Hood Feminism Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot - Mikki Kendall Page 0,49
do is to consider the idea that what makes you feel pretty, what makes you think of yourself as sexy, isn’t happening in a vacuum. It has real consequences for communities that you don’t inhabit, and it’s not excusable just because it makes the person appropriating feel attractive.
Although body-positive feminism is supposed to celebrate everyone, there are recurring issues of racism and colorism even within that community. Because white female bodies being adored and protected is a key aspect of maintaining white supremacist narratives, there is a side effect of alienating the very communities of color that started the body-positive movement. When white feminism takes the center of any conversation about bodies, there is a tendency to replicate the same harmful aesthetics that prioritize certain body types to uphold as worthwhile and prioritize others as worth ignoring or outright shaming. Unsurprisingly there’s a lack of concern for the mental health of those being pushed out of a movement that was supposed to be inclusive.
It’s important to understand that stress and trauma extend beyond the direct behaviors of prejudiced individuals and impact communities. When people are surrounded by constant reminders that their identity is unwelcome, and microaggressions can come at anytime, anywhere, to anyone, it creates a lingering anxiety around your body’s right to exist. It may seem like I am commingling disparate issues within the community, but for marginalized people, the messaging that our bodies are wrong and a problem to be solved by disappearing can feel constant.
We regularly see clips on the news featuring unarmed Black, Latinx, Asian, or Indigenous people being killed on the street, in a car, in a holding cell, or even in a church. Not only does that bring up an array of painful memories, it can trigger something called vicarious traumatization. Even if the specific event has never happened to us directly, we may have witnessed similar experiences, or know people in our communities who have been traumatized or killed in similar ways. Not only are their stories resonating in our minds, there’s never a shortage of pundits getting airtime to justify the horror that has occurred. Victim blaming isn’t just something that occurs around sexual assault, and because the cycle of trauma never ends, you expect to be able to embrace the idea of self-care as a way to cope. To be able to rest your mind in the spaces that ostensibly exist online and off for that purpose. So it can be incredibly jarring to seek out safer spaces and find that you aren’t necessarily welcome or cared for in the same way because of your identity.
Marginalized people are more likely to have lower levels of access to mental health services than middle- or upper-class white people, and when they receive care, it is more likely to be of poorer quality. There are several factors that create situations where marginalized people in high-stress environments aren’t getting proper care. In some areas like Chicago, it can be as simple as a lack of availability due to closures of mental health programs. Even for those who still have programs available, other barriers to care may include transportation issues, a lack of childcare, or difficulty taking time off work to attend regular appointments.
We know that the mental health system is flawed, but that’s not a good excuse for feminism to ignore the emotional health of women of color. Instead of parroting dehumanizing racist tropes about the strength of marginalized people, feminism has to be willing to interrogate its stake in upholding this aspect of white supremacy. Advocates for medical care should also be working on improving the status quo for those who are the least likely to both seek and receive treatment. Feminism has to center on those who are most vulnerable to the systemic disparities in conversations around getting help and caring for yourself, whether through the mental health system or at home. It’s not enough to do a token highlight of the problems in marginalized communities once a year. Feminism has to advocate for better access to mental health care for everyone.
It’s also important to not off-load the emotional labor of educating providers or communities onto the marginalized people looking for support. And it’s key to include marginalized people in leadership roles in campaigns and in institutions that claim to be concerned with mental health. Above all, it’s essential to do the work of lobbying