Disgraceful White Gay Racism

[adonis1960]

Is it ever acceptable for a White-dominated media outlet to racially disparage an elderly African-American woman? That's the question readers of the online Gay newsmagazine New York Blade were challenged to ask themselves last week. As they linked to an article about a new celebrity autobiography, their eyes fixed on a startling title: The Black Bitch is Back.

Who is this “Black bitch”? Diahann Carroll is one of the African-American community's most revered icons. She can boast of a 50-year career as a successful actress, model and singer. She's appeared in such critically acclaimed motion pictures as Carmen Jones, Porgy And Bess, Hurry Sundown and Claudine. She was the first Black woman to star as a romantic lead opposite a White co-star on Broadway. Her TV credits go back to 1960 and include notable series like “Perry Mason”, “A Different World”, “Grey’s Anatomy”, “Naked City” and “Roots”. She became a feminist symbol, as well as a role model to single mothers and registered nurses, on her groundbreaking 1968 TV series "Julia". She’s the recipient of a Golden Globe, and has been nominated for numerous Emmy, Tony and Image Awards. She’s a celebrity breast cancer survivor and treatment advocate. She was, and still is, one of our most beautiful stars, not to mention an enduring Black female sex symbol.

So why would the New York Blade think it was OK, not only to slap the B-word on a woman of this stature, but also insult her racial identity? Maybe it has to do with a popular primetime soap opera that she co-starred in two decades ago? Before "Dynasty" hit the airwaves in 1981, it was rare to hear the word "bitch" used on network TV. That changed when the writing staff of Aaron Spelling's sprawling saga of the filthy rich decided to push the language envelope. The B-word was liberally applied to Joan Collins' scheming character, Alexis Colby, and it was sure to be heard during catfight scenes regularly staged between Collins, Linda Evans and other female co-stars. To be sure, the sexist insult had always been part of America’s slang lexicon, but once "Dynasty" topped the Nielsen ratings list, it came into popular use like never before.

By the time the TV series notched its third season, criticism was mounting about a dearth of minority characters. Aaron Spelling put out the call for a Black actress; he wanted to cast a new nemesis for Alexis Colby. Reportedly, Joan Collins was instrumental in getting her old friend Diahann Carroll hired. Prior to her debut on the show, Ms. Carroll gave numerous interviews about her forthcoming role. Playfully, she told the press how much she looked forward to playing "the first Black bitch" on television. Often, she would whisper the nasty words with a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

However, anyone who remembers her scenes on "Dynasty" knows that her character, Dominique Devereaux, was nothing like Alexis Colby. She was a strong and tenacious woman, determined to claim her birthright as a member of the wealthy Carrington clan, but she never had evil motives. The "Black bitch" label was nothing but ill-conceived hype. The media never forgot it, though, and evidently, that's why the author and/or editor of Ms. Carroll's latest interview felt justified in applying the slur to her all these years later. But is that really the reason they did it? And are they really justified?

The answer to the first question is "no". The New York Blade isn't merely using Diahann Carroll's words against her. It's following a growing trend in Gay media to feature slurs prominently in their copy. Scan the covers of recent editions of The Advocate, Out Magazine, The Liberty Press and other national and regional Gay publications, and you'll find crass captions like "God Loves Fags", "Blood, Sweat and Queers", "Yeah, I'm A Fag" and "Derby Dykes". Even trashy supermarket weeklies like the Examiner and the National Enquirer don't lead with language this crude. Gay media is quickly becoming known as the place where you can indulge in Don Imus-style potty mouth and get away with it.

(What kind of readers are the editors going after when they approve these lurid covers? Radical LGBT sex and gender activists? Straight bigots? Tabloid addicts? Just plain ignorant folk? Before you buy pick up these rags, ask yourself if you're really part of the target readership. If you're really not, then your two dollars and/or your leisure time would probably be better spent elsewhere.)

The answer to the second question is also "no". The term "Black bitch" dates back to slavery times. White overseers were known to hurl it at Black female captives. Documentation of its use appears in slave narratives, where we learn that it was often followed by beatings or worse forms of "discipline". Diahann Carroll was wrong to fling the term around so casually, even if she clearly meant no harm by it. That insult carries too much blood-stained baggage. It bears pointing out, though, that when she used it, she was always referring to her "Dynasty" character, never to herself! And what if the lady had been referring to herself? Does that give White people, or people of any ethnic background, the right to appropriate the same language when talking about her? Two wrongs don’t make a right, and in this case, the second wrong is worse than the first.

What do you bet that Ms. Carroll never gave the New York Blade permission to call her a "Black bitch" in print? That decision was undoubtedly made after the interview, without her approval. It stuns me to think that any journalistic body could be so brazen, so disgraceful, and so mean. This woman is 73 years old! She's got grandchildren (discussed in the article) who no doubt access the Internet regularly, and who might search for articles about their famous grandmother . . . if not now, then certainly as they grow older. How would Blade staffers feel if they saw their grandparents called "White bitches" or "Honky bastards" in the title of a Web article? How would they like seeing Nana and Gramps introduced to millions of strangers that way? If they'd put the title in quotes, it still wouldn't have been appropriate, but at least they’d have shown the woman a modicum of respect. No respect is shown whatsoever. Readers are unambiguously invited to read an interview with a Black bitch named Diahann Carroll.

I was just infuriated when I saw this headline. I already knew that Blade editors were in love with the word “queer”, but here they hit a new low of insensitivity. This is beyond insensitivity. This is beyond stupidity! I can only conclude that it reflects latent racist impulses on their part, the same impulses that prompt White Gay audiences to guffaw at "Shirley Q. Liquor" comedy routines. "Shirley Q. Liquor" is a cruel and degrading caricature of poor Black women, performed by a White drag artist in Blackface makeup. Jasmyne Cannick was one of the first Black bloggers to raise a sustained alarm about this vicious portrayal, and believe it or not, some White LGBT folk have attacked her for doing so. A handful have even called her (you guessed it!) a “Black bitch”. These ugly racial attitudes within Gay ranks must be rooted out before they grow serious enough to become another stumbling block to liberation (see my series of the same title under the Politics label).

With His Fifth Commandment, God instructed the ancient Israelites to respect their elders. Centuries later, Jesus Christ affirmed that Commandment for Christian converts. While I don’t expect the staffers of the New York Blade to be Christians, I do expect them to know what respect is. What should happen to journalists who are nasty enough to racially disparage an elderly woman? Maybe when they reach their declining years and find themselves residing in a rest home, they should be cared for by ignorant, racist (or homophobic) doctors, nurses and orderlies! Maybe they should learn firsthand how it feels to be the subject of sexual and racial slurs at an advanced age. It would serve them right, and you know, it might happen just that way! My Grandmother Jacobs always told me: "Child, what you do to other people will always come back to you." New York Blade staffers, you've got it coming. Don't say you weren't warned.

See the offensive title of the New York Blade's Diahann Carroll interview here:
New York Blade Online
Voice your displeasure to editor Rebecca Armendariz at
RArmendariz@washblade.com

[angeladc]

I'm in total agreement with this article .After all her achievements you would degrade her by calling her "a black bitch"?I don't care if it was referred to her charcter in the tv series.that is long gone now and they should have had more respect than that.

[BISHOP]

No racial harmony in the gay community I see.

[TUCKER]

ADONNIS nice to hear from you.

While I find the sentiment and intent of the article excellent, I don't necessarily agree with the malicious intent of the use of the word. I am quite familiar with the career of Diahann Carroll. (I'm thinking faster than I can type so let me get these thoughts on page now. A female Cliff Huxtable. SUSAN LUCCI, ELTON JOHN "THE BITCH IS BACK, STRANGELY THE TERM BITCH NEVER OFFENDED DIAHANN CARROLL, in fact she rather revelled in it. I saw Johnny Carson introduce her, as just that, and she came out to a standing ovation and never said a word about it.

PERHAPS ITS THE TERM "BLACK" BITCH THAT PEOPLE FIND OFFENSIVE. SHE WAS ACTIVE DURING A TIME THAT SAW DIVA BECOME A TERM OF ENDEARMENT, WHEN BLACKS RE TO THEMSELVES AS NIGGA'S AS A TERM OF ENDEARMENT (I think the intent was/is if you use the term enough, it takes the sting out of it. The result backfired and to this day splits the black community) AND WOMEN AND GAYS CALLED EACH OTHER BITCHES AS A TERM OF ENDEARMENT. Unfortunately the "N" word was the only one that apparently achieved the intended goal it would seem, to some.

While Ms Carroll is all she is described as in the article, she was never a household name in the Black community that I grew up in. She always seemed aloof and above it all in most of her screen roles and most of her off screen activities. I'm pretty sure she did the necessaries to remain cool with the "brothers and sister," but like Sammy Davis Jr, she might as well have been "Jewish!"

Now in her "GOLDEN YEARS" the term that she was commonly known by, has come back to haunt her it seems. The chickens always come home to roost!

[adonis1960]

"While I find the sentiment and intent of the article excellent, I don't necessarily agree with the malicious intent of the use of the word. I am quite familiar with the career of Diahann Carroll. (I'm thinking faster than I can type so let me get these thoughts on page now. A female Cliff Huxtable. SUSAN LUCCI, ELTON JOHN "THE BITCH IS BACK, STRANGELY THE TERM BITCH NEVER OFFENDED DIAHANN CARROLL, in fact she rather revelled in it. I saw Johnny Carson introduce her, as just that, and she came out to a standing ovation and never said a word about it."

The intent of people using the term isn't the point. The point is the term's origins in slavery and its inherently racist, misogynist and dehumanizing meaning. I'm not giving anybody a pass here. Diahann Carroll was wrong to use the term for promotional purposes. The New York Blade was wrong to use it as a headline for their interview with her. I notice you don't say Johnny Carson ever called Ms. Carroll as "Black bitch". Did he? If he did, that was wrong, too, and I'm surprised it didn't prompt any public outcry.

"PERHAPS ITS THE TERM "BLACK" BITCH THAT PEOPLE FIND OFFENSIVE."

Well, yeah. And some of us don't think "bitch" is such a nice word, either. No need to shout, BTW.

"SHE WAS ACTIVE DURING A TIME THAT SAW DIVA BECOME A TERM OF ENDEARMENT, WHEN BLACKS RE TO THEMSELVES AS NIGGA'S AS A TERM OF ENDEARMENT (I think the intent was/is if you use the term enough, it takes the sting out of it. The result backfired and to this day splits the black community) AND WOMEN AND GAYS CALLED EACH OTHER BITCHES AS A TERM OF ENDEARMENT. Unfortunately the "N" word was the only one that apparently achieved the intended goal it would seem, to some."

With all due respect, that's garbage. "Bitch", "hoe", "nigger" (the alternate spelling is bogus), "queer", "dyke" and all the other slurs people are throwing around these days are not, have never been and will never be "endearments". That's just a lame argument that rude and ignorant folk use to cover their behinds in case they get called on their derogatory usage. I've heard Black people use the N-word all my life. There is always a "sting" in that usage, even when lips are smiling when it's said. If you don't hear the "sting", then you're not listening closely enough. If you listen long enough, you'll hear Black people use the N-word in anger, and there's absolutely no way it can be mistaken for an "endearment" then! I don't even care to think about how many times "nigger" was probably the last thing a Black man heard before he was capped by a "brother".

"While Ms Carroll is all she is described as in the article, she was never a household name in the Black community that I grew up in. She always seemed aloof and above it all in most of her screen roles and most of her off screen activities. I'm pretty sure she did the necessaries to remain cool with the "brothers and sister," but like Sammy Davis Jr, she might as well have been 'Jewish'!"

Well, I grew up in the Black community, too. I was a child when Diahann Carroll starred in "Julia". She was definitely a household name, a heroine to Black working mothers, and highly respected by most Black people back then. For a while, she was the highest profile Black woman in America.

"Now in her 'GOLDEN YEARS' the term that she was commonly known by, has come back to haunt her it seems. The chickens always come home to roost"

Before and even after her appearance on "Dynasty", I don't recall Ms. Carroll being "commonly known" as a "Black bitch". As for chickens coming home to roost, yes, it can certainly be argued that she brought this insult on herself. But if somebody invites you to attend an orgy, it's your decision whether or not to go, isn't it? Everybody's responsible for their own behavior. The New York Blade can't indulge in racist labeling and expect it to be OK just because the a Black person did it first. That sounds way too "Don Imus" for me.

[TUCKER]

Originally Posted by adonis1960

The intent of people using the term isn't the point. The point is the term's origins in slavery and its inherently racist, misogynist and dehumanizing meaning. I'm not giving anybody a pass here.

Nigger was a catch all term for ALL slaves during that period. Didn't matter what name a slave considered his, all of them were known as nigga.

I notice you don't say Johnny Carson ever called Ms. Carroll as "Black bitch". Did he?

Nope, not that night anyway!

Well, yeah. And some of us don't think "bitch" is such a nice word, either.

Then why do some of you use it? .

Well, I grew up in the Black community, too. I was a child when Diahann Carroll starred in "Julia". She was definitely a household name, a heroine to Black working mothers, and highly respected by most Black people back then. For a while, she was the highest profile Black woman in America.

And all that legitimized what? She was still a snooty bitch that tried to be and enjoyed being everything she was portrayed as.

[cc5k]

OMG... He's returned from the dead! Adonis' name has probably been mentioned 50-100 times since the last time he posted on here.

Glad to see you again!

...ok, now let me read this thread.

[cc5k]

Originally Posted by adonis1960

With all due respect, that's garbage. "Bitch", "hoe", "nigger" (the alternate spelling is bogus), "queer", "dyke" and all the other slurs people are throwing around these days are not, have never been and will never be "endearments". That's just a lame argument that rude and ignorant folk use to cover their behinds in case they get called on their derogatory usage. I've heard Black people use the N-word all my life. There is always a "sting" in that usage, even when lips are smiling when it's said. If you don't hear the "sting", then you're not listening closely enough. If you listen long enough, you'll hear Black people use the N-word in anger, and there's absolutely no way it can be mistaken for an "endearment" then! I don't even care to think about how many times "nigger" was probably the last thing a Black man heard before he was capped by a "brother".

You and I have discussed the nigger vs nigga discussion a couple times among ourselves and with TUCKER. As I've framed this in the past, if a tree falls in the woods and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? Or put another way, if someone says "nigga" or "bitch" as an intended compliment and it's perceived that way, is it still derogatory?

Well, clearly in this case some readers, including the author of this article and you, adonis, heard the tree fall.... so it made a sound. But my guess is that for most others, it did not.

[sista]

Originally Posted by BISHOP

No racial harmony in the gay community I see.

this is nothing new....

not sure when this documentary aired, but it talks about how whyt gays participated in the 'gentrification' of black senior homeowners in Columbus, OH....

[TUCKER]

To ADONNIS and others of a likemind, is it the fact that its a barbarian GAY magazine making the racially quantified statement "BLACK Bitch," or is the word "Black BITCH" that you found so offensive about the re to Ms Carroll? Sounds to me like you found the former more offensive than the latter.