Slutwalk, Slurs, and Why Feminism Still Has Race Issues

Woman is not the nigger of the world.

John Lennon is not the final authority on whether it’s ok to use the term nigger.

Quoting black men from the 60s is not a valid defense against critiques from black women, black feminists, and our allies today.

The term nigger is not “in the past.”

The term nigger has not, and has never been, a term that can be equally applied to everyone.

Arguing that black people don’t have a monopoly on the term nigger is just fucking disgusting. You want it that bad? Really?

Over on Facebook, the woman posing with the infamous Slutwalk NYC photo (and the woman who created the sign) defended themselves. The tl; dr version of their statements: “It was wrong to use the word nigger, but the song is true!” Here’s the convo:

Christina Jaus How does this photo speak to inclusion?
Yesterday at 11:23am · Unlike · 9 people

Betty Chantel Jesus Christ, this is just shameful! SlutWalk &SlutWalk NYC what do you have to say about this??
Yesterday at 11:29am · Like · 5 people

Nicole Kubon This sign was not made by an organizer and, when it was noticed, an organizer respectfully requested the sign be put away and took some time to talk with the sign holder about why this message was not in line with our cause. Unfortunately we cannot police all attendants to our event, or any event, but it is a sign that was frustrating to all of us and has sparked discussion amongst organizers. We do not agree with the message being displayed here and addressed it as soon as we saw it.
Yesterday at 11:50am · Like · 2 people

Clare Mackay i don’t get the sign. is a word(s) on the poster out of view?
Yesterday at 2:02pm · Like

Amina Ali This is the title of a song written and performed by John Lennon and Yoko Ono in the 1970s. You have to listen to the whole song to understand it. It is not offensive to anyone other than sexists in its entirety and was a very powerful message, then and now. I can understand how the sign out of this context would be disturbing. But I urge everyone to check out the full lyrics and listen to the song and judge for themselves.
Yesterday at 2:59pm · Like · 6 people

Tyrra Kiri Adrien Ramos Whether the Lennon song is meant to be offensive, that word should just not be said by any white person.
Yesterday at 5:16pm · Like · 6 people

Amina Ali I think it is more productive to look into the deeper meaning of things than to exercise censorship.
Yesterday at 5:20pm · Like · 5 people

Christina Jaus ‎@ Amina, did you talk to any Black people (women or men) in the 60′s and did they themselves tell you at that time that they felt empowered by that John Lennon song?
Yesterday at 5:41pm · Like · 6 people

Christina Jaus And, the sign “out” of context or not is still offensive. When is the N word ever in context outside of dehumanizing?
Yesterday at 5:43pm · Like · 4 people

Erin TheBeatles Clark Woman is the nigger of the world
Yes she is…think about it
Woman is the nigger of the world
Think about it…do something about it

We make her paint her face and dance
If she won’t be a slave, we say that she don’t love us
If she’s real, we say she’s trying to be a man
While putting her down, we pretend that she’s above us

Woman is the nigger of the world…yes she is
If you don’t believe me, take a look at the one you’re with
Woman is the slave of the slaves
Ah, yeah…better scream about it

We make her bear and raise our children
And then we leave her flat for being a fat old mother hen
We tell her home is the only place she should be
Then we complain that she’s too unworldly to be our friend

Woman is the nigger of the world…yes she is
If you don’t believe me, take a look at the one you’re with
Woman is the slave to the slaves
Yeah…alright…hit it!

We insult her every day on TV
And wonder why she has no guts or confidence
When she’s young we kill her will to be free
While telling her not to be so smart we put her down for being so dumb

Woman is the nigger of the world
Yes she is…if you don’t believe me, take a look at the one you’re with
Woman is the slave to the slaves
Yes she is…if you believe me, you better scream about it

We make her paint her face and dance
We make her paint her face and dance
We make her paint her face and dance
We make her paint her face and dance
We make her paint her face and dance
We make her paint her face and dance
16 hours ago · Like · 1 person

Mina Johnson I heard the song…but what you fail to realize is regardless of the context, that word is still hurtful and disrespectful to a lot of people (especially when spoken by a white person). Conjures up a lot of pain and nightmares for many still
10 hours ago · Like · 4 people

Kelly Hannah Peterlinz There was no disrespect, hurt, pain, or offence intended. I don’t think there was one racist person there. I, the one holding the sign, though not the one who made it, would never use that word offensively. The word and it’s meaning is wrong, but the sign is true. There is no contest about it. I am probably the least racist person out there. I have never even mistakenly judged someone by the color of their skin. Don’t judge before you know what is really going on.
9 hours ago · Like · 1 person

Kelly Hannah Peterlinz I did not make the sign, but still feel wrong and sick. I apologize for being photographed with it and would like to ask for it to be taken down. I never thought this experience could make me ashamed or hurt, or even make me cry, but it has. Anyone who has seen photos of me with it please ask for them to be taken down. Erin this is not your fault, I just don’t wish to be hated for a word.
9 hours ago · Like

Kelly Hannah Peterlinz Also, it did not, in fact, take time to convince Erin to out the sign away. Less than twenty seconds of conversation took place. I stood next to Erin as she discussed this with the woman respectfully, on both parts, Erin complied, folded the sign up, and put it in her bag.
9 hours ago · Like · 1 person

Aura Bogado Don’t judge before we know what’s going on? Wha, wha, what? I can see what’s going on: a white girl holding a sign with the n-word on it. You should be ashamed of yourself–and please, stop telling us that this made you cry. You get no sympathy.
8 hours ago · Like · 4 people

Aura Bogado And Erin: STOP WRITING THE FUCKING N-WORD
8 hours ago · Like · 3 people

Aisha Tayo Ijadunola Wow, if women are the niggers of the world what the flying fuck are Black women? Double niggers? And White feminists wonder why women of colour especially Black women don’t want to join them.
6 hours ago · Unlike · 3 people

Emilie Rosenblatt kelly, i searched the web hoping to find some words from you, the woman with the sign, hoping for an explanation. it’s upsetting to me that, even after the fact, even after seeing people’s reactions, even after talking it out with slutwalk organizers, you seem to show no understanding of what your sign meant to so many women, to so many survivors who are women of color. you don’t seem to realize that your carrying that sign made it harder for all of us, because we only win if we unite, and we can only unite when our spaces are safe for everyone’s voices and experiences. i’m white, but if i were a women of color and i saw that sign, i would say, “slutwalk is not a space for me.” and that’s a serious problem. please try to internalize people’s reactions and own your agency in this. take the discomfort that you’re feeling right now and really sit with it, and you can use it to grow.
6 hours ago · Unlike · 4 people

Aura Bogado I blame SlutWalk for creating an institution that supports white supreacy: http://tothecurb.wordpress.com/2011/05/13/slutwalk-a-stroll-through-white-supremacy/
5 hours ago · Like

Erin TheBeatles Clark I’m the one who made the sign, I asked my friend Kelly to hold it for a SECOND while I fixed my bag, and THAT is the picture that’s been circulating.

Like Kelly said ^ when a girl asked me to take it down, I apologized saying it was never meant to offend anyone, and that was that. Very civil, very respectful.

You’re saying the context doesn’t matter but it does! Otherwise the only thing everyone sees is a girl holding a sign that says the “n” word. But it’s a John Lennon song, it’s an incredibly moving, feminist song that inspired me to act as a feminist. And since I love John Lennon more than anything in the world, and because I was attending a feminist protest, I was delighted by the connection I made with the two.

I’m not trying to justify what I did necessarily, the fact is: I offended people and I’ve undermined the Slut Walk, and for that I apologize profusely. I am truly sorry. But please, I never meant any offense or hate.

Also… yes, my skin is white, but I get offended by racist comments!! And I’m not Jewish, but I get offended by antisemitic comments, and I’m not gay but I get offended by homophobe comment– because I’m a fellow HUMAN being, and anything hateful towards my other fellow humans I take offense to……. that’s why I drew a PEACE sign…!! I promise I never intended to be offensive, and I apologize for using the “n” word since that is my crime, for using the “n” word. But I promise, there was absolutely no hatred or violence involved.
4 hours ago · Like · 4 people

Robert Busillo Aura, what you said in your article is true… Slutwalk will do NOTHING to stop the criminalization of black women in New Orleans, nor will it stop one woman from being potentially deported after she calls the police subsequent to being raped.

Slutwalk will also do nothing to feed the hungry, clothe the poor, help me pass my math test, end wars, start wars, or cure AIDS.

Because that’s not what Slutwalk is about. Slutwalk didn’t create this
“institution that supports white supremacy.” Slutwalk was, at best, a group of men and women joining together to make it known that they’re sick and tired of “victim-blaming” in our culture. At worst, it was a bunch of rowdy, hypersexualized young adults and teens with an excuse to dress skimpily and march around yelling tasteless things.

And the sad truth: most of them just really don’t care about the struggles of women of color. They’re privileged, wealthy, and white…. it’s not an issue in their minds.

Also, please stop using the “F” word, it offends me. Also, please don’t use the Lord’s name in vain, and don’t say the “F” slur that refers to homosexual men. Stop being pro-life or pro-choice, because either way, you’ll offend someone who feels just as strongly as you do about the use of the “N” word. You can’t please everybody, so please stop expecting everyone to try to accommodate your hypersensitivity to some words scrawled sloppily on a sign. YOU get no sympathy.
about an hour ago · Like · 2 people

Robert Busillo ‎”I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” Margaret Thatcher said that… smart broad.
about an hour ago · Like · 2 people

Dean Busillo ‎Robert Busillo if there was a LOVE button…..
about an hour ago · Like · 2 people

Latoya Peterson I posted a video, on my site, of John Lennon’s rationale for the song. It was a 2 minute song that he spent 9 minutes trying to explain. He also cited support from black male leaders in writing the tune – there was no mention of black feminists like Pearl Cleage who opposed the usage. Aishah Shahidah Simmons has written on this, as have I. The question on I posed was:
about an hour ago · Like · 5 people

Latoya Peterson ‎”But can you appropriate a term like nigger if your body is not defined/terrorized/policed/brutalized/diminished by the word? Can we use it in a context that is supposed to belie gender solidarity, without explicitly being in racial solidarity?” There are a few different ways in which we could play these critiques, but I find it fascinating that black women are not marching under that banner. And it isn’t because we’ve never heard the John Lennon perform the song.
about an hour ago · Like · 5 people

Aura Bogado Robert: No, no, no. Don’t get it twisted and try and act like I did something wrong here. If I parade a ridiculously racist sign and someone calls me out on it, it doesn’t all of the sudden become their fault for doing so. Nice try derailing the conversation and such, but it won’t work here. SlutWalk as the organization bears the responsibility as an institution for attracting this kind of shit, and Erin Clark, Kelly Peterlinz and whoever else proudly waved that sign bear responsibility as individuals.
47 minutes ago · Like · 1 person

Robert Busillo I’m not saying you DID anything wrong. I’m really just confused as to what you WANT. Just because you’re mad that something upset you, and lots of other people, doesn’t mean that they have any obligation to apologize. They’re sorry for offending you, yes. They shouldn’t have to be sorry for their message. You don’t know what it’s like to be a white girl. They don’t know what it’s like to be a non-white.

You should still be able to understand each other.
38 minutes ago · Like · 1 person

Kassidy Go Forth Clark First of all, i invite all those who are viewing this poster/photograph to actually ponder the INTENT of the quote.
lets try that out first before we jump to conclusions, and then see if we’re still feeling personally offended to a political statement that was to draw attention towards the treatment of black “niggers” in the 1800s and the treatment of women all over the world today.

if you are getting offended by this poster then it is your choice to get offended because the intention was not at all to call out blacks or whatever conclusion people have come up with.

the intention was a PROfeminist point that women all over the world are seen, treated, and thought as the “nigger” ; the equivalent of what “nigger” has meant strictly for black people during their reign of slavery, john lennon extended to the treatment of women so as to invoke extreme and serious inspection to the way we do treat the females of this society.

John Lennon was backed by Congressman Ron Dellums who stated, “If you define ‘nigger’ as someone whose lifestyle is defined by others, whose opportunities are defined by others, whose role in society is defined by others, the good news is that you don’t have to be black to be a nigger in this society. Most of the people in America are niggers.”

if this was a call out against blacks, i would be all with you taking those “white supremacists” down.
but it’s not.
i implore you to pay attention to the meaning of words and phrases before attacking someone who was not making an offense.
34 minutes ago · Like · 1 person

Tracey Salisbury What kills me is that white folks still have NOT moved one inch past telling women of color how to feel or think about anything and everything. Even worse, we are still explaining that we are both BLACK and WOMEN, all day, everyday….There is something just plain sad about feminism and feminist movements that can’t get this basic concept. Regardless of the “intent” or what white folks “think” the sign was supposed to mean, black women in significant numbers are offended, deeply. To make light of those feelings, to keep trying to avoid responsibility for the screw-up, makes the ability to have any kind of positive dialogue about what went wrong impossible.
31 minutes ago · Unlike · 5 people

Aura Bogado Kassidy, stop adding insult to injury, and stop derailing the conversation….

*You’re Interrogating From The Wrong Perspective*

“This is a very special tactic but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be freely or liberally used. If anything, it means you should use it as often and as widely as you can.

You see, in this one you get to insult their intelligence and perceptiveness but in a very subtle and underhanded way! This one is very useful in discussions about literature and other media or academia.

The gist of it is this: there’s nothing offensive in there, you just don’t get it (because you are too stupid)!

For example – you might want to impress your belief that context is irrelevant (there’s no racist parallels in a mythological planet where beautiful white elves keep horrible, animalistic orcs as slaves – it’s completely detached from earth’s history!), or that they’re just reading it wrong (well sure, you could take that attitude if you approach it from that perspective, but that’s not the perspective it was meant to be read with so your argument is just flawed!).

Once again (and truly a fundamental aspect of derailing) you demonstrate your lack of awareness of their issues but you also get to tell them that they’re wrong because you (and all the other Privileged People®) simply know better. Try it out and just wait and see what you get back.

Burn, baby, burn!”

See: http://www.derailingfordummies.com/#wrong
29 minutes ago · Unlike · 3 people

Latoya Peterson Kassidy: You are ignoring what people have already said as to why that was not okay, and quoting black men when black women (black FEMINISTS) have historically objected to the song and who are now, coming out against this term and use. Do we really have to break it down farther? No, everyone is not a nigger, and if you were ever treated like one, you would know. Appropriating a term that never has and never will apply to you is not what you are trying to accomplish,
28 minutes ago · Like · 3 people

Robert Busillo For some people, intention, facts, and reality don’t matter when you use the “n” word. Because sticks and stones can break our bones, and if anyone ever uses the “n” word in any context they’re a racist bastard.
28 minutes ago · Like

Bones Patterson kassidy- this is on another level, for real. i invite you to PONDER this article, for starters, http://www.racialicious.com/2011/10/05/which-women-are-what-now-slutwalk-nyc-and-failures-in-solidarity/ Latoya Peterson, of racialicious.com already tried to relay some of this information to you. maybe you didn’t read it? maybe you did and decided that what you had to say was more important. i can’t be sure.
28 minutes ago · Unlike · 3 people

Tracey Salisbury ‎@Robert – How many FAGGOT signs were at the event? How many GOD DAMN signs were at the event? How many FUCK YOU ROBERT signs were at the event? How many white women were skipping down the street with a racial slur on a sign at the event? AT LEAST ONE (one too many), the one sign that SUCCESSFULLY singled out black women and made they feel not apart, it doesn’t matter if the sign was up for 30 seconds or 30 minutes or 30 days. It’s easy to call someone “hypersensitive” when it’s not you be sullied….
26 minutes ago · Unlike · 2 people

Latoya Peterson If Slutwalk is about the ways in which sexual violence is visited upon female bodies, why are you all so bent on defending a statement that has nothing to do with that? Why do you keep ignoring the voices of women who object to this framing if this is a movement by and about women? The term nigger has been used against Arab Americans, South Asians, as well as African Americans – but it has never been used against white women! You know what has? The term “nigger lover” which was hurled at white women (one of whom was murders) participating in the civil rights movement. White women also used the term nigger against black men and women in similar struggles. Look at the suffragettes. “Woman” is not the nigger of the world. You can make the point that women are treated as second class citizens in almost every society without veering into blatant untruths.
23 minutes ago · Like · 5 people

Robert Busillo OK, you caught us. We’re racists and we hate you. Is that what you really think? Not everything is so black and white (……)
21 minutes ago · Like

Nicole Kubon Kassidy, I understand what you are TRYING to say but the reality is that a white woman, a white person, can never know what it is like or has been like, throughout history, to have this word used against you, used against you while experiences all sorts of oppression, including MASSIVE violence. We, as white feminists, do need to sit with the discomfort that comes along with unintentionally using hurtful language. While the intention may not have been malicious, what this sign said to many people of color attending SlutWalk NYC is that it was not a safe space where the intersections of race, gender, sexuality and other identities are important. This is why the sign and attempts to defend this sign are so upsetting to so many people, including SlutWalk organizers like myself. During the organizing process of SlutWalk NYC we wanted to pay special attention to the critiques SlutWalk had been receiving and to make a special effort to create this safe and inclusive space that others were lacking. We can’t police everyone at a huge event but it is definitely disappointing to me that others in attendance and we as organizers did not see and react to this sooner.
21 minutes ago · Unlike · 2 people

Nicole Kubon This is important stuff! We need to be able to call each other out and to engage in a discussion when we hurt one another, especially in an atmosphere where most everyone cares about these social issues. The fact is that often times white privilege is invisible to those who are white and it is not a one-time self-investigation where you read Peggy McIntosh and then abandon all of your unearned privilege. It is an ongoing process and it is important that we as activists be able to accept responsibility when we realize in retrospect that our lens is limited. We need to teach one another and be willing to learn from one another. I’m sad that this sign was used at the rally but I’m not sad that it has created an extremely important discussion with some well-intentioned young feminists who will hopefully keep learning from their experiences in activism, I know I have continued to grow and learn from my feminism and my unearned privilege and how they inform one another.
15 minutes ago · Like · 1 person

Tracey Salisbury ‎@Robert – spare me…if you can’t be an adult, don’t comment. No one called you a racist and no one said anything about hate. If you want to reject the real feelings and thoughts of people in a discussion, but lecture them at the same time, you be more thoughtful instead of flippant when you comment….
11 minutes ago · Unlike · 2 people

Bones Patterson the key, for me, as a white woman is constantly investigating my privilege and taking inventory. it’s huge. and i worry about the possibility that an investigation/ inventory might not be made. (i hope there will be one. and i hope there is growth.)
10 minutes ago · Like · 1 person

Kassidy Go Forth Clark ‎@everyone – you know whats ironic? is that we’re being accused of being racist because we’re defending the intention and meaning of a non-racist quote and yet you are the ones assuming i’m priveleged because i’m white. nice.

i don’t understand the meaning of the word nigger because it wasn’t directed at me? … nigger wasn’t directed at you either – it was used before your time. so we can play this game all day if we want.

white people have not moved one inch huh?
speaking about being adults why don’t we not use ridiculous over exaggerations and painful examples of being racist in your own way.

you are all jumping to side and rally against the black version of “nigger”
we are simply rallying against the human version of “nigger”

-peace, love, equality, RACISM ENDS WITH YOU
14 minutes ago · Like · 1 person

(See, this is why racism isn’t over. SMDH.)

Jaymee Martin oh. my. god. you have got to stop!
9 minutes ago · Like

Nicole Kubon Kassidy, its disappointing to hear you being so defensive. You DO NOT know what it is like to live without white privilege. I am not speaking to any other forms of privilege or oppression you have or do experience but if you hope to be an activist you need to be able to listen to others voices, and humble yourself. There is more to life than the Beatles, and while I think much of there music was progressive and influential, this is a word that white people do not get to reclaim, not for themselves (not sure how that would be possible) and not for humanity in general. The Beatles are a pop band made up of white men, let’s not say they are any sort of authority on feminist or racial issues.
3 minutes ago · Like

And fin.

Just… no.

Again, we have published tons about Slutwalk and what it means for women of color:

Slutwalk – To March or Not to March (Vancouver Slutwalk, Indigenous women, violence against women)
SlutWalks v. Ho Strolls (US Slutwalks, critical race critique, black women’s issues, the Stop Street Harassment Movement)
I Haven’t Actually Been Called a Slut (Malaysia, Western Slutwalks, “sexy as a slur”)

And there’s this “Open Letter from Black Women to Slutwalk” from BlackWomen’s Blueprint that encapsulates a lot of the concerns.

And that’s just the beginning. See, Slutwalk is one of the many long, long conversations about relationships between feminism, racism, class, nation-states, colonization, and power. We’ve got more than 70 posts on feminism and its discontents on our blog alone. And it’s a big, big internet with many others debating, writing, blogging.

So at this point, these aren’t accidents – it’s willful ignorance. One of the respondents says she’s fifteen – that she really didn’t think about all of those things. She’s still early in her walk, and people can change, if they chose to.

Unfortunately, as we see from the continuation on the thread, some people don’t want to understand why women of color would be angry at that phrase, and they don’t care why John Lennon isn’t the best representative on race issues. As Miles pointed out yesterday in the comments to the original post, some “white people just want to say the word nigger.”

And that they have.

The message – and the subtext – came through loud and clear. It just wasn’t the one they meant.