We are shown daily in the media, black women as either highly sexual, or "mammies" who never have sex. It is thought to be odd if a woman of color on TV or in a movie does not have an extremely curvy figure. A flat chested or flat bottomed black woman is a rarity on screen, and usually if there is one, the character is more of an "Oreo" with a more "white" personality. Black women are strippers and prostitutes on screen or in music. Black women in music are also less likely to be called women. They may be called bitches, or even just a piece of ass, but never a woman. They are broken up into parts of their body, but never seen as a whole. And yes, this does occur to white women, but it seems to be most aggressively done to women in the hip hop culture, who are predominately black.
I can see how this language dehumanizes women in the eyes of the public. Women are not whole people, they are only breasts and ass. This could possibly explain the widespread violence in predominantly black neighborhoods. It could also explain the thought processes of many people, especially on issues such as rape and domestic violence.
I truly feel that knowing why we think things can help us change the way we think. I'm hoping to spread this information and to try and get women to seem more like humans and not pieces of something to the public. I hope you do too.
In case the link above does not work: http://www.thefrisky.com/2013-10-04/true-story-i-grew-up-a-poor-black-sex-symbol/
