Reject racial fetishization.

Of all the hospice patients in the United States, only 14% of enrollees are people of color (The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine). While communities of color and low-income communities face the brunt of COVID-19, they also face a myriad of hurdles when navigating and accessing end-of-life care. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people of color are up to 2.8 times more likely to die from the virus, underscoring the importance of end-of-life and hospice care for this population (CDC).

Happy Thursday and welcome back to the Anti-Racism Daily. Today, Sayaka outlines how racial fetishization often increases violence against people of color, particularly those in the LGBTQ+ community.

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TAKE ACTION

Work to bring awareness to the sexual violence perpetrated against people of color, particularly trans women of color by supporting the Trans Agenda for Liberation.
Express your support for the Survivors’ Access to Supportive Care Act, which will increase access to forensic nurses who provide comprehensive care to victims of sexual assault, by sending an email to your representatives. The act also increases support for tribal communities. RAINN (Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network) has a good template here to do so.
Reflect on your own current and past relationships and ask yourself why you are attracted to a person. Do misconceptions about race or ethnicity play a role?

GET EDUCATED

By Sayaka Matsuoka (she/her)

For as long as white supremacy has existed in the world, so too has the exotification and fetishization of people of color, particularly those who identify as women and femmes. Racial fetishization is the seeking out of a person or culture belonging to a specific race or ethnic group for sexual gratification. While some individuals may explain their attraction as a personal preference, historical research and context shows that choosing sexual partners specifically based on their race is problematic and rooted in white supremacy (Wear Your Voice Mag).

The fetishization and exotification of women of color dehumanizes the individuals that are targeted and denigrates them to objects that exist solely to fulfill the male gaze and appetite. It’s about taking a fully fledged, well rounded human and limiting them to one aspect of their being that they don't even have control over says Kevin Patterson, a polyamory activist and author. (Willamette Week).

In the United States, racial fetishization dates back to a time before the slave trade. White women often were seen as pure, innocent entities to be protected, while Black women were depicted as lustful and sinful (Thirteen). After migrating to African countries, white settlers objectified Black women and saw them as sexually promiscuous beings because of their attire or physical features (Jim Crow Museum). White owners often raped Black enslaved females referring to the women as their hypersexual property (Earlham Historical Journal).

During the early 1800s, women of color were displayed in carnival freak shows to showcase their “exotic” features. One such example was Sarah Bartmaan, a South African Khoikhoi woman who was exhibited while scantily clad. Wealthy white people were given the opportunity to prod and touch her if they paid extra (BBC). The mistreatment of Black women continued long after slavery was abolished. These days, the ramifications of this type of behavior can be seen in the criticism of Black female artists like Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, and Megan Thee Stallion who own their sexuality and use it in their work.

“We never address how cisheterosexual men’s sexuality facilitates some unhealthy practices that we’ve normalized and accepted,” writes Melissa Brown (Blackfeminisms.com). “Negative reactions to Cardi B result from how, historically, strippers were the objects rather than the subjects of the songs written from the vantage point of a male rapper’s voyeuristic and pornagraphic gaze.”

Racist fetishization permeates other aspects of society and extends across all women of color. Indigenous women are depicted as sexual beings to conquer. Statistics show that they are most likely to be sexually assaulted (End Rape on Campus). Latina women have also historically been hypersexualized in American media, which often makes heavy use of the actress’ accent—real or forced—to create a sense of the exotic.

“If I played a Latina, I always had to be too sexy and too easy. I hated that," explained actress Rita Morena (Latina.com).

A study found that of the hundred top-grossing films of 2016, only 3% of roles were occupied by Latinx people—and of that, one-fourth of the women cast either appeared nude or in sexy attire (USC Annenberg).

Like Black and Latina women, Asian women are hypersexualized as well, but in a different way. Historically, the media often portray East Asian women as being submissive and childlike. Examples can be seen in the novel and movie Memoirs of a Geisha and the Broadway show Madame Butterfly. Lately, the stereotype is further perpetuated by members of the alt-right who see East Asian women as the perfect partners because of their perceived submissiveness (NY Times). The idea stems from other harmful stereotypes about Asians like the model minority myth which pits Asians against Black and Brown individuals. Read our past article about the Model Minority Myth.

“Asian women are seen as naturally inclined to serve men sexually and are also thought of as slim, light-skinned and small, in adherence to Western norms of femininity,” Audrea Lim says in her article, “The Alt-Right’s Asian Fetish.”.

Such ideas follow in the footsteps of nineteenth century European male fixations on geishas and China dolls. The subjugation of East Asian women continued well into the twentieth century when American GIs visited countries like Japan, Korea and Vietnam where the local women and sex workers often were raped (Institute for Policy Studies).

The issues of fetishization are even more complicated for members of the LGBTQ+ community, particularly transgender individuals because it is directly correlated with a person’s curiosity of the other. The hypersexualization of trans people of color is compounded by the fact that they are part of another marginalized community. This can lead cisgender individuals who are curious about transgender bodies to objectify and perpetuate violence against them. A 2015 national survey of transgender people in the United States found that 47% of them are sexually assaulted at some point in their lifetime. Of those who were people of color responded with higher rates of assault (National Center for Transgender Equality).

Because the fetishization and exotification of women of color, including transgender women, is a dehumanizing mechanism that often leads to violence and acts of sexual assault, it is up to us all to fight these stereotypes when we see them. It is important to remind each other that women of color are not for consumption. They deserve respect on all levels, from the mind and soul to the body.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

The fetishization of people of color has existed in the United States for centuries and works to dehumanize individuals as objects for consumption by others.
Fetishization can harm individuals and lead to sexual violence.
Members of the LGBTQ+ community, particularly trans individuals, face higher rates of sexual violence and can also face additional layers of fetishization.

RELATED ISSUES

8/21/2020 | Let Black girls be girls.

11/24/2020 | Stop violence against Native women.

9/25/2020 | Decriminalize sex work.

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Nicole Cardoza 12/20/20 Nicole Cardoza 12/20/20

Advocate for a fair Census count.

It’s no secret that this year has been a chaotic roller coaster in many respects, and the ongoing census count is no exception. The census, which has taken place every ten years since 1790, ensures that every person in the U.S. is counted. It also impacts the reallocation of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and the distribution of federal funding to states.

Happy Sunday and welcome back to the Anti-Racism Daily! Today we're following up on our coverage of the census. The U.S. census is a critical aspect of representation, particularly for those most marginalized. And the shift in administration can greatly influence how the rest of the census project unfolds. Here with more is Sayaka.

Our team is going to be on holiday rest for the next few weeks. That means we'll be publishing pieces queued up in advance, including a series of year-in-reviews that will help you reflect and absorb on the conversations we've had here. It also means I'll be slower to respond to inquiries on our channels. If you reach out with a work or editorial related note, you'll receive an out-of-office. But we still have a surprise or two in store before we fully check out...

As always, you can support our work by making a one-time gift on our website or PayPal, or subscribe for $7/month on Patreon. You can also Venmo (@nicoleacardoza).

Nicole

TAKE ACTION

Read and share the letter encouraging politicians to support the 2020 Census Deadline Extensions Act.
Follow updates from The Census Project on Facebook and Twitter for up-to-date information regarding the census. You can sign up for their newsletter here.
Follow the Census Counts website for updates on the census.
Find ways to get involved with the Census moving forward.

GET EDUCATED

By Sayaka Matsuoka (she/her)

After much legal back and forth, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to change the census deadline to October 15th (Vox). Now, as the census data is processed, the U.S. Census Bureau has received national attention for anomalies, as well as for President Trump’s attempts to exclude undocumented immigrants from the census altogether.

In July, Trump issued a memorandum stating his intent to exclude undocumented immigrants from the count, something that has never been done before (White House). According to the Constitution, the "whole number of persons" living in each state must be counted to determine how many seats in Congress and Electoral College votes each state gets (NPR). In 2017, there were approximately 10.5 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S., accounting for 3.2% of the nation’s population (Pew Research Center). Current estimates put the number of undocumented immigrants between 10.5 and 12 million individuals (Brookings Institute).

Since Trump’s memorandum, federal courts have ruled that Trump lacks the authority to make such a change, and the Supreme Court took up the case for the first time at the end of November (Washington Post).

During the hearing, several of the justices, including newly-appointed Judge Amy Coney Barrett, expressed skepticism over Trump’s action. Jeffrey Wall, the government’s top lawyer, also stated that census officials weren’t sure how many undocumented immigrants would be counted or if it would affect reapportionment. He suggested that people in immigration detention or those ordered to leave the country would not be counted. Later in the hearing, Wall also said that larger categories of immigrants, such as those protected from deportation under DACA, may also be excluded from the count if Trump gets his way (AP). However, when justices pressed Wall about the timeline for processing data, he stated that he couldn’t estimate when the counting would be completed (NPR).

For this administration to exclude undocumented immigrants from the count, the data processing would have to take place while Trump is still in office. But several flaws in the census count jeopardize the census bureau’s ability to hand their numbers to the president by a Dec. 31 deadline (AP). Leaked documents and anonymous sources within the Census Bureau confirmed multiple irregularities in the count regarding residents of college dorms, prisons, and other group living quarters. This category amounted to about 8 million people during the 2010 census. Currently, the irregularities affect about 1 million records (NPR).

Flaws in the count, including excluding whole categories of individuals, could vastly skew how much of an estimated $1.5 trillion a year in federal funding each community gets for Medicare, Medicaid, and other public services (NPR). Suppose undocumented immigrants are excluded from the census. In that case, states with large immigrant populations like New York, California, and Texas could lose House seats and funding, and whiter, Republican states could benefit at the expense of Democratic ones (NYTimes).

📰 Historically, undercounts or irregularities in census data have affected Black and Brown communities the most. To learn more, read our previous post about the census here.

Because of count irregularities and delays, it’s likely that incoming President Joe Biden will be the one calling the shots about the final count (AP). But that doesn’t mean he can just ask for a complete re-do. Because orchestrating the census is extremely laborious (and expensive — it cost $16 billion this year), the likelihood of Biden scrapping this year’s census and ordering a new one in 2021 or 2022 would be unprecedented (NPR). Instead, experts call for the incoming Biden administration to set up a panel of experts to review the quality of the data.

While the deadline for filling out the census has passed, the fight to make sure everyone is counted fairly and equitably isn’t. Urge politicians to support the 2020 Census Deadline Extensions Act, which would extend the statutory deadlines for delivering apportionment and redistricting data to April and July 2021 (Center for American Progress).

KEY TAKEAWAYS

In November, the Supreme Court held its first hearing in response to President Trump’s attempt to exclude undocumented immigrants from the census.
Irregularities in the count show that 1 million records have been affected.
If the bureau doesn’t meet its Dec. 31 deadline to report its data to President Trump, President-elect Joe Biden may be the one calling the shots on the final count in January.