Self-IDing as 'black'

[TimeLady]

www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-6615237/White-couple-identify-black-appear-Morning-saying-doctors-claim-baby-black.html

A white couple, who have had tanning injections to turn their skin darker, have appeared on This Morning, claiming that doctors have told them that their future children will be born black.
…
While another questioned the genetics behind the couples claim: 'I'm so sorry, but no amount of cosmetic changes will affect your genetics. If you were born white, your children will be white. I think Martina needs to find a new doctor.'

Others joked about the situation, with one tweeting: 'As I identify as an attack helicopter I'm having surgery to have rotor blades attached to my back and mini guns under my arms

No different to the 69 year old Dutchman identifying as a 49 year old.

Or a person identifying as the opposite sex.

All bat shit crazy.

It's not about Trans.

But so many of you can't seem to have a conversation without including the T word.

You are obsessed.

You can't and won't empathise with this situation, and are using Trans comparison to deflect from the real issue.

That singular minded attitude does more harm than good, because you eventually alienate people who may have had or tried to gain understanding regarding certain issues.

All I see is that you relate everything to Trans and also very easily dismiss women that aren't your 'standard demographic'

That you even have a need to compare, is telling. As is your whitesplaining' as to why, to you, Trans is worse. Again, casual dismissal of the women who are being parodied racially. Using Trans to detect, as you can't denounce.

Just, no good all round..you and TRAs may be on opposite sides of the fence as it were, but attitude wise you sound the same.

There is so much that is offensive in this thread

Assuming we're all white is pretty bold - I'm South Asian and would guess lots of women that frequent FWR are not white.

I think people appropriating other's people's oppression is awful, and claiming to be even more oppressed because it's not obvious you categorise yourself in that class is even worse. This is whether it's to do with race or sex.

You can't and won't empathise with this situation, and are using Trans comparison to deflect from the real issue.

There isn't a successful movement to allow people to self identify as whatever race they choose and laws aren't in danger of being changed in favour of this. That's why I'm focusing on transgender issues. If it snowballed and it did become a problem beyond a few people trying it on, then I'd be worried and would be more actively fighting against it. But as is stands (unless I've missed it), the scale of the two problems are completely different and there's nothing to pushback on other than strongly stating that what this couple are doing is hideous and wrong.

"So many of you"

&

"You are all white"

Are 2 different sentences.

I didn't say the 2nd one...

I maintain Trans is used to deflect when it suits.

This matter is to do with parody and appropriation of black women, specifically. Yet having no knowledge or experience of the microaggressions black women face, which far too many non-black people take upon themselves to give forth upon and decide to themselves that they know better than we do, as well as excuse.

I don't see a man dressed as a woman. I don't see a transwoman. I see a natal woman in blackface.

White privilege is arrogant whether displayed by men, or women who cherry pick which women matter

I agree with PainintheEar.

Trans used to be far, far rarer than it is, and has now managed to grow into a large and powerful movement which is changing laws and is therefore having a fundamental impact on women's rights.

The whole concept of "identity" as being something fundamental and indisputable started there but it's mushrooming in to many different aspects. You now have people claiming to be trans-age, trans-(dis)abled, trans-species - and self ID'ing as black.

This person seems to get one of three main types of responses:
"WTF that's ridiculous, of course you can't ID as a race of your choice"
"you can be whoever you want to be"
"How is identifying as a particular race any different to identifying as a sex/gender?"

The people saying the last one aren't unaware of how insulting this parody of black woman is. They're just highlighting that it's the same concept as trans and that you can't logically WTF at this whilst saying that trans is utterly logical and we must change laws for it.

Many women find the way some TW portray woman as an insulting parody and appropriation too.

Yes it is as offensive.

You can't and won't empathise with this situation

No empathy? Who on here has suggested that a white person wearing blackface is anything other than offensive?

The scenarios are similar- people in privileged positions parodying the ‘others’.
Mistress Deeceee you seem intent on portraying users of this site as white privileged women with little understanding of the issues faced by non white women. Why is that?
It seems to me, a poor attempt at creating divisions- feminists centre women and in the current climate this is the unifier. Not colour, class, education or material wealth but biology.

What is white privilege?

White privilege:

www.aclrc.com/white-privilege/

You seem intent on portraying users of this site as white privileged women

There it is again - yet not once in my posts have I said all the women here are white.

I have been on MN for 7 years & am well aware not everybody is white.

Instead of asking me "why is that" - address your question to those "intent" on not seeing that comparing a natal born white woman in blackface, who is not trans, to Transwomen.

"You seem intent"..even that wording. I cba to elaborate on how problematic that in itself is, alongside your assumption that I think everybody is white...

MistressDeeCee

You said

"As is your whitesplaining' as to why, to you, Trans is worse."

"whitesplaining"

Yes - I did say that because there IS whitesplaining' on this thread here and there, and that is what I was addressing in my comments.

You have read the thread, haven't you.. ?

You do realise'whitesplaining' as a word/term isn't an alternative transition for "You are all white"...?

Maybe not.

Your picking apart of what I'm saying is simply further deflection. Many are the ways.

I still don't understand why, if Gender Is Purely A Social Construct and we know that social and cultural constructs are adaptable - why is transgenderism - not transsexuality - so much bloody harder for people to understand than the existence of black Norwegians or white Australians?

Whitesplaining = white person explaining prove the colour of my skin

Fuck me really? Transgenderism isn't that hard to understand the eradication of women's rights is the issue couldn't care less if some man wants to wear a dress but a dress doesn't make him a woman lipstick doesn't make you a woman I could go on but I have a life

Shift change, eh Fox?

Here here 'factsarenotmean'

I still don't understand why, if Gender Is Purely A Social Construct and we know that social and cultural constructs are adaptable - why is transgenderism - not transsexuality - so much bloody harder for people to understand than the existence of black Norwegians or white Australians?

I wouldn't care if men wanted to wear dresses, makeup, long hair and were 'widening the bandwidth of male' with all of that, maintaining they are a man.

But that's not what is happening in the main is it? Presumably you have heard of the claim that 'transwomen are women'?

Getting back to the original point of this thread - self-IDing as something you're patently not is likely to be regarded as offensive, ridiculous or sometimes both.

A white person identifying as black, or an able-bodied person claiming to be disabled is offensive.

However, this one deserves the ridiculous tag, imo:

www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/may/25/secret-life-of-the-human-pups-the-men-who-live-as-dogs

I doubt if any of the 101 Dalmatians are offended.

That’s the thing though, disability and race are one way streets - a person of colour can’t ‘identify as white’ - but a woman can identify as a man and a man can identify as a woman. Completely different.