Saturday, May 7, 2011

come on up to the house: Examing the Mise-en-Scène of the Carefree White Girl

 
 

Sent to you by moya via Google Reader:

 
 


come on up to the house: Examing the Mise-en-Scène of the Carefree White Girl:

bubblegumobiereview:

I don't know if any of my readers (all four of you) ever spend a lot of time on Tumblr. Presumably you do if you're here, but if not: Welcome to Tumblr! Mostly it's great.

I say "mostly" because recently on the dashboard for my personal account, there's been an upsurge…

yeah i feel you.  really.  and here's the thing, if there was such a thing as a carefree black girl i might be in the running.  i have dreadlocks (half bougie/half freeform), i drink cheap beer and smoke cheap cigarettes.  im messy (or at least my house is).  i sleep on couches and keep odd hours and hang out in grimy places (well jesus fucking christ that is like most of cairo.  i mean cairo is a lot of things, but clean aint really one of them.  its dusty and dirty and trashy and lovely.)  i dont really have the class privilege to go with it though (living month to month…you know…) and im a mama (and my kid is like a carefree black girl, if such a thing existed, which yeah watching my tumblr feed, it doesnt)

but i really want to claim this carefree black girl idea.  because i dont really think im that unique for a woman of color.  because i think there is a certain feeling of freedom in being able to eschew the politics of respectability (that at least black folks are sort of socialized to toe the line.  like, we got to represent our race by cutting ourselves into the shape of the black middle class values and lifestyle.  i mean dont you know that black folks died, put their lives on the line, so that i could dress like middle management and drink high class liquor on the weekends in posh clubs and go on afro-centric cruises through the carribbean once a year???? oh and 'conversate' is not a verb…amirite???) and live your goddamn life. 

obviously i have cares and responsibilities.  but im also flighty and flaky and crazy and somedays i look forlorn.  and i can look cute and dirty while smoking a cigarette in bed and looking off into the distance.  i can!  hell, im about to do that right now.  ;)

carefree colored girls unite!


 
 

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