Understanding Erasure and Expanding Authentic Representation
CW // discussion of colonialism, anti-Blackness, erasure
As bell hooks puts it in the introduction to Black Looks: Race and Representation, “control over images is central to the maintenance of any system of racial domination [and] . . . we are most likely to see images of Black people that reinforce and reinscribe white supremacy”. In this blog post, you will find some reflections on media representation and erasure of Black, Indigenous, and non-Black POC, as well as a list of creative and brilliant folks you should follow.
On the Issue of Erasure
“We know that erasure is one of white supremacy’s favorite tools”- Weeze Doran, Co-Conspired Conversations Podcast. IG post.
Erasure, or a logic of elimination, is a prominent pillar of white supremacy. The “present absence” of Black, Indigenous, and non-Black POC serves the dominant US cultural imagination, strengthening the notion that conquest and oppression are justifiable.
To better understand what I mean by different logics of white supremacy, you can check out some of these works:
Frantz Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth. Here is a pdf of the first section, “On Violence”
Indigenous Politics Audio Podcast: “Settler Colonialism” J Kēhaulani Kauanui
Settler Colonialism and the Elimination of the Native By Patrick Wolfe
Unrelated to the rest of this blog post, but if you already have a solid grasp of these dynamics, I would recommend reading this piece, “Comeback as Re-Settlement: Detroit, Anti-Blackness, and Settler Colonialism” by Jessi Quizar. Quizar explores how these logics shift in different enominic contexts, and explores how gentrification has impacted the racialization of Black people.
Social Media Changing the Representation Game
Social media allows people direct access and exposure to other people’s lives and lifestyles that aren’t represented in, aka- violently erased from, mainstream media. Self-representation and visibility is hugely important for Black, Indigenous, and non-Black POC. By self-representation, I mean when experience is captured by, for, and with an investment in the individuals, people, or communities represented. It’s about genuine authenticity.
As author S.R. Crawford puts it, when you see someone who looks like you doing something (from the most phenomenal to the most mundane), “your brain finally says, ‘Oh okay, yeah, I think this is us. This could be us’”. Representation like this can foster confidence, motivation, and a sense of belonging.
On the other hand, it’s also hugely important for white folks to see and ideally appreciate some of the experiences and perspectives of Black, Indigenous, and non-Black POC, for cis-het people to see queer and trans people, for able-bodied and neurotypical people to see disabled and nuerodiverse people, for straight sized people to see fat people, etc. This deliberate and intentional act is the first step in understanding and fighting against how white supremacy structures your world views.
**Side note- if you are white and able to do so, you should look into tipping or subscribing to content creators’ patreons that you appreciate and learn from
Cool Content Creators to Follow in 2021!
Body Neutrality/Body Positivity Content Creators
Cosplayers - Check out this piece written by Briana Lawrence, “Proudly Black, Fat, Queer and Making a Home for Myself in Cosplay.”
Musicians
Artists
Mohammed Fayaz IG
Gabriella Grimes IG
Shanée Benjamin IG
Ashley Lukashevsky IG
Renée “Nay” Bever IG
Fatima Jamal website
Beauty influencers
Aaron Phillip IG
Jacinda IG
Myla IG
Khai IG
Tann IG personal IG
Anthony Walker IG
Elle IG
Kareem R. IG
Catherine IG
Based Neon IG
Authors, Poets
Also check out this link to a directory of independent Black bookstores. I also recommend buying books from Blue Stockings NYC, and queer trans and sex worker collectively run bookstore or Haymarket Books, a self described “radical publisher of politics, culture, current events”
Comedians
Jaboukie Young White IG
Nicole Byer IG
Wyatt Cenac IG
Janelle James IG
Dulce Sloan IG
Steph Tisdell IG
Gina Yashere IG
Sasheer Zamata IG
Community Organizers, Advocates, and Educators
Raven Sutton IG
Ericka Hart IG
Jari Jones IG
Dr. Jennifer Mullan IG
Tricia Hersey, founder of the Nap Ministry IG
Ebony Janice IG
Kelly M Hayes Twitter
Melony Edwards IG
Sex Workers, Dancers
Lastly, check out this QTPOC film directory. The curator, Michael Mungin noted, “It is odd to me that more resources like this do not already exist, but it’s a blessing and an honor to have the opportunity to create the kinds of resources we want to see in the world.” They were inspired by Slate and their outstanding Black Film Canon project of 2016.
To end with another quote from bell hooks’ Black Looks: Race and Representation, it is a “fundamental task . . . [to] struggle to break with the hegemonic modes of seeing, thinking, and being that block our capacity to see ourselves oppositionally, to imagine, describe, and invent ourselves in ways that are liberatory. . . To face these wounds, to heal them, progressive Black people and our allies in struggle must be willing to grant the effort to critically intervene and transform the world of image making authority”
