The problem is that at some point you got the impression that you -- in all your skinny, white girl-ness -- was the ideal. And that I would, if given the choice, choose to look like you...It happened because we live in a society steeped in a system of patriarchy so strong and so insidious that we learned from a young age and have it confirmed daily that you and I cant both be happy with who we are. Because, if in order for Cinderella to be beautiful her stepsisters had to be ugly, and if in order to compliment Jennifer Lawrence we have to insult Anne Hathaway, then in order for you to be content in your whiteness, I have to despair in my blackness, and in order for you to be at peace in your body, I have to suffocate in mine. It happened because we live in a society steeped in so much racism that it honestly didnt occur to you that I dont view my race as a burden that must be accommodated in order to feel comfortable doing yoga. It runs so deep, that you assumed that being confronted by your whiteness plunged me into a jealousy so deep, I had no choice but to curl up into a ball and stew in my own anger...This is racism that is so simultaneously powerful and invisible, that it deeply impacted your entire being that I -- a black woman -- was in your yoga class, while it didnt faze me at all that you -- a white woman -- were in mine. Thank you Liz Loeb for sharing this beautiful piece!
Posted on: Sat, 01 Feb 2014 03:56:09 +0000
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