all of this information just wouldn’t do, and scrambling to make some sense of a speedily derailing conversation, I added, “Of course, we both have breasts!”

(At this point, as I'm sure you can ascertain, dear reader, my hackles were slightly roused, since it is imperative that I get across to all who cross my path that there is only one human family, for heavens’ sake.)

And at this point, which was the vilest turn of all, the male student pointed his finger at me and said,

“Actually, [you] don’t both have breasts – white women’s are called 'durgs(?),'” to which he added,

“Look it up.”

Shocked, I finished the conversation as quickly as possible and stumbled a retreat.

First of all, who areyou to tell me (a woman) that not all women have breasts, and furthermore, as you perceive that I could be a white woman, who are you to tell me what I have?

Of course, I can't be TOO upset at this individual (yes, actuially I can, but I won't be) since he didn't invent the information but rather was simply repeating what he had "learned."

The issue is that someone (and I bet it wasn't a woman, white, black, or any other color) decided that it was important in the name of science to give a label to the breasts of white women, thus differentiating their breasts (which are anatomically basically the same as everyone else's breasts, except men's - but even then!) from the breasts of anyone who isn't white.

This is an all too-typical scenario – an overstuffed white male, in the interest of “science” and “knowledge” informing me about my body. And informing me of a STUPID and BANAL term coined by someone who didn’t own any in the first place!

This inane term was pulled out of th air by someone at a point in our history where everything had to be dissected and neatly classified.

Named and then conquered.

Oh lord – the remnants glare us in the face even today.

I must say, that over a half an hour of looking up the term, or what I heard to be the term, I feel almost defeated.

I am sorry if any of this ranting has offended you - I admit I am reacting out of pain. I look for the day when everyone's breasts are recognised as unique and beautiful, and the women behind the breasts are valued for their contribution to society rather than the colour of their skin!

Love,

~liz

Posted by lizington at October 5, 2004 08:31 PM