Stop The Silence On Sexism
by erika_alexander

Ludacris, you just stepped in it, and like Don Imus, you don't get a pass.

In your song, "Politics," you refer to Senator Hillary Clinton as an irrelevant bitch. Okay, you have a First Amendment right to your opinion - no matter how ignorant - and I have a right to beat that opinion down with the truth. I served as a national surrogate for Hillary, but now I am speaking for all of the women you address by calling one of the greatest avatars of "hope in action" - a former candidate for President, former first lady and current U.S. Senator - a dog. Have you no decency? What did Hillary ever do to you? Let's see. For the past three decades, just fight on the behalf of and get health care for America's poorest children, educate young black brothers in Harlem, advocate for foster children, provide benefits for soldiers, and support black single mothers. And that's the just the first few lines of her resume.
But this is much bigger than Hillary. Let's put it in perspective. Would you sit back and be silent while Coretta Scott King was insulted on a daily basis, as sport, without the outrage and defense of others? We are so used to hearing women demeaned in our music (and culture) that it has become the first note of the down beat on a phat track. If any of us ignore these attacks it is only a matter of time until they come for all of us. If we say nothing, we are all complicit.

I believe I speak for many of Hillary's friends, like Maya Angelou, Dolores Huerta, and America Ferrera, when I shout, "enough is enough - sexism is as repugnant as racism!" Now a movement has emerged. Hillary's run was the catalyst, our outrage at the silence in the wake of sexism and misogyny is our fuel, and we have lots of it. We will respond and fight back. A league of women and men has now created a coalition to defend women from this type of abuse. As we say in the streets, don't start none, won't be none. We have seen and experienced the consequences of silence. We must stand against this hate speech. My sisters, if you don't know, you better ask someone, cause we are strapped, locked, and loaded with knowledge, resolve, and strength - and we need you to join us at womencount.com. Our battle cry? Stop the silence, women count!


Erika Alexander is an actress, activist, and member of WomenCount

Submitted by erika_alexander (view blog) on Wed, 07/30/2008 - 5:48pm
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Comments

 

Cheering!

I'm the same age as Hillary, so to me it felt like there was finally a chance to have a female president in my lifetime. By the time she ended her campaign I was so demoralized at the number of times blatant sexism was just given a pass I could hardly stand to read about the campaign any more. You are completely right that we cannot just sit by and allow this to be accepted. Great Post!!

Kalyn Denny
Kalyn's Kitchen

Submitted by Kalyn Denny on Wed, 07/30/2008 - 19:35
 

Bravo!

I literally got chills down my arms reading this.  Thank you for writing this.

Venting about infertility since 2006
www.stirrup-queens.blogspot.com
and we're not talkin' cowgirls...

Submitted by Melissa Ford on Wed, 07/30/2008 - 18:11
 

"Don't start none, won't be none"

Erika, thank you.

Lisa Stone
BlogHer Co-founder
Surfette

Submitted by Lisa Stone on Wed, 07/30/2008 - 18:19
 

I Couldn't Have Said It Better

Hi Erika,

Thank you for an excellent post.

Just consider me a soldier in your army.  There is no excuse...zero...none...nada excuse for allowing performers to get away with using exploitive language to refer to any woman. That we've allowed them to get away with it for this long, without a huge movement to stop it, is shameful.

This backlash against Hillary Clinton is totally unwarranted and watch, these same people, if Obama doesn't fall into line at some point, will go after him as well if they think it will help them make a buck.

As you said, the First Amendment allows performers to write and sing offensive lyrics, but the First Amendment also allows me to call it crap often and loudly.

Megan Smith
BlogHer Contributing Editor, TV/YouTube
Megan's Minute: Quirky Commentary Around The Clock

Submitted by Megan Smith on Wed, 07/30/2008 - 18:20
 

Exactly.

I couldn't add anything to this - because you said it perfectly.

Every person who demeans women regularly needs to think about the fact that without his/her mother, they wouldn't even exist.  More than half of the world is women - it's time we quit ignoring that.

Lucretia (aka GeekMommy)

Raising a child in a digital world, still a digital girl

Submitted by GeekMommy on Wed, 07/30/2008 - 18:40
 

Ugh

It's unacceptable when it's a nameless, faceless woman. But to go after Senator Clinton...beyond disrespectful. I'm not even sure there is a word for it....

I was glad to see Senator Obama denounce the lyrics today, and I hope there is no pass by the media either.

Politics & News Contributing Editor
Queen of Spain

Submitted by Erin Kotecki Vest on Wed, 07/30/2008 - 18:43
 

What?

I am clearly spending too much time focused on myself. I haven't been watching or reading the news. I have just been working hard and working from home I don't get the benefit of coworkers talking to me about the latest news.

So thank you for informing me. I was not a Hillary supporter but I am a woman and I find it totally disheartening that anyone would use this type of language when speaking about any woman - but to say this about a former first lady, current Senator and former Presidential Candidate? Ridiculous.

I hope that he takes time to reflect on his actions and truly understand that words are powerful.

Renee
Cutie Booty Cakes

Submitted by cutiebootycakes on Wed, 07/30/2008 - 19:18
 

...but we can say HRC is an irrelevant bitch?

Ludacris is an irrelevent - - -.

Submitted by allenatapia on Wed, 07/30/2008 - 19:28
 

Thanks for this post

Womencount can count me in.

Virginia DeBolt
BlogHer Technology Contributing Editor
Web Teacher
First 50 Words

Submitted by Virginia DeBolt on Wed, 07/30/2008 - 19:28
 

Thank you!

Ludacris lived down to his name allusion on this one.  Thanks for standing up for women in this post.   He owes Senator Clinton an apology and women around the world.

Nordette is a Contributing Editor with BlogHer.com whose personal blog is hosted on another site at this link.

Submitted by Nordette on Wed, 07/30/2008 - 19:49
 

I'm sorry, I have to add this......

While I certainly agree with your sentiments (as well as the other commenters) I don't feel entirely comfortable with this outrage.

MC's have been degrading women of colour - and for that fact, all women for decades, but because the majority of rappers are black and talk about their communities and the people that reside in them (Latina and black women), some can beleive that they are not specifically referring to them. When Ludricris decides to call out a white woman  - who was not the first woman to run for president ( ex. Shirley Chisolm)- now people are upset. Why is this situation making the headlines on Blogher now? Because the poster is a celebrity? Where was the outrage from some of these commenters when Blogher CE's discussed the racism from the Hillary camp during her campgain? It doesn't make what Ludacris did acceptable in any way, but I sense some hypocricy here.

Where is the outrage from commenters when Blogher CE's discuss other injustices happening to women of color around the world?

Where was the outrage and posts from celebrities about former Vice-Presidental Nominee Geraldine Ferrara's racist ( or, how about 'racially tinged') comments about Obama?

Where was the outrage when Nas announced that he was going to name his new album N*#$er?

Why wasn't there a coalition formed when Don Imus made his remarks about 'nappy headed hoes'?

I know I'm going to catch hell from this comment.......... 

Contributing Editor - Race, Ethnicity & Culture

Writing is Fighting: www.lainad.typepad.com

 

Submitted by lainad on Thu, 07/31/2008 - 02:29
 

You Are Right - Just A Bit of Clarification

There have been and continue to be "coalitions" about issues in the African American community. There are certain radio hosts who are talks show/activists, Tom Joyner, Michael Baisden and others who have had campaigns about these issues.

When the Imus thing came up it was multiple grass roots activities that responded in force. Do not be fooled that certain so-called civic leaders had anything to do with it. They were late to the party and leeched on as best they could.

Black women has consistently written spoken about the misogynistic lyrics for years. And the videos and the glorification of Thug Life. This was not seen as a feminist issue, in my opinion.

I wish the focus of the campaign was more on the lyrics and not so much defending Hillary. There are enough examples of base level hate speech. I would like to see Obama left out of it altogether but that ship has sailed.
Gena - Out On The Stoop

Submitted by Gena Haskett on Thu, 07/31/2008 - 04:33
 

You Went Out On A Limb, So I'll Come Out With
You

Hi Laina,

I appreciate you feelings and in some respects you're right.  But let me play devil's advocate for a minute.

If I'm a white woman and a black blogger has written a post criticizing the denigration of women of color in lyrics of rap songs or other urban pop culture, I might think twice about writing a comment which agrees with the blogger because if I don't frame my comment just right, I might be afraid of being called racist and insensitive because I'm ultimately criticizing black men. 

It's kind of like someone being afraid to take sides in an argument between two family members.  They may be pissed off at each other, but they're just as likely to turn on you if you jump in and say the wrong thing.  So sometimes whether it's right or wrong, we remain silent.  Sometimes we just don't have the energy to get involved.

As far as Don Imus, there were quite a few white women bloggers who called him out.  As far as a coalition being formed to speak out about sexism, well you know what, at the moment Hillary has a built-in base, that includes some black people, who are raring for a fight and can be mobilized quickly. 

As far as Geraldine Ferraro and some of the other "racist or racially tinged" comments during the campaign, I'm of the opinion that a lot of that was overblown, but I know that many black people disagree with me and I understand why they would feel that way.

So here we are out on the limb together and the view up here could get very interesting.

Megan Smith
BlogHer Contributing Editor, TV/YouTube
Megan's Minute: Quirky Commentary Around The Clock

Submitted by Megan Smith on Thu, 07/31/2008 - 06:51
 

Enough outrage to go around

There's no need to save our outrage for one cause or another, or for one race of women or another.

I do think there is something to be said for taking the moment we are in post-Hillary's presidential campaign, to keep the focus on sexism and why all women should be outraged.

It is accpeted in so many main stream outlets -- my favorite cause at the moment is getting Joe Scarborough to stop talking down to women on his show, I saw an example of it in a video shown at BlogHer and saw him do it yesterday morning to his woman co-host Mika Brzezinski just this week as I was sipping coffee at the beach.

Thank you for this wonderful post.

PunditMom, BlogHer Politics & News Contributing Editor

Also at MOMocrats, The Huffington Post and DC Metro Moms

Submitted by PunditMom on Thu, 07/31/2008 - 04:01
 

"Enough is enough - sexism is as repugnant as
racism!"

Thanks for the post. I guess, unfortunately, that the enduring message of Hillary Clinton's campaign should not be that there is sexism out there, but that we need to keep speaking up--blogging out--about it when we see it. The B word won't be stopped from being uttered unless we keep standing up and calling the users out on it. If men still think it's entertaining to put women down, well, then our work is not done. Now we need to keep the energy level up that Hillary's campaign gave to us: we need to stand together to create our own empowerment because no one's giving it to us. 

Laura (www.RebelliousThoughtsofaWoman.com)

Submitted by rebellious thinker on Thu, 07/31/2008 - 04:25
 

Stop the Silence on ignorance

First of all, yes, of course, I agree with all that's been said. 

Ludacris's song was all kinds of sexist, racist (against black people) and foolish.

Yes, it was sexist in its denigration of Hillary Clinton, and also sexist in its adoption of the aggressive, hypermasculine posture that shows up in unconscious hip-hop, but goes back to the days of the black buck and Stagolee.  

Why do I say racist against black people? Because it reflected the internalized racism inherent in the thug stereotype. He boasts, for example, that Obama loves him so much that if Luda was convicted of a crime, Pres. Obama would give him an automatic pardon. Not only is it a preposterous claim, but it plays to the racist stereotype that black people condone criminality, Luda's description of himself, Obama and their relationship is right out of DW Griffith. 

Not that Luda and Obama actually have a relationship. From what I've read, he met Obama exactly once, in the fall of 2006, just before Obama declared his candidacy. According to a news report on the meeting, they talked about  "empowering youth." In an interview with Rolling Stone earlier this year, Obama said Luda was talented. In the wake of this latest episode, Obama has of course condemned Ludacris' lyrics.

Chris Bridges (Ludacris' real name) is a talented rapper, actor and businessman. He has also demonstrated himself to be sexist, self-hating and capable of doing things that are incredibly stupid. 

As Terrence Howard said to Luda in the movie, "Crash,"  "You embarass  me. You  embarass yourself."

 

 

Kim
BlogHer Contributing Editor|Professor Kim|

Submitted by Kim Pearson on Thu, 07/31/2008 - 08:50