The white fascist attack on Black femininity (Part 3)...Netflix's "Nappily Ever After", #teamnatural, Instagram, Sanaa Lathan, and Sinead O'Connor's traumatic childhood...

Sinead Marie Bernadette O’Connor (left) was born on December 8^th, 1966 in Glenageary, Ireland, and was named after Sinead de Valera, wife of Irish President, Eamon de Valera. Sinead’s parents are Sean O’Connor, who was a structural engineer, later turned barrister, and Marie O’Connor.

A few years after Sinead was born, Sean separated from Marie, and they both agreed to leave the children in care of their mother. Now, Sinead in her later years, would go on to describe the horrific and torturous living conditions enforced by Marie. In fact, the abuse exacted on Sinead was so extreme, that at age 15, she left her mother’s home to live with her father. Unfortunately, the dysfunctional nature of Sean’s home combined with the damage that was done by Marie, resulted in Sinead turning to a life of school truancy and shoplifting, that resulted in her being committed to an institution called the “Magdalene Asylum”. And mind you, the Magdalene Asylum was notorious for its abuses towards their patients—and this is most notably documented in the movie “The Magdalene Sisters”.

Fortunately, this facility provided Sinead with a stable enough environment to pursue her musical endeavors. An example of this, was a female volunteer of the Magdalene Asylum hearing Sinead sing a cover of the Barbara Streisand song, “Evergreen”, who would later introduce Sinead to her brother, and this volunteer’s brother, just happened to be in a band called “Tua Nua”. Sinead recorded her first song with them, but ultimately, wasn't allowed to joint the group ‘cause she was just 15. Regardless, it was this experience that led her to put an ad in the “Hot Press” musicians’ magazine, which turned into a meeting with Colm Farrelly—and with him, Sinead created another group called, “Ton Ton McCoute”. Now, with this band, audiences got to see how talented a singer Sinead really was.

Sinead’s time with Ton Ton McCoute got her noticed by music industry executives. One of which, got her a deal with “Ensign Records”. There, she got a manager who had her sing the lead vocal for a song called “Heroine”, on the soundtrack of the film, “Captive”. This led to Sinead recording her first album, “The Lion and the Cobra”, which was called a “sensation” by the music press, after its release in 1987. The album reached gold status and earned her a “Best Female Rock Vocal Performance” Grammy nomination. Beyond that, the album’s single “Mandika”, was a hit on college radio stations in america (and this is when I first became aware of her), and another of her songs, “Troy”, became a hit in europe, where it reached no. 5 on the Dutch Top 40 music charts.  

Mind you, what made Sinead stand out, just as much as her talent, was her close cropped, shaved hairdo.

Now, let’s stop here a sec’, ‘cause I’m guessing people are saying to themselves, bruh—what the heck does this have to do wit’ any white fascist attack on Black femininity? And I’ll answer that in a minute, but before I do, let’s get into this…

On September of last year, Sanaa Lathan released an Instagram post, after shaving her head, for the lead role in the Netflix movie, “Nappily Ever After” (left). And in 2018, this movie came out—I guess—and I say that, cause I’ve neither seen this movie, nor do I plan to. And it’s not because I disagree wit’ the hairstyle, it’s ‘cause I see the white fascist agenda behind it.

Now, fast forward to January of this year, and the release of Marvel’s “Black Panther” movie. This film’s portrayal of the “Dora Milaje” (the female warriors guarding King T’Challa), wearing this hair style is being aggrandized to influence more Black women to accept and adopt it. And without further ado, let me tell you why, if you’re a Black woman reading this, you should think twice and three times before you make the “Big Chop”, as they say.

Now, the reason why Black women should give pause to wearing any kinda’ “crew-cut” of a hairdo, comes down to this: one of the physical features that makes women feel innately feminine, is long hair. And that’s true whether a woman realizes it or not. Meaning what? It means, the overwhelming majority of women, will find that cutting your hair off like this, can be traumatizing.

And let me break this down even further….

The first thing both men and women think, when they see a female with extremely short, closed cropped hair is, this woman is afflicted with some sort of physical or mental illness.

PERIOD.

And in the wake of the Black Panther movie, whitey’s workin’ overtime to sell this bogus narrative of empowerment through cuttin’ off all your hair, to Black women. Now, if you’re a Black woman reading this, you might be thinkin’, bruh, this is just your opinion—besides, I see plenty of white women rockin’ this hair style. Well, here’s the difference between you and them—the white woman has the white privilege. Meaning, she’s been given the stereotype of being the world’s prettiest female—and Black women don't have this kind of luxury.

Now, I want every Black woman reading this to understand what I’m NOT saying.

I am not saying that Black women aren’t as attractive as white women—and if you as a Black woman, can’t see how this white woman is trying to look more and more like you (lip and butt injections, hello…) then you’re just not paying attention. I’m saying that by european standards of beauty (i.e. whitey’s own measure of beauty), white women are supposed to be the world’s prettiest females.

Now, what whitey’s doing, is trying to co-opt the pride that Black women are feeling behind wearing their natural hair (ala Instagram pages like “#teamnatural”), to say, the act of cutting off all your hair, equates to some measure of female empowerment. But you should note which hairstyle’s whitey’s not endorsing. Meaning, you don’t see Netflix executives, or any white TV or film execs for that matter, saying that Black women should have their hair in “locks”, or a “long natural”, that brothas and sistas used to call “afros”. No, he wants you to cut all your hair off!

Why?

So sistas can look hypermasculine.

And the more hypermasculine sistas look, the more whitey can keep ‘em in 3 states of being—which are: 1. well-paid, 2. oversexed, and 3. alone. And to break this further down, whitey knows that if they can keep Black women in the stereotype(s) of being abrasive, combative, and argumentative, he can keep them consuming more than any other kind of person on the planet.

Now, you may be thinkin’, I don’t see the connection—how would a Black woman’s being kept in these 3 states, make her the world’s greatest consumer? Simple: if Black women are kept outside the confines of long-term relationships, they’ll compensate for that lack of love by spending on various items—shoes, cars, cloths, food, travel, etc.

Now, you might be a Black woman that’s still thinking, bruh, your argument is bogus—besides, there’s no way you can prove a point this nebulous.

So, you want some proof?

Bet. 

To the left is a picture I took with my camera phone, when I visited my old college recently (and if you wanna' see this pic more clearly, you can click on it). Now, right off the bat, let me apologize for this pic’s lack of clarity and the reflections of light coming off it as well—and let me also say, one of the reasons for this photo’s blurred appearance, is the fact that these pics are behind a glass encasing. With that said, these are ads for the “Phi Theta Kappa” sorority, and the “Phi Beta Alpha” fraternity. And this photo’s oozing wit’ symbolism—so let’s go in on it’s decoding...

Now, for starters, I want you to check out how they’ve depicted the sista in this photo. And what’s the first thing you notice about her—besides her bitter countenance? Exactly, it’s her “armed forces” uniform. So, question: behind this Black woman wearing what looks like a military uniform, what conclusions are you gonna’ draw about her?

Answer: you’re gonna’ think, and mind you, whitey did this by design, that she’s combative, abrasive, aggressive, and hyper-masculine—in other words, what’s being said here is…

Black women, especially in the case of them being with white men, shouldn’t be considered for long-term relationships or marriage, they should only be thought of as sexual conquests.

Now conversely, look at the white guy in this photo. Notice he’s portrayed as some kinda’ smiling construction worker—meaning, he’s a happy, “working-class” caucasian—the kind no sista with a college degree should bother dating. But to all the Black women reading this, ESPECIALLY THE “SWIRLERS”, understand that this ad is saying 3 specific things to you directly—and they are…

#1. If you join this sorority, you have a better chance of gettin’ wit’ a white man—that’s the bait being offered here sistas.

#2. But if you choose to be with a white man, you shouldn’t expect to do any better than a “working-class” white guy.

#3. Regardless of how educated you as a Black woman are, the overwhelming majority of white men in this fraternity (and elsewhere) still think of you as being abrasive, argumentative, oversexed, and hypermasculine.

So, I’ve said all that to say this: if you’re a Black woman, don’t let whitey trick you into giving yourself one of these trauma-inducing, ultra-short hair cuts. Now, if you’re a Black woman who’s just looking to get noticed, so she can get more attention from men—then do whatcha’ feel. But, if you’re looking for a commitment from a man, in any kind of real relationship, understand, the average man is not after a masculine looking woman. Moreover, coupled with the stereotype of the “Angry Black Woman Syndrome”, this hairstyle is more likely to keep men avoiding, rather than approaching you.

Now, am I saying I’d rather see a sista in a weave?

HELL NO!

I’m saying, Black women need to use some discernment, when they see trends like the one to cut off all their hair. And if you put these messages, especially the one in the collegiate photo, into its proper context, you can see that whitey’s fascist agenda is meant to do one thing—hurt you, instead of help you.

Later…

—MontUHURU Mimia

P.S.

Now, this is the trailer for the Netflix movie, “Nappily Ever After”. And more than anything, I want you to notice the traumatized look on Sanaa’s face while she’s cutting off all her hair. And, when she sees herself in the mirror the next day, she screams, while a song lyric plays in the background saying, “I almost lost my mind…” Also, notice in one of the following scenes after “The Big Chop”, Sanaa is drinking beer with her woman friends in a bar—this is yet another attempt to make Black women look hyper-masculine, and to keep them in that stereotype.

P.P.S.

For all the Black women thinking that I’m just talking disparagingly about sistas with short hair, I want you to take a look at this vid of Grace Jones performing the song, “La Vie en Rose”. Now, even though Grace is supposed to be the poster woman for the hyper-masculine sista, here, her exquisite femininity is on full display. Meaning, regardless of her physical features not conforming to the white fascist status quo, the feminine wiles she uses to perform this song, make her nothing short of mesmerizing to watch—so hopefully, everyone can see that beautifully feminine energy is SPIRITUAL, NOT (NECESSARILY) PHYSICAL!

P.P.P.S.

Lastly, here’s Sinead O’Connor performing her song “Troy” live—and in it, you can see the rageful angst and previous traumas she was subjected to, in her performance, lyrics, and singing style. And once again, the trauma(s) she suffered, are the reasons she choose her “buzz-cutted” hairdo.

And family, if you'd like to see the first 2 posts that inspired this new “series”, you can do that HERE and HERE.