Black girls’ sexual burden: Why Mo’ne Davis was really called a “slut

[MrScorpio]

Just as I was harassed at 8 years old, baseball wunderkind Mo'ne Davis is a target of sexual shaming. Here's why



Mo’ne Davis is a Black girl wunderkind. At age 13, she has pitched a shutout at the Little League World Series, becoming the first girl ever to do so, and she has been on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Disney is now planning to do a movie about her called, “Throw Like Mo.”

I’m not ashamed to admit that I still watch the Disney Channel, and I will certainly be tuning in. But everyone isn’t as excited as I am to see a Black girl on the come up. Last week, Joey Casselberry, a sophomore baseball player from Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania, called Mo’ne a “slut” in response to the news about the movie. He was subsequently expelled from the team.

In response, Davis has forgiven him and she and her coach have asked that he be reinstated. About Casselberry, Davis released a statement, which said:

Everyone makes mistakes and everyone deserves a second chance. I know he didn’t mean it in that type of way, and I know a lot of people get tired of like seeing me on TV but just think about what you’re doing before you actually do it. I know right now he’s really hurt and I know how hard he worked just to get where he is right now.

http://www.salon.com/2015/03/25/black_girls_sexual_burden_why_mone_davis_was_really_called_a_slut/

[cali]

1. Don't let him back on the team.

[FBaggins]

2. That would be my first reaction as well... but...

... does the victim's opinion mean nothing?

Couldn't figure out wht this all had to do with a "sexual burden"... so I continued to read.

Her level of empathy is remarkable but not particularly surprising. Black girls learn almost from the womb to empathize with others, even when those others have committed deep injustices toward us. Perhaps it is the unparalleled level of our suffering that makes us always look with empathy upon others.

This strikes me as utter nonsense. I wouldn't say that this has anything to do with a "level of empathy" (let alone how "black girls" learn it from the womb). I'd say it was a level of maturity... and that she has it well in excess of the author's. Too much of the rest of the piece reads more as though it's about the author than it should.

I guess my real question is why I should look at her and think of her first as a "black girl" and then analyze her based on someone else's stereotype for how "black girls" grow up and how they should live? Why can't I just look a her as a remarkably successful individual who shows maturity WAY beyond her years?

[cali]

3. I agree with everything you said.

[FBaggins]

5. Oh... sorry. I'll try harder next time.

[bigtree]

6. does the writer's opinion mean nothing?

...she gives Mo’ne Davis credit for maturity in her gracious statement of forgiveness.

"It is absolutely wonderful that Davis has this kind of care and concern and a heart so huge that she can forgive a nearly adult person for insulting her."

I agree with the writer's opinion that it's a remarkable trait, born out of such pervasive and persistent racism and misogyny directed toward black women in America, to be magnanimous and understanding toward abusers and defamers. I can identify with that as a black male who has found it necessary to brush off slurs and ad homenim attacks on my character based entirely on race to avoid confrontations which I've felt might deny me opportunities in employment and other necessary pursuits. It's less about magnanimity, than it is about survival in a tenuous and hostile environment.

I think it's remarkable that you've chosen to deny the association this writer has made with Mo’ne Davis' blackness and substituted your own colorblind assessment of her actions and the writer's opinion. Certainly there's room for both assessments, and more than enough room for understanding these particular viewpoints that center on the racial and sexual aspects of the offense.

[FBaggins]

7. Of course not

Not any more than mine or yours. I simply don't understand why I should assume that what appears to be maturity in this young woman is actually something far less noteworthy... all because the author shares the same color skin and sexual organs?

I agree with the writer's opinion that it's a remarkable trait, born out of such pervasive and persistent racism and misogyny directed toward black women in America, to be magnanimous and understanding toward abusers and defamers.

I think you both need to talk to the young lady before you're in a position to claim from whence commeth her strength of personality and surplus of class.

I can identify with that as a black male

Ah... I see. It isn't uncommon for people to want to associate themselves with people that we respect. Ultimately though, it's a sign of immaturity. More than that, it's disrespectful of the person who earned the respect. You have no way of knowing (unless she tells us) whether some characteristic of hers that you share contributed to her strength of character.

who has found it necessary to brush off slurs and ad homenim attacks on my character based entirely on race to avoid confrontations which I've felt might deny me opportunities in employment and other necessary pursuits. It's less about magnanimity, than it is about survival in a tenuous and hostile environment.

That's a shame. It was impressive right up until that last sentence.

Certainly there's room for both assessments

Sure! But there's a difference between the two. Only one of us if giving credit where credit is due... the other is making the assessment based solely on her own experiences and denying the young lady the right to determine for herself what drives her. I think if the author wants to write a story about her own experiences and how she chose to deal with them (without telling others with superficially similar experiences how to live their lives)... that would be worth reading, as would your story.

On edit - let me put it another way. I think it's wrong to tell "black girls" how they should think or act or believe because of the color of their skin or their gender... and it doesn't become more acceptable if the speaker shares one or both of those traits.

[bigtree]

8. she gave her opinion. She's not dictating anything but her own perspective

...as you have; which you've chosen to dismiss. The writer certainly does give credit to the young woman, as well as express her own view based on her life experiences. It's you who seems to have a problem accepting those, not me or the writer.

[jeff47]

4. That's kinda a lame article or lame headline.

The headline says "why". The article never does. The article just says it happens, and lists occurrences. It never says "why".

It hints at the causes being racism and sexism, but doesn't explicitly say so.

[Zenlitened]

10. Before I accept the premise of this article...

... by a black woman about the experience of being a black girl...

...I really need to consider what a bunch of old white men have to say about the topic.

Ferfucksakeanymore, this place.

[gollygee]

12. I know

crazy

[Trailrider1951]

11. What a class act she is!

Brilliant, yet with compassion. We could learn a lot from her....