The alt-right pipeline is increasingly being discussed these days for how insidious its methods of recruitment have become. Once seen as a space solely reserved for disenfranchised young white men and boys, it has become an overwhelming cultural force that shows no signs of stopping. Trends like ‘girl math,’ young women using the phrase ‘ I’m just a girl,’ and men of colour viewing themselves primarily through maleness are all rightfully being shunned as gateways to the alt-right pipeline. However, a community never mentioned in these conversations, which I view as equally, if not more insidious than anything currently on the internet, is the Divestors.
‘Defenders’ Against Misogynoir
In my time on the internet, I have noticed how easy it is for young Black girls to fall victim to this community. Pictures and videos of beautiful Black women are retweeted, supposedly to defend them from racist ideology, often quoting right-wing accounts that spread misogynoir and hatred. I myself was almost fooled by one such account, which seemed to me like a safe haven, a rare presence that champions Black women and places them at the forefront. However, after deeper interaction, the experience began to leave a bad taste in my mouth.
First, it was subtle anti-blackness. For example, one account quoted a racist caricature of a black man, mocking the black man for his ethnic features, such as larger lips or coily hair, many of which are shared with Black women. Then came the denigration of other Black women who fail to conform to their standards. The statue of a Black woman in Times Square was met with derision and vitriol; the group believed it wasn’t a good representation of Black women (whatever that means).
Then the mask fully dropped, and along came a barrage of transphobic, homophobic and misogynistic rants and retweets.
Once this happened, it became almost comically apparent how obviously performative their love for Black women was. Those ‘beautiful Black women’? They all wore wigs, had thin noses, and conformed to a ‘luxury’ aesthetic. Whilst many Black women certainly have these features, it seems quite hypocritical to claim to champion all Black women and yet only promote those who fit your narrow view of what constitutes a ‘good’ Black woman. The implication that Black women are only worthy if they meet particular beauty standards, which are more often than not rooted in Eurocentric ideas of beauty, is a familiar way of getting around the problem of avoiding the racist tag by appearing to accept racial differences.
Problematic ‘Pro-Black Women’ Spaces
They claim to be for Black women, yet see other Black women as inferior in virtue of being different. Whenever a Black woman does something they disagree with, they are verbally assaulted with all manner of stereotypes. Fat Black women are mammies, Black women with baby fathers are Jezebels, Black women on the left are septum-pierced SJWs, and Black women who date Black men are all of the above, plus dumb and ugly. These are not spaces that champion Black women; they are more like black holes that champion like-minded Black women, women who are like them, women who are anti-black when it is convenient.
Much of the language used by Divestors also mirrors the Black manosphere — e.g., ‘Go where you are loved’ rhetoric. The chief problem with this sort of thinking is that it portrays Black men as primitive and bigoted and white men (or generally non-black men) as the saviours of Black women, playing into racist and bio-essentialist stereotypes, and ignoring that they too can, and oftentimes do, perpetuate misogynoir. Black women and girls should absolutely go where we are loved, but that doesn’t equate to placing non-Black men on an undeserved pedestal, and it definitely doesn’t equate to aligning ourselves with borderline white supremacist rhetoric.
Divestors, like the manosphere, claim they want the best for their community (that community being Black women). And just like the manosphere, their ideology is built on perceived injustices in society. These groups are not wrong about the presence of injustices. The problem is who they blame for them. When it comes to the manosphere, blame for things like the male loneliness epidemic is squarely placed on women. Similarly, the Divestor community places the blame for the continued struggles of Black women and girls solely on Black men. I won’t deny that Black men play a large part in the normalisation of misogynoir, but it is a role that is subordinate to, not independent of, the cultural climate at large.
Spaces like Divestors speak to one of the prevailing political issues in our time. There is an insane focus on scapegoating and punishing individuals or groups, and less of a focus on actually addressing the root of the problem. In this case, the root would be a culture that allows for the casual marginalisation of Black women in everyday life. It may seem like a challenge to overcome this, but society isn’t concrete. We can change it, and we should strive to change it even in the smallest of ways rather than submit to complacency and the blame game.
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