By zerlina • 12 years ago

Time Magazine predicts women as “The Richer Sex”, but is this old news for black women?

Over at EBONY, I wrote about a recent article from TIME Magazine which suggested that women will overtake men as breadwinners in the next generation.  As a result of this change, according to the article’s author Liza Mundy, traditional cisgender, straight relationship dynamics could potentially shift.  What TIME doesn’t necessarily consider is the fact that this dynamic has already shifted for many minority communities, namely for black women, who have already outpaced men in terms of income and education. Via EBONY:

 While that shift is making headlines in the mainstream the woman as breadwinner and head of household just might be old hat for Black women.

That may be in part because a higher percentage of African American women are achieving college degrees. This could mean that over the next generation the overall shift in female run households, already felt in many Black households could be even more dramatic in our homes over the next generation.

Particularly in the aftermath of the economic crisis that has also contributed to this shift, Black women are the financial lifeblood for families.  The Time piece focused on the next generation being dominated by female-lead households and yet this is nothing new for our community. So what are the social and political ramifications are for Black women as we continue to excel and support ourselves and our families? The gender dynamics may be changing for everyone but Black women are somewhat on the outside of this shift, having already moved ahead.

Certainly the economic crisis has contributed to this change for all Americans of any race, but I think the TIME piece makes a declaration that might already be old news for certain segments of the population.  It’s certainly an interesting take, but I also find it limiting in that it focuses on heteronormative households generally and doesn’t consider that other races of people have been ahead of the curve for some time now, with no signs of going back.  Is it only news warranting a cover story when the shift happens to white straight American women?

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By Nia Evans • 7 years ago

Dear Betsy DeVos: Fighting for Survivors of Sexual Violence Is a Racial Justice Fight

For the past few months, I’ve seen several articles — almost exclusively written by white women — arguing that we shouldn’t enforce Title IX protections for survivors of sexual assault because the authors believe Black men are more likely to be accused. The narrative has been picked up by numerous media outlets and used by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to strip protections for survivors.

The idea that survivors’ rights are a threat to Black men leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Let me be clear: that’s not because I’m not worried about race discrimination in school discipline. We have no data to support the argument that Black men are more likely to be accused of or ...

For the past few months, I’ve seen several articles — almost exclusively written by white women — arguing that we shouldn’t enforce Title IX protections for survivors of sexual assault because the authors ...