Letter from the Editrix
by Latoya Peterson
So, here we are. Another editor’s letter. And wow, how things have changed in such a short period of time. Since I have a lot to cover, I’m going to go into the semi-bad stuff first, then flow into the good, and then flow into what’s coming up.
(This is a long one, grab a snack…)
The Semi-bad
I will get everyone on the bus
Recent comments have prompted me to remind everyone that reads here that if your racial/ethnic group is not represented, I am working to fix that. If you want to volunteer, drop an email to team@racialicious.com and let me know what you want to do. In the meantime, I am following about 26 bloggers who I would eventually like to invite to write here. Some of them I am currently trying to entice over. Some you will start seeing more of in a few weeks. But I know that black and asian issues are overrepresented here, that Latin@/Native/Indigenous/South Asian perspectives are underrepresented. I know that queer perspectives (from all angles) are drastically underrepresented. I know that there are many different things we do not discuss enough (issues of ability, class, etc.)
So here’s something you’ve heard before: We’re working on it.
And here’s the follow up to that statement: It will be done. It will not be instant. And it may not be in the way that is expected. But hopefully, by the time this year is out, we will be up to about fifteen regular contributors and have a contributor network that is 100 strong. We already have six, and I am hoping to add two more very soon.
A note about the writers
This brings me to the *why* it is so difficult to find new, regular writers for this site. As you all look around Racialicious, you should notice something – aside from Carmen’s New Demographic pop-up, there are no ads here. No one is paid to contribute here. But what my correspondents are looking for is community. Which they find in the comments. A lot of the writers I like to approach initially write for Racialicious because they like the blog and our readers. Whether they choose to continue to contribute is really a function of the comments section.
Now, I work with writers to make sure that (1) the information they present is factual and correct, (2) easily understood, (3) accessible and engaging. They bring to the table their own experiences, ideas, and news from their communities. However, what no writer wants is to feel unfairly attacked.
The Memin Penguin thread got really ugly for those of us on the back end here. One of my writers was accused of not knowing anything about a subject, and making up a factual and well documented event. These kinds of accusations are easily dealt with, but they tend to make writers wary of covering something they see outside of their own community – even if their information is correct and they present a very honest take.
Another contributor was called “self-hating” though she was not even the author of the piece. That was unnecessary and uncalled for. I am not sure if that contributor even read that thread (and I am damn sure not bringing it to her attention) but I would be concerned that that person would no longer want to contribute here because of those kinds of comments.
Think I am overreacting?
The Interracial Dating series is four pieces short. There were four separate contributors I approached to handle pieces around very provocative topics of conversation and they turned down the opportunity. Why? Because they didn’t want to deal with people in the comments. And that bothers me because those are four conversations that we will not have. And since these pieces relied heavily on personal discussion and personal anecdote, they ultimately chose not to share.
Which is a pity, because so much of racial interaction happens between other people, in the conversations we have and how we relate to each other. If we can’t share these things, our conversation will be limited.
To illustrate this, let me go to a piece that I wrote way back when, where the comments made me re-evaluate how much I wanted to share here:
Race Preference or Race Fetish
In this piece, I explored a lot of different dimensions of preferences versus fetishes in sex and dating. In one example, I used the example of one of my good friends, who revealed to me he had a slave fetish. I asked him if this, subconsciously, was why he tended to prefer white women. Then I went on to another example.
The comments section for this one was interesting, as commenters had a lot of opinions on his proclivities.
They wanted to know why, what it meant, and what it means to harbor that kind of fetish. (For those of you interested, my friend actually came to the thread and responded close to the end, under the screenname Hedonism, starting at #59.)
Now, let me break it down a bit.
I was NOT offended by people being creeped out about a certain fetish. You are in your full rights to express that and everything isn’t for everyone.
I was NOT offended at people who wanted to explore the ideas around the fetish – how do you develop an urge for something like that? Why would you want to introduce that kind of racial dynamic into your bedroom? All good questions.
I WAS offended at the assumptions one or two commenters drew from two paragraph’s worth of text. One person even went so far as to say that my friend (who I have known for about a decade) is disgusting, sick, twisted, and should be put into a mental institution for what amounts to a fleeting sexual desire. Not only that, but it was obvious that *I* was mentally damaged for hanging out with such an individual, because she couldn’t possibly see how that wouldn’t work its way into every aspect of his life.
Now, hold the fuck up.
Number one, you can’t make these huge, major assumptions about someone else’s life or friendships based on one line of text. This is all, I, as the writer have chosen to show you. What aftermath happened, I may have chosen not to share. Maybe Toby got a white girl to beat him a couple times, and now has moved on to swing play. Maybe he and his white partner had a discussion where she revealed she could never be comfortable with that kind of play, and he respected her wishes. Maybe he joined the Mandingo circuit, and gets his rocks off that way. Who knows?
And two – how many of us know all of our friends sexual proclivities? I know what my two best friends like to do just because we talk like that. But I’m not digging up in everyone’s background. One of my friends might like to get pegged by his woman. One of my friends might like to get choked and spit on. But how the hell would I know – I’m the friend, a person who is not fucking them. What goes on behind closed bedroom doors is their business, not mine.
But the point is, I shared the story to illustrate a particular point, and someone focused on one part of the piece and ran whatever they thought the truth was.
Now, I am a little more blogosphere grizzled so I don’t really care anymore. (That’s why I am about to play the bad guy on the Interracial Dating posts – someone has got to bring that stuff up.) But I am cognizant of how things affect my writers because I remember being there. And I remember wanting to take a “break” from the blogosphere because of reactions like that which attacked my friends.
Wendi Muse went through something similar here. And she drastically reduced the number of her posts in the wake of that. I don’t want this to happen to the writers here, particularly the people who I am recruiting who are developing their voices.
Feel free to critically engage with any *ideas* put forth here. Just don’t attack the person, or make value judgments about their friends. And I will be watching for this. That’s not how we roll here.
Where are the men?
For those of you who missed it, there was an interesting comment from drispe on the Special Correspondents thread.
#
drispe wrote:
Is it just me, or is there a feminine slant here? The “staff” seems to get on without regular male contributors. Since you constantly examine race, I would think that both halves of the world’s population could get in on the act.
Posted 28 Jul 2008 at 2:39 pm ¶ (Edit)
#
Latoya Peterson wrote:
@drispe -
Yup, the feminine slant is intentional. I spent the entire weekend surrounded by the fabulous femmes of the Women’s Media Center and the stats for women on op-ed pages, television, in major positions within the media and in most of our chosen fields are abysmal.
It’s not even close to the kind of representation we should deserve – 3% of media higher ups are women, though we are 51% of the population. Women are more likely to be one time only contributors to talk panels, are only 8-15% of contributors to the op-ed section (even on WOMEN’S ISSUES, which are still dominated by male voices) and are still seen as optional, irrational, or shrill in most sections of the media, both new and legacy.
So, just like this is a predominantly PoC space, it will also remain a predominantly femme run space. While we have wonderful and talented men who comment here and contribute (did you forget about Luke Lee, Sewere, and Merq?) as well as blog buddies who we quote and cross post from, with things the way they are, I’m keeping it girly.
Now, let me ask you this – how many comments have you posted in predominantly male spaces asking where are all the women?
Posted 28 Jul 2008 at 2:48 pm ¶ (Edit)
#
drispe wrote:
Latoya,
Whatever Luke Lee, Sewere, and Merq might have contributed in the past isn’t evident in the home page’s available posts(going back several days). First impressions… I just find it ironic that people who would otherwise strive for diversity rein it in to right the wrongs they’ve suffered. It’s refreshing that you at least admit to it, though. During my regular visits to sites comprised of contributions by both genders, I don’t notice one outweighing the other. Sorry I can’t help with the “gotcha”.Posted 28 Jul 2008 at 4:36 pm ¶ (Edit)
Latoya Peterson wrote:
@drispe -
First impressions… I just find it ironic that people who would otherwise strive for diversity rein it in to right the wrongs they’ve suffered.
You know, I hear that same argument about white writers on this site…
My answer is still the same, and best summed up in this statement from Resist Racism:
Sanctuary is not segregation.
In so many movements, women of color are marginalized. MoC and White Women tend to dominate the conversations. Black women are an afterthought. Women of color of other backgrounds are rarely mentioned at all, outside of a “victim of her culture” narrative.
I am not going to apologize for maintaining one space on the internet that will put us first.
On that note, that doesn’t mean that we will never explore men’s issues, just like that doesn’t mean I won’t post things written by whites. But men – and white folks – aren’t really hurting for a place where they are heard and respected.
It’s refreshing that you at least admit to it, though.
If it’s intentional, no reason not to cop to it.
During my regular visits to sites comprised of contributions by both genders, I don’t notice one outweighing the other. Sorry I can’t help with the “gotcha”.I can’t help you either. I’ve edited out what I read and it generally comes from a PoC perspective, most of that is women dominated or collaborative group blog. So outside of Talking Points Memo and newsfeeds I don’t really go to spaces that would give me that kind of headache.
(Oh, along those lines, if anyone knows of a good female run hip-hop blog, let me know.)
Now, to make sure we are clear, once again, this does not mean we will refuse male contributors or men who want to help contribute. The more the merrier! But we are going to keep the emphasis here PoC and female.
(And I would be remiss if I didn’t shout out Marge Twain’s response: “I’m with drispe in that I find it extraordinary that you ladies appear to have a wildly popular blog here and you apparently have engineered some method of typing without the use of penises.”)
And now that that’s out of the way…
The Good
I got through about 75 emails this weekend. I will be working through the week on it so I hope to get through the backlog of 600 before too long. If you sent me something, I saw it – it’s just lost in my inbox. Sit tight.
The Role of White Allies
I’ve gotten a few emails, and seen quite a bit of conversation popping off in the comments about the role of whites both here, on the Racialicious blog, and on a larger scale in the anti-racist movement. I am going to finish the allies series, and I already tapped two white people that I trust, who have dealt in often hostile PoC spaces, to offer up their opinions on being a successful ally. However, I am not sure of how the conversation is going to flow yet. Feel free to add questions/suggestions in the comments.
What’s Coming Up
Ask Racialicious : New advice column! All questions will be put to the panel of current contributors, and you will receive two or three different takes on your particular situation. The first one is set for next week.
The Role of the Sexual Correspondent: I tapped Andrea to be our Sexual correspondent because I found there were so many issues I wanted to delve into concerning race and sex. I watch a lot of provocative conversations on feminist blogs, but I rarely ever comment because they do not really take into consideration how it feels to be outside of current beauty standards, or how the “Art of Femme” (Octogalore is calling it sparkle) can, in some ways, be liberating or freeing. Obviously, we balance this analysis against our often overly sexualized images, and the conversation takes on a new dimension.
I also want to talk about sex work and women of color, build on Andrea’s first post about sexuality and authority, devote a whole series to preferences and how we form them, and have a good discussion on power dynamics and kryiarchy in interracial/intraracial/interethnic relationships. Again, any suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments.
The Things We Do to Each Other: I am forming this series, about interracial, PoC-to-PoC interactions. Why isn’t there more unity between our groups? Why are we all so invested in this wheel of tyranny? How do pivotal events (like the riots in LA) play into different groups interpretations of history? And how do we deal with racist actions by other people of color?
The Things We Do to Ourselves: Second part of this series, specifically about intra-racial or intra-ethnic conflicts. Colorism factors large here, and I know its effects cross communities. Also looking at the black hair wars, Generation 1.5 versus “FOBs,” the penalties for acting outside of the boundaries set by your group.
Gender & Beauty: I am holding on this until after the Women of Color and Beauty carnival happens, but I’d love to continue to delve into this topic, particularly around representations of beauty.
Some Musings on Masculinity: I read an interesting line from Mark Anthony Neal, who mentioned that being a hip-hop feminist identified male “queers” you in all kinds of ways. Then I read PaulPortland and Joseph’s exchange on another thread about how ideas about gender and “proper” masculinity influence how MoCs interact with the world at a very early age. Add that to me finding a copy of bell hooks’ “The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love” for three bucks, and we have a new series. Not sure about the ETA on this one, perhaps early fall.
Outside of the Binary: Davonne from Gimme Sugar made comments about being “The Blackest Asian,” which reminded me of all the times my friends who were outside of the black/white binary in the US found themselves migrating to one extreme or another. I need to read some more Andrea Smith, but I’m contemplating this one.
The Random
Music
Angel H. tagged me with a meme a while back, asking for seven songs. But my mood changes quickly, so here are seven artists I’ve been spinning:
Nina Simone (To Be Young, Gifted and Black; Either Way I Lose, Near to You, If He Changed My Name, )
Esperanza Spalding (Ponta De Areia, She Got to You, Mela)
Esthero (Heaven Sent, If Tha Mood, OG Bitch)
Rhymefest (Build Me Up, Fever)
Nas (If I Ruled the World, The World is Yours)
Rachael Yamagata (I Wish You, Even So, Collide)
Murs (You & I, Dark Skinned White Girls)
And that’s it from me. Thanks for reading, add your questions/comments/complaints/suggestions as you will.
-LDP
Carmen Van Kerckhove is co-founder and president of
RJG wrote:
General reply giving praise for the website as a whole. Looking forward to the Ask column, let alone probably using it myself.
Posted 04 Aug 2008 at 10:51 am ¶
Zora wrote:
Thanks for letting us know what’s going on – both the new developments as well as the concerns. It’s really a shame that the comments have made some writers feel like this isn’t a safe space. I hope that we as commenters can help work on making / keeping this a site that is both supportive and critical – engaging with each others’ ideas in a productive, rather than destructive, way.
All of the new features sound really interesting. I’m kind of ridiculously excited about the Ask Racialicious idea, and really looking forward to The Things We Do To Each Other, too.
Posted 04 Aug 2008 at 11:09 am ¶
Fatemeh wrote:
YAAAAAY LATOYA! You are doing a great job, and I have full confidence in where you will take Racialicious! HUG!
Posted 04 Aug 2008 at 11:22 am ¶
Gothic Guera wrote:
Keep in mind the writer of the Memin Penguin article did write about admitting ” knowing little about popular culture there”(Mexico), I believe that most of the commenters who were attacking her had this in mind ” knowing about the pop culture in Mexico will help writing about the Pop culture in Mexico.” I will leave at that I have also made less commenting mostly because I’m afraid of people attacki ng me. I once was chided by a blogger who was complain that she had a lack of T.V show to watch, I suggest to her to read some books. I was once told by a friend, that girl wanted to beat me up, for criticizing her article on education, (This was in the school’s news paper) luckily I wrote under my pen name. Plus I can run pretty fast.
Also I was disappointed when racialicious announced that it supported Obama , (I stopped reading it for months actually) I’m over that now. But I agree I cannot wait for the article on Gender and Beauty and Ask column.
Posted 04 Aug 2008 at 11:40 am ¶
Jus Plain Ol Me wrote:
Great post. However, I was sidetracked by one word near the end that nearly made the rest of the post irrelevant:
Esthero.
I want to plan a trip to Toronto just to see her perform live (because she sure as hell won’t be coming to Ohio). I concur regarding Murs, Rhymefest and Nas. I’ll have to check out the others as well.
Posted 04 Aug 2008 at 12:10 pm ¶
dave wrote:
good stuff! keep doing what you do. looking forward to the soon coming installments.
Posted 04 Aug 2008 at 12:11 pm ¶
Erin wrote:
this is one of the best blogs out there and while i can understand contributors’ hesitations and concerns about the comments section – the reality check is that most blogs out there have horrible, unmoderated comments filled with flamewar-loving trolls.
racialicious is amazing and unique – i know that it’ll keep being relevant and thought-provoking. looking forward to seeing what the coming months bring!
Posted 04 Aug 2008 at 12:12 pm ¶
Jack D. wrote:
re “The Interracial Dating series is four pieces short. There were four separate contributors I approached to handle pieces around very provocative topics of conversation and they turned down the opportunity. Why? Because they didn’t want to deal with people in the comments.”:
If a potential contributor doesn’t feel she (or he) can “deal” with feedback, you have the power to disallow responses. Just hit the program toggle.
Yes, yes, yes, I know you want to promote inclusiveness and community. But in this case it’s the lesser or two evils: Turn off the “respond” key on a case-by-case basis or give up otherwise excellent articles altogether.
Heck, you already wield the weighty hammer of editorial decision-making on a lot of other much more important issues here. This is a pretty simple decision by comparison. … Preemptively shut down the negative noise every so often. It’s your right and responsibility.
Posted 04 Aug 2008 at 12:16 pm ¶
F wrote:
I’m looking forward to all the new developments. And this is my favourite blog, so, keep up the good work!
Posted 04 Aug 2008 at 12:18 pm ¶
coco wrote:
first, mad props to Latoya:
i really like the way this space has been intentionally crafted to give voice to ppl who are traditionally on the margins of discussion.
about the commentors:
I think that as the site gets more popular, it attracts readers who aren’t familiar with the “first principles” of anti-racist work.
I think it’d be useful to provide links to earlier Racialicious posts with background info, so new commenters can get a sense of how to constructively approach these topics . That way we don’t have to reinvent the “wheel of tyranny” with every post.
*pls excuse the pun* ; )
Posted 04 Aug 2008 at 12:42 pm ¶
Philip Arthur Moore wrote:
You’ve been doing a great job on the blog, Latoya. I did find the following line quite interesting, to say the least:
I too did wonder for a time if the lack of articles written by males on the site was due to few male writers wanting to contribute to Racialicious or Racialicious’ conscious efforts to pull the discussion in the direction of a, as you put it, femme run space. To be sure, it doesn’t take a male to write about issues that affect men, and it doesn’t take a woman to tackle feminist issues, but the curiosity was in my mind nonetheless. I appreciate your candor and honesty on the issue.
On a more general level, your argument that sanctuary does not equal segregation is, at first glance, somewhat difficult to wrap my mind around.
I’m assuming that you mean to say that providing a safe space for women of color to write about race and gender does not imply a direct effort to keep others out. If this is the case, then I could not agree more with you. I tend to pay less attention to who does the writing than what is actually written, and the fact that Racialicious is predominately female driven doesn’t push or pull me in any one direction away or towards the site. It’s the content that I read.
That said, I do also enjoy reading about experiences unique to men of color, because I am one. A piece or two every now and then would be a welcomed addition to the site, not of course because the other content isn’t good, but because I have always enjoyed sprinkles on my ice cream.
Keep up the good work.
Posted 04 Aug 2008 at 12:44 pm ¶
Latoya Peterson wrote:
Thanks all, for the support!
@Zora – yes, exactly. Constructive criticism is cool and necessary. Targeted criticism that has nothing to do with the piece is not. And there was a hard learning curve on that one for me. But good criticism is how the blog grows. I will be forever grateful to that one commenter who sharply critiqued the use of the term “latin@” because it is colonizing. I had never thought of it that way before, and it was illuminating. (It’s also a pain in the ass from a tagging point of view, but that’s neither here or there.)
@Gothic Guera –
Yes, she did, but then she outlined quite a bit of what she did know and discussed a good bit of how things are interpreted differently between cultures. So…again, I could see the criticism, but I can’t condone attacks.
Re: endorsing Obama – yeah, that was a hard one for us. And it’s still a balancing act because we are not technically a political blog, but race is pulling hard in politics right now. We made the decision in February for whatever good it may have done, but we understood that some readers may be turned off. And we struggled with that the whole primary cycle. But, glad you’re back.
Re: attacks – Yes, they are hard to deal with. But, I think, if you are able to convey that you are coming from a place where your goal isn’t to humiliate the writer (or other readers) then things go over more smoothly. I get lots of criticism too – it’s just through practice I learn to take the sting out and head off criticism before it forms. (Also, just because we are all nice and constructive in here, doesn’t mean that we are safe from other bloggers and their communities ripping you to shreds.)
@Jus Plain’ Ol Me –
Esthero is the business, no doubt. I am mad I missed her when she was in DC. If you like Jazz, check out Esperanza Spalding. And Nina…ah, Nina Simone. She is my favorite golden age jazz singer, even above Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughn and Ella Fitzgerald. Check out the unmixed version of “Feeling Good.” Actually, I’m going to put that on right now.
Put some headphones on for that one and luxuriate in the sound.
@Jack D. –
That’s always the option I never take, I know. Turning off the comments doesn’t stop other blogs from responding either. Ultimately, it’s up to the contributors on what they want to do – after all, they write and present it to a community, they just might not be ready to share it yet. Of the four, two really bothered me because I knew what they could have been. But ah well.
I received a piece recently I considered turning comments off for, but it is because I think people would really have to marinate on it to let the ideas sink in. That being said, I almost think it is too provocative to post all at once – that each idea should be pulled out and really digested for maximum impact. It’s a really advanced piece. So I am debating that one.
But overall, I prefer to leave comments open. The blog is predicated on conversation, and anytime I shut that down (good reason or no) I wonder what we are losing.
But yes, I think about it.
Posted 04 Aug 2008 at 12:46 pm ¶
coco wrote:
for example, we’ve revisited the topic of humor, comedians and race for over a year now, but the new posts don’t reference the earlier ones. if posts linked to those previous references it would give newer readers a sense of context.
Posted 04 Aug 2008 at 12:47 pm ¶
Philip Arthur Moore wrote:
Regarding my last comment, I should probably modify “a welcomed addition” to “a welcomed continuation”. In any event, keep up the wonderful work.
Posted 04 Aug 2008 at 12:50 pm ¶
PaulPortland wrote:
Big thanks to you, Latoya, and the rest of the Racialicious staff, for being so open about the various complex conversations we need to have about race in our world. And even though you mentioned the conversation Joseph and I had in one of the comments sections regarding masculinity and MoC, I still operate with the understanding that this blog is primarily one for WoC, and that’s awesome, in my opinion. As a man, I am the beneficiary of privilege in this society too, and oftentimes this privilege taints my relationships with WoC. I come to Racialicious to help me get a handle on my own subconscious misogyny (and how it manifests itself primarily against WoC while white women get the benefit of the doubt from me). Understand that I don’t mean this as a way to shift the burden on WoC to “bring me around” or “educate my dumb ass.” No, no, the burden is on me to listen and learn.
Posted 04 Aug 2008 at 12:58 pm ¶
Lyonside wrote:
Latoya, the structure of this blog continues to evolve, which is all for the good – it keeps us interesting, focused, and relevant.
Regarding the suggestion to have references to basic issues: Shakesville has a “Feminism 101″ page, similar to a moderation policy, that references basic topics and themes, outlines how NOT to discuss something, and gives links to posts discussing core ideas.
Might save a lot of us the head-thumping involved with new traffic, and would be a good reminder for regulars who sometimes may think we know it all.
Posted 04 Aug 2008 at 1:00 pm ¶
Latoya Peterson wrote:
@Phillip -
Oh ho! How have you been? Still in Viet Nam?
That said, I do also enjoy reading about experiences unique to men of color, because I am one. A piece or two every now and then would be a welcomed addition to the site, not of course because the other content isn’t good, but because I have always enjoyed sprinkles on my ice cream.
Ahem. Here’s the other thing I didn’t want to say because it plays on a stereotype, but what the hell – men don’t commit.
The funny thing about drispe’s comment is that I actually have been chasing down men to write on masculinity for this site. I’ve been harassing Merq, Sewere, Tariq Nelson, Luke Lee (though Luke is a legacy contributor, he can come back whenever he wants) and Jehanzeb, to provide me with some regular posts on things from the male perspective. I also started stalking the comments section, pulled out some commenters who have great perspectives and asked *them* to write me something on masculinity or whatever they feel really. Here’s where they are:
*Most are dealing with long term projects, like school, finals, moving, or other items that prevent them from contributing regularly.
*A couple mentioned family obligations.
*A few, I have asked for one thing, and they gave me something completely different. Not that what they provide isn’t good, but it isn’t always something we have an immediate need for.
*Many have their own blogs, so they prefer to write there and have me cross-post, instead of contributing regularly.
*Time is short, and a lot of our blog buds are transitioning into podcast and vlogging (a la Jay Smooth) instead of writing.
So, it’s not for lack of trying on my part that teh menz aren’t here. While the site will still be femme dominated, I would rather it be about 60/40 than the 90/10 it currently is. And I feel like I can’t have a quality discussion about the gender wars without having male counterpoints. So it is something I work on. But it’s not really super high on the priority list. When things settle down, the guys will contribute. And again, you can go around the net and find MoC all kinds of places, from AverageBro to Sepia Mutiny to the Fighting44s to Whatever-the-male-offshoot-of-Guanabee-is.
But, things will work out.
@Coco –
Yes, I notice that too. Especially with the gaming posts and things. Carmen and I are still debating what to do. Perhaps a required reading list, like the Angry Black Woman has? Maybe a Racism 101 wiki to link to? Maybe putting past posts in each post, but that’s a lot of work. We’ll figure something out though – I got plans for that left sidebar.
Posted 04 Aug 2008 at 1:01 pm ¶
tanglad wrote:
Adding my yaaays for the new features, esp both “Things We Do” columns. I usually avoid reading online comments because often, they’re just a collection of people giving their points, no real discussion going on, and then things get hostile and unproductive. I know the same challenges exist here, but it’s one of the few virtual spaces that I feel engaged in, and where the exchange is ultimately productive. I’m sure a lot of us appreciate the hard work that you all put into moderating this space. Thanks!
Posted 04 Aug 2008 at 1:07 pm ¶
Philip Arthur Moore wrote:
@Latoya: I am indeed still in Viet Nam, and will mostly be here for the foreseeable future. I’m thinking that a short vacation back to Texas in mid-2009 is in order.
With regard to your comment, it’s spot on. I’m greedy and want great, diverse content in one place, but the mentions that you have made to the other blogs both point out my laziness to seek out new writers and the reality that there are indeed men of color tackling issues elsewhere.
In the meantime, I’ll send a memo out to my brothers about our commitment problems. {:-P
Posted 04 Aug 2008 at 1:10 pm ¶
G.D. wrote:
Nothing to say, rily, outside of the fact that this website continues to get better as it grows.
*tips hat*
Posted 04 Aug 2008 at 2:47 pm ¶
DEAF FEMINIST PUNK!! wrote:
LaToya, I LOVE this blog. It’s made me think about a lot of stuff and has caused me to understand other people better. I also like how other people’s opinions, different from mine, has made me think differently.
By the way, where is that cool picture from? Is it from a manga? I’m curious who that character is.
Posted 04 Aug 2008 at 2:54 pm ¶
Latoya Peterson wrote:
@ DFP –
It’s from one of my favorite mangas (which is now an anime and a couple movies), NANA by Ai Yazawa. The girl pictured is Nana O, in all her rockstar glory.
You can check out info here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nana_(manga)
And if you’re interested:
http://www.nana-nana.net/nana_anime.html
Nana-nana.net also has scans of the manga, plot, music, all kinds of stuff – especially if you’re a junkie like I am.
I’ll be writing on Nana, friendship and feminism when I write for Feministe in early September. I’ll drop a link then.
Posted 04 Aug 2008 at 2:59 pm ¶
complexity wrote:
I appreciate what you are doing. Thats all I wanted to say.
Posted 04 Aug 2008 at 3:28 pm ¶
gatamala wrote:
Everyday I’m amazed by what you (LP, CVK) do here. I wish people would give you credit for the thought and effort it takes to maintain and moderate this blog.
It’s hard enough for me to dip in and comment (I gotta work), so I can’t imagine taking such hits over a labor of love (I’m too thin-skinned to put myself out there).
As for ads….do what you gotta do, but I shudder to think what could pop up on a race-themed site.
Posted 04 Aug 2008 at 3:43 pm ¶
Rob Schmidt wrote:
I appreciate the femme/girly slant of Racialicious. I enjoy hanging out with intelligent women. I get enough of the male/macho viewpoint on my own blog and others.
Posted 04 Aug 2008 at 4:26 pm ¶
waxghost wrote:
Is there anything that we can do to make contributors and potential-contributors feel more comfortable? Making the 49th comment on how good an article was can seem like I’m just adding unnecessary filler but maybe it would help to balance the more harsh critiques.
Posted 04 Aug 2008 at 4:34 pm ¶
Ali wrote:
I love Esthero, do it!
I also love, “Sanctuary is not segregation.” I scrambled for years to find the words to express just that sentiment. Then Racialicious came along and summed it up so perfectly. The future of this blog looks mighty bright. I, for one, am looking forward to it!
Posted 04 Aug 2008 at 5:10 pm ¶
LM wrote:
As someone who’s been reading Racialicious from the beginning, I’m blown away by how far it’s come. Latoya, the depth of your individual posts tends towards the spectacular, and that’s separate from the breadth of subject matter featured in the blog.
Posted 04 Aug 2008 at 5:17 pm ¶
NancyP wrote:
It all sounds good, Latoya. I will be interested to hear from the successful allies.
I agree that talking about kinks can be awkward, seeing that one person’s eewwww can be another’s ohhhhhhyes. Reading Samuel Delany’s Neveryona series gave me a bit of the squirms a (long) while back. (IIRC, in the pertinent portion, it was a slave society, main character was a freed slave who is into BDSM). It made me think past the eewwwww, which is the point of reading his more substantial novels.
Posted 04 Aug 2008 at 5:22 pm ¶
Phrone wrote:
Thank you for the update! It’s always good to know what’s going on. This is such an amazing blog, it’s definitely changed a lot of my preconceptions since I started reading it.
And thanks for the reminder about comments — it’s so easy for me as a reader to just go “Oh, that’s interesting” and walk away from a piece. But that’s not really helping me to really engage and it’s certainly not helping the original poster to feel appreciated for all the hard work she or he put in. So, yeah, I personally will be making more of an effort to respond more.
Also, I’m very excited for the beauty and masculinity articles!
Posted 04 Aug 2008 at 5:30 pm ¶
A. wrote:
OMG NANA.
Posted 04 Aug 2008 at 5:36 pm ¶
v mad wrote:
Have you ever thought about doing a D.C. Racialicious meet-up? I admit this is mostly self-interested, since like Philip, I too enjoy sprinkles on my ice cream.
Posted 04 Aug 2008 at 6:48 pm ¶
Alex wrote:
Exciting stuff happening! I’m excited for the new features, especially “Ask Racialicious.”
Plus, for what it’s worth, I’ve got to say that the few times my stuff has been featured here, I was completely overwhelmed / pleasantly surprised by the support of Racialicious’ commenters. So, yay to that.
Posted 04 Aug 2008 at 6:54 pm ¶
SarahMC wrote:
Thanks for writing this post! You address a lot of important issues and I am reminded why I appreciate this blog. I’m excited about the new developments.
Cheers!
Posted 04 Aug 2008 at 7:40 pm ¶
Lauren wrote:
I’m looking forward to reading about the role of anti-racist allies. As a white woman, I know that I must sometimes cross over the line racially, even as I am hyperaware of others crossing the line gender-wise.
If there is one lesson I have learned about being allies of other groups, it is that I just need to listen for a long time before I open my mouth.
Posted 04 Aug 2008 at 7:58 pm ¶
hello Im cat wrote:
^_^!!
I’m so excited about these new things happening with Racialicious, most especially the inter-ethnic/intra-racial conversations and AJ as our new Sexual Correspondent.
And I really appreciate your intentionality on making Racialicious a WOC sanctuary… we have so few.
Posted 04 Aug 2008 at 8:17 pm ¶
Liza wrote:
“Sanctuary is not segregation.” – sweet, sweet music to my ears, Latoya. Sweet, sweet music. I love this…
So, in your excerpt, you asked about a good hip hip women blog .. don’t have a blog, but a good resource. Quick shout to my friend Marcella Runell Hall with contribution from a number of great hip-hop women who came out with “Conscious Women Rock the Page: Using Hip Hop Fiction to Incite Social Change (http://www.lulu.com/browse/book_view.php?fCID=2113315&fBuyItem=3). It’s more of a “teaching tool” for middle/high school, but I’ve certainly used it to teach college level classes, too. Easy to read, great resources, good talking points.
Posted 04 Aug 2008 at 8:28 pm ¶
merq wrote:
@ Philip Arthur Moore:
One of my favorite bloggers from back then! Dude, how’s it going??? I really do miss TheThink. Hope everything’s going well.
@ Latoya:
Some/damn-near all of those upcoming features have me salivating. Can’t wait.
Posted 04 Aug 2008 at 8:50 pm ¶
Li wrote:
Delurking to say that I’m really excited for everything that’s coming up! The Things We Do to Each Other, in particular, sounds interesting. I don’t even remember how I came across this blog, but I’m so glad I did. My reactions to the posts are overwhelmingly, “Finally! Someone gets it!”, and I really enjoy the informative, thought-provoking discussions they incite.
To sum up all my gushing: Keep up the great work!
Posted 04 Aug 2008 at 11:00 pm ¶
kakodaimon wrote:
That’s crazy – my one blog wish used to be that Racialicious would have an advice column! Squee.
Posted 04 Aug 2008 at 11:44 pm ¶
Kelvin wrote:
Latoya and co,
You folks are doing a stand up job. I’m a dude and I have written for Racialicious once (hope to do another article soon).
I think it’s up to the guys to approach Latoya or Carmen. I did and I found that they were uber receptive even though they had a lot going on.
Posted 05 Aug 2008 at 12:10 am ¶
Daomadan wrote:
Keep up the good work! You’re one of the top blogs in my book. Looking forward to what you have planned for the future!
Posted 05 Aug 2008 at 8:03 am ¶
Janine deManda wrote:
first, thank you and everyone who makes racialicious happen for all your hard, thoughtful work. this site is an amazing resource that i am forever forwarding links from to folks i want to engage around these topics. thanks, thanks, and more thanks!
second, “sanctuary is not segregation” summarizes an entire essay i’ve never managed to polish sufficiently in one clear sentence. thank you. thank you also for prioritizing woc voices here. racialicious is a refuge and resource in many ways, and that’s definitely one of them.
third, i’m looking forward to reading all that’s coming up!
Posted 05 Aug 2008 at 5:44 pm ¶
drispe wrote:
“The funny thing about drispe’s comment is that I actually have been chasing down men to write on masculinity for this site…stalking the comments section…”
I think that’s ultimately a more hopeful response than what came my way initially. As far as “men – and white folks – [not] really hurting for a place where they are heard and respected,” that may hold water if the men are white folks and the white folks are men. The rest of us guys? Not so much. My whole point was that race obviously knows no gender boundaries. We might as well find sanctuary together.
Posted 06 Aug 2008 at 1:11 am ¶
Free wrote:
I look forward to reading and commenting on The Things We Do to Each Other and The Things We Do to Ourselves. I hope there is some discussion of how power (as in imposed will over others in spite of their resistance) influences how we treat ourselves and each other.
Posted 06 Aug 2008 at 5:12 am ¶
bug_girl wrote:
I can totally identify with choosing to not blogging on certain topics because you don’t want to deal with commenters and personal attacks. It’s exhausting, and I only have so much energy to expend on online asshats.
For what it’s worth, I love Racialious, and I feel like it helps me stay better informed. I am grateful to all of you for your hard work.
Posted 06 Aug 2008 at 9:14 am ¶
Ori wrote:
First off, I LOVE that Oosaki’s picture was at the beginning of this post. Secondly, I can’t even begin to explain how much I love Racialious. You all make me feel so proud to be a person of color, especially a women of color. And the information and opinions you provide me with are priceless, so keep up the fantastic work!
Posted 06 Aug 2008 at 11:25 am ¶
Sewere wrote:
Gatamala
Can I just steal that praise and double it?
LDP, CVK you guys do fantastic work and as everyone said, you go above and beyond to push the necessary discussion about race into new, thought provoking and fun areas. I may not be an aspiring writer per se, but I am always inspired about how you both convey your thoughts and engage us as a community on the discussion on race. I consider myself to be greatly fortunate to know you even if it is only virtually. I only hope that in my limited way I can contribute a little to what this forum has given me over the past 2 years I’ve been part of it.
yours in solidarity.
Posted 07 Aug 2008 at 7:10 pm ¶