One
particular part of the documentary on Columbus zoning issues stuck out to me. When
discussing the presence of LGBT members moving into the traditionally black
near-east side community, one African-American man commented on his
reservations toward gay people moving into the neighborhood. Though he
recognized that it was “wrong” in theory to discriminate against a group of
people (as a discriminated African American, himself), he admitted that he was
not comfortable with the idea of “public homosexaulity”--in his community or
otherwise.
To
me, this raises an interesting question surrounding potential homophobia in
many African-American communities. In this sense, a marginalized space (e.g. a
primarily black, inner-city neighborhood) may simultaneously function as a
space of marginalization and also a space that marginalizes other groups
(e.g. homosexual individuals). The near-east side African Americans who were
fighting for equitable housing rights, yet also opposed immersion from the gay
community, reflect this conflicting dichotomy.
Why may this marginalization
by the marginalized exist? Institutional factors may clearly be in play.
Says Rob Smith (via the NPR article, “Crunching The Numbers On Blacks'
Views On Gays”), "The hyper-masculine
ideals forced upon young black boys combine with the homophobia of the black
church to create a perfect storm of shame and secrecy" (Demby). This begs
the question of dominant, white ideology’s influence on African-American
homophobia. For instance, dominant law and media framing has long posited
inner-city, young African-American men as criminals, a title that may often be
embraced by the community. This embrace could, in turn, foster homophobic
attitudes. In this sense, dominant ideology and dominant groups may subjugate
marginalized groups and influence the latter group’s masculine-driven prejudices in the process.
On the whole, I just
wanted to comment on the notion of dualistic levels of marginalization
that can exist in certain spaces. Often, I feel like spaces are viewed in
highly binary (e.g. oppressed or dominant) terms without much consideration
given to the potential dynamism of ideology by groups that can exist in said spaces.
Demby, Gene. "Crunching The Numbers On
Blacks' Views On Gays." NPR. NPR, 02 May
2013.
Web. 05 Nov. 2014.
When watching the film, much of what you discussed stuck with me. This marginalization that is occurring and this tension that is being created, I think it also has a lot to deal with that we talked about with privilege. In the documentary, we see two different minority groups (within United States) both fighting for a space. The same man, who made the comment about “public homosexuality”, also mentioned how African American residents were pushed into that area and now someone is trying to take it away. This struggle for privilege, within a “not claimed space by the majority”, is creating a struggle for two minorities that do not have the same privileges and they are fighting for it, even if that means fighting each other.
ReplyDeleteSam I agree with your ending statement and I feel like this applies to our categorization of urban areas. Such as, our article at the beginning of class about China town.