On August 13, 2010, Marrisa Alexander decided that the best protection against a husband with a history of domestic violence aimed at her was to shoot a warning shot in her home while gathering her keys to flee. No. Not shot a gun at him. Not hit him with the gun. But shoot the gun in the air. No body was damaged except for that of the home.

This all occurred in sunny Florida. Yes, sunny Florida where national elections are foiled and a cans of tea look like semi-automatic weapons in the hands of teenaged Afkan (Afrikan Amerikkkan) boys in hoodies. The great land of Stand your Ground. The great land where Marissa Alexander has been sentenced for said shooting of gun for 20 years due to yet another stipulation Florida’s books, the 10-20-life rule.

Basically, the 10-20-rule,

• Mandates a minimum 10 year prison term for certain felonies, or attempted felonies in which the offender possesses a firearm or destructive device
• Mandates a minimum 20 year prison term when the firearm is discharged
• Mandates a minimum 25 years to LIFE if someone is injured or killed
• Mandates a minimum 3 year prison term for possession of a firearm by a felon
• Mandates that the minimum prison term is to be served consecutively to any other term of imprisonment imposed

(Source)

It would seem as though the laws of Florida are executed in a pristine arbitrary fashion. When a man of direct European descent kills an Afkan child, play the Stand Your Ground law card, and allow him to go without being arrested for months. If it is an Afkan Woman asserting her right to not be clobbered for the umpteenth time, then play the 10-20-rule. This is a disgusting example of not only racial oppression of the State, but also sexism.

Where there is a fear of the male hegemonic being dismantled without State intervention, there is a need for the State to impose Draconian measures to reduce the likelihood of a recurring trend. It should be noted that while the Florida State site boasts of reduced crime do to the 10-20-law, and legal scholars boast of progressive thinking with respect to the Stand Your Ground doctrine, the state of Florida also had 113, 378 reported claims of domestic violence in 2010 alone, and have no special stipulations handling cases of domestic violence. Of those 113, 378 reported incidents only 67, 810 have resulted in arrests. With a state so seeped in legislation and legality surrounding violence and the appropriate treatment of violence, wouldn’t you expect some sort of nifty law to be forged in the instance of domestic violence against women?

I am not often left to question the abuses of males of European descent towards women. I will admit, I am slowly being enlightened further into the roles European men have played in the oppression of women. I am just now learning of the oppressive and disgusting tradition Anglo-Saxon-American men had involving their Afkan slaves at exclusive clubs where the women where manipulated into believing that they were engaging in some romantic act with these savage rapists while calling the women ‘wenches’. These elements of our story are slowing trickling down my Asylum. Yet, it doesn’t take much for even me to realize the rampant attack against women and protection of White male terrorism towards women in the home. If they allow an Afkan mother to get away with it, then how much longer before their golf buddies are being engulfed in burning beds?

It is not often that an Afkan male is afforded a pass from remembering his sexuality. My body politic is what makes me a threat. My assumed sexual prowess prevents a large sector of this society from imagining me without insecurity. The need to compel my physical form to act in accordance with European standards is almost a necessity for this nation to operate historically. The same is to be held for women of Afrikan ancestry. Afkan women are molded into these images of the witch, the untamed shrew. They are bitched and whored into such a caricature of archetypical emotional intensity and ‘dark energy’ that the very reminder of a her being a mother, being abused, being worthy of protection by the State apparatus is unable to convince twelve jurors and a judge to treat truth as truth. The tortured Afkan woman is burned at the stake for her self-determined association with those worthy of freedom from abuse in her own home. She is convicted for expressing her love of peace. Marissa Alexander was convicted for believing that a woman, especially a Black woman, deserved a life without abuse from a controlling man.

J. ‘Owl’ Farand

Creator of Owl’s Asylum, I am a writer, author, poet, survival literature composer. I also write code and design. Follow me on Twitter by clicking here.

So, I’ve been working with various contractors via this temporary service that I’ll be nice enough to remain hursh hursh about, right? And this morning, while waiting for an assignment to come through, several of the other regular laborers decided to have a discussion on,”The Lawd”. Now, I don’t have any concerns with Afkan people politicing about spirituality in a way that causes me to join in, although I do realize for most of the militant persuasion, introverted responses to anything is akin to cowardice. Yet, I decided to sit this one out and simply observe. Now, my initial issue with the manner in which we handle spirituality, or whatever ‘new age’ or popular psychology term needed to bring forth understanding here, is that of accountability within the sphere of thought and near draconian conservative authoritarianism in the realm of action. Let me explain.

There were two brothers and an older sister discussion government. The sister claims that discussions of government are ‘of the world’. Obviously, from the nature of her tone, being ‘of the world’ is a thing that one shouldn’t be of. She further insists that all things should be left in the hands of the lord. Alright. Now, I’m not here to dispute religion, but, I find it difficult to know when how responsibility is ever placed. Whenever a good thing occurs, “thank the lord, this is a blessing”; whenever an undesirable turn of events strikes, “thank the lord, this is how he wanted it to be”. There is also this defeatism that strikes me as extremely dangerous especially for lower working class people in faltering economy. The group went on to discuss ‘riches and wealth’ as NOT being a blessing. The idea, once again, is that material gains and resources are ‘of the world’. In my mind, this is a cop out. This is someone’s subconscious reflecting on the struggle demanded to obtain power(hell, a simple livelihood) in an economy with an obscenely disproportionate wealth distribution and clothing the retreat in spiritual symbols.

On the flip of that, the moral code demanded of this religious profession doesn’t represent a similar liberal scope on life. I can respect the hedonistic transitory actions of someone that subscribes to one of these new age philosophies. In my thinking, at least they are actually enjoying life and not just screaming jubilee because they’ve been commanded to scream it by some distant ethereal being. I don’t take issue with the discipline or submission to authority. I take issue when that discipline is demanded without a requisite gratification. I’m not on Earth to honor dead deities waiting for their resurrection number to be called again with immobility disguised as asceticism. Part of my discipline is a gratification of self-control, sure, but I’m not the idealistic masochist I may have been in a former life. In fact, I’m much more the utilitarian, and if my prayers aren’t answered, I stop praying; if my discipline isn’t for a purpose of resource, then I label that act one in vain.

Once again, these are my thoughts, not sure who else thoughts I’d be typing, but for some reason people forget that and effective communication deems it necessary that I remind you all. I’m of the disposition that your choices are yours and unless the defenseless are involved or you are violating me and mine, I don’t feel the need to impose officious behavior in the name of being socially responsible. I do my best to serve against oppression of others in my own ways, but if you are oppressing your Self, I’ve learned through experience, spiritual nuts are hard to crack. That is not to alienate any of my loyal readers that might be religious zealots. It is to say that be critical of all that you do and understand in a painfully honest manner the trajectory of not only your actions but the thoughts that guide them.

FatFemPinUp

She is currently working on a degree in Social Work at The University of Akron. She serves a vision of what the world ought to be by empowering at risk populations.. Follow me on Twitter by clicking here.

Let me start by saying this piece is about fat, big bold beautiful fatty FAT. The term “fat” makes a lot of people uncomfortable because for too long it has carried stigmas about health, cleanliness, physical fitness, and character flaws like bad hygiene, laziness, over-eating, insecurity and low self-esteem. Those who appreciate fat prefer terms like “thick” or “big” because of the weight of stigmas around the word FAT. But fat is not an identity, it is a physical characteristic (like curly hair or long toes) and because of that fact, I prefer to use the term fat. The identity of fat (as previously mentioned) is one created out of prejudice. That’s not the kind of fat that I’m going to talk about, push out of your mind all the fat stereotypes and let me tell you about the REAL world of fat from the perspective of an ACTUAL fat woman.

I am a 22 year old fat black biracial woman; I have thunder thighs and cellulite, a stomach, flabby arms, a big ‘ol butt (say wah!?), a slight double chin, pretty feet, full breasts, smooth skin and a graceful gait. I have been encouraged to believe that my fat body is unattractive, that I should hide it every chance that I get. This message has been sold to me under the guise for concern about my health and by the media, the beauty industry, the diet industry, and society. I have been told that I shouldn’t wear bright colors or short dresses. I have been discouraged from wearing bathing suits in public by people who snicker or take pictures of me. The fact that I am so proud of my body makes people uncomfortable, they do not wish to SEE me and that is always made abundantly clear. But if I decided to see myself through the eyes of society, I would become someone that I am not. Besides, I have come to realize that my fat is beautiful. My fat is sexy. The way I throw my weight around makes some men drool and there is NOTHING wrong with my fat. My fat was meant to be seen, flaunted, touched, kissed, my fat looks good naked or underneath a man. I will not apologize for being alive, fat and in your face.

Well intentioned people will tell a fat person that it’s great to love your body but “you really should lose some weight”. As if the bodies of other people were there for policing as long as they seemed to genuinely care. There is a problem with that though, telling someone what you think they should do with their body, assumes that they don’t know (that they are stupid) or that they are dissatisfied with their health or size. It is perfectly possible to be fat, fit and healthy; in fact it is scientifically PROVEN (see Health At Every Size Research). So the health aspect of telling a fat person they shouldn’t be fat is entirely based on assumptions that they do not eat healthily or exercise…. There are plenty of thin people who do neither and are extremely unhealthy but there is something about fat that makes people get dominant and superior. Having said that, I do not entertain concern trolls. When it comes to my body, I AM AN EXPERT; my health is between me and MY doctor. So what does that leave us with? The constructs of beauty and attractiveness. When you strip down ideas about the health of fat people, all you have left is what you think of the way they look.

Fat Love

Beauty and attractiveness are two highly subjective things. What I find to be beautiful & sublime, another might find ugly. This holds true for every individual yet through the media we are taught to believe that there is a “standard” of beauty; that beauty is objective. This is a big problem because of the weight our society puts on physical beauty. We have been taught that if it’s good enough for the television, if they don’t sell a pill to fix it, then it is perfect. That is a lie of course but thousands of people accept this as true. Another component of this lie is the societal belief that women are symbols of status and power for men. We are taught that the most important job of a woman is to look good; beauty is what makes a woman worthy. So when you have a woman who doesn’t meet idealized standards of beauty she is seen as having less value than those who do. This creates a problem for fat women, especially in their romantic lives. “Thin is in” means fat is out, so what happens to all of the sexy, hunky, nerdy, professional, thuggish men who find fat to be attractive? They are caught in a catch 22 of sorts. That is, being attracted to fat women but being ashamed of that attraction because of the stigma that comes with fat. Other men will look at them and think they are weaker, less powerful because the woman on their arm is devalued in our society. Fat women do not make very good “trophies”. The stigma that comes with being fat (laziness, overeating, insecurity, bad hygiene etc.) will be attached to the man who dates a fat girl. The solution unfortunately has been for men to objectify and use fat women. Instead of pursuing relationships with fat women, men use them to gratify their sexual needs. They love our awesome curves, our jiggle, our bounce but they wouldn’t be caught dead with us. As a womanist/feminist I get a little bit aggressive when I’m referring to these types of men, I usually call them “slaves to white patriarchal standards of beauty” because these are men who put society’s standards before their own standards. They will put what their friends think about how a woman looks before their own preference and frankly it’s sad. And as a fat woman dealing constantly with men like this, it is extremely dehumanizing to realize that someone would find you as beautiful as you find yourself but be ashamed to express that outside of sex. The conditions for this behavior were created by these idealized & sexist standards of beauty. There are other standards of beauty like standards that declare black skin to be unattractive, that are even more sinister and harmful. These standards are built on white supremacy yet they are pervasive; just as the standards of beauty’s size are pervasive. As individuals we must start acting on our own attraction, our own idea of beauty because when we don’t, we allow other people to dictate subjective parts of our identities! And that is the truth, straight from a fat girl’s lips.

Fat women internalize messages about their inferiority every day, and to be a fat woman who is also black means you have to work hard to fight racial messages about your skin as well as those about your body. But that fight for self-actualization and efficacy is a worthy one and as a feminist and fat activist I make that fight a public one in order to empower women like me. I’ve said all of this to give you a little peek into my mind and hopefully to challenge some assumptions and even behaviors. Whether you are fat or thin, black or white you must always challenge stigma and prejudice, not only for yourself but for the sake of others as well.