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29 Jul 2012
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come fly with me: about my twerk video

strugglingtobeheard:

well, since someone let me know that someone said, “well it’s public and open and available for criticism.” let me say this about my twerk for mothers day video: 

when i posted this video, i posted it on my youtube channel that had NO followers and on my tumblr blog that had about 1,200 at the time. this video was shared on tumblr and the video i had made before was too, with nowhere near as much foot traffic. but it was then STOLEN WITHOUT MY PERMISSION AND PLACED ON WORLD STAR HIP HOP. i had to fight with world star hip hop and still have paperwork to file in regards to monetary gains they have made off my content submitted without my permission on THEIR website, against their own policy rules. 

from there, after arguing with them about my own content, they finally agreed to link the video to my youtube channel. which is why i have so many views. and trust, i would have over 600,000 on my channel if they linked it to my page originally. but the fact remains, i wouldn’t have had this many at ALL if my content wasn’t stolen without my consent in an attempt to mock and shame me by an anti-Black misogynist whose page refers to women as nothing but hoes all the time. and then by a website that profits off of making a spectacle of Black people in the guise of entertainment.

now, i am still open to criticism with this tape. and in fact, the only “criticism” i have gotten is that i am too fat, shaped like a man, a man, a tr*nny, that i have father issues, that my mother would be ashamed of me, that i should be raped, that they busted a fat nut, that i am stupid, that the message is stupid. etc. that’s really not real criticism tho. criticism is, you don’t dance well, the point of your video was off, you did a stupid move in the middle. criticism implies critique, not insults. the rest of my feedback has all been positive from people who understand the message and what i’m doing.

the only problem i have with people reblogging this now is because they are doing it to say, “look, this is the silly bitch who had a fight with people on my dash” (referring to the blow up after i said what i said about eyan-j and his misogynistic tirade and then his stans threatening to delete my page, expose my information, place me in danger of stalkers and white supremacists on my page). to use my video as proof that i deserve to be abused, disrespected, stalked and harassed is bullshit. i mean… it’s typical, it’s how anti-Black misogyny works, but when you see a bunch of Black women and men perpetuating it, that shit is sad. respectability politics isn’t going to save you. and me shaking my ass in honors of mothers day isn’t evidence i deserve to be abused. nor that i have been abused. nor that it justifies any harm against me. people do realize these are the same tactics white supremacists use in the media and in the courts to justify Black rapes, deaths and abuse every day, right? it is not cute, it is not a good look.

and it is more than me. you are doing this to other Black female identified people who put themselves out in nonconventional ways, you are trying to shut them up, you are attempting to squash them. the women who do it do it so they don’t have to deal with the blow back of misogynistic men who see one woman do something and treat all women accordingly. they do it because they know if they dont “act like that” they will get ahead with these men (even tho these men also want women to do these acts for them and exclusively them on a regular basis, i mean how many dancing, naked, women are on their blogs and at their fingertips). and for men, they are saying Black women need to behave like x,y, z or we endorse abuse, harassment and stalking against you. we will “criticize” you (aka remind you you are a disgusting human being not worth the salt on their food). we will also harm you, put you in your place and do the things that they think you are supposed to be doing, for them.

i love my twerk video, i love the message and i love the responses from those who relate to it. i’ve gone to a conference because of it, gotten to teach a class and meet amazing/creative/wonderful people as well. but if you are going to insult my video and talk about it being out in the open, ready for consumption, just know how that happened and who did that and for what purpose. 

say that.  *closes piano*
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  1. dalinoel reblogged this from wocsurvivalkit
  2. wocsurvivalkit reblogged this from cupcakesnotbombs and added:
    say that. *closes piano*
  3. brokenhouse reblogged this from deliciouskaek
  4. cosmicrubric reblogged this from deliciouskaek and added:
    I don’t think I’ll ever stop being honored that such an amazing person as strugglingtobeheard follows me. She’s...
  5. cupcakesnotbombs reblogged this from so-treu
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