As a feminist, I think it is important to understand the struggles of other women in the community, especially with the Black Lives Matter movement going on. I wanted to cover the topic of intersectionality, which is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as “the interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender as they apply to a given individual or group, regarded as creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage.” I conducted an interview with Mazzarine, a black woman who was a student in Pickering, where she was one of the only black people in her school.
Shaye: Thank you, Mazz, for doing this interview with me. First, I’d like to start by asking have you ever been discriminated against in comparison to a white woman? If so, can you expand on this experience?
Mazzarine: I have, and a specific instance I can remember was when I was returning shoes with my younger sister at a store, and as soon as we walked in, all of the workers looked at us with disgust on their faces and ignored us completely. Shortly after we had walked in, a white woman walked in and they went straight to her to offer their help. I found this weird since I wasn’t offered any help, and soon after they helped this white woman they came over to us and offered help but there seemed to be an attitude in the worker’s voice.
S: Wow, thank you for that story. I’m sorry that happened to you. Another question I had was: Has a white candidate ever been chosen for something over you? For example, maybe you ran for student council and weren’t chosen based on skin colour?
M: Actually, yes. I remember this one time I was doing a job interview, and over the phone, I don’t sound like I am a person of colour. They had asked me to come in, and once I walked in the front doors the receptionist was looking at me funny and soon came out and asked, “Can I help you?” in a rude tone. I answered that I was there for an interview and gave her my name, and she quickly said, “Oh,” as if she were surprised that I had even gotten an interview. As I was leaving this interview, a white woman had walked in and the receptionist was so kind and bubbly with her.
S: These stories are very eye-opening to the BIPOC experience, and I’m sure that you aren’t the only one who has experienced this. I want to ask if you find that your experience as a black woman is overseen due to your status as a double minority?
M: I feel like if there is a job that only requires you to have a Bachelor’s degree, in order for me to be recognized I would need to have 2 degrees to even have a chance at getting the job. There’s the stereotype that black people are loud and obnoxious, whereas a white woman would act the same and be called confident. When the riots were happening, the media pushed for the societal idea that black people are committing crimes and causing problems, when the situation was being taken advantage of for these hate crimes. When the police precinct was burned, black people were blamed for it. But recently, 5 white people were charged for the actual crime. I don’t see that information in the media anywhere. There is a lot of generational trauma, because not only have we been discriminated against, have been slaves, and have been defined by harmful stereotypes, but we’ve also been compared to animals.
S: Wow, okay that’s a lot to take in. Thank you for giving me those insights and information! Now, I want to know, when it comes to sexual violence, have you experienced a difference between white men and men of colour? You don’t need to disclose anything you aren’t comfortable answering.
M: Honestly, I’ve found a difference when it comes to catcalls from both groups of men. When it comes to white men, I find that they use intimidation tactics like staring at me, or they talk to me about how much power they have over me. Whereas with men of colour, they tend to simply speak to me as if I am a woman. They talk to me and actually try to get to know me. But as a black woman, I have found myself less inclined to speak up to men and I think it’s a thing all women experience, but for me, I feel like if I speak up, no one will believe my experience because I’m a black woman.
S: Do you find that your health has been affected because of the things you have experienced as a woman of colour?
M: One time I hurt my back, and when my mom found out, she took me to the hospital and told me to embellish how I was feeling and overexaggerate because she wanted the doctors to take my pain seriously. I didn’t realize until recently why she made me do that, but it’s because doctors think that black women’s pain isn’t as bad as a white woman’s pain. I also find that I have increased anxiety when I go out, asking myself questions like: Am I going to make it home tonight? Are there police on this route? Do I know anyone in this area? Do I know the area? Who can I call that will answer me right away in case something happens? There was a time I went out with my friends who are also coloured people, and a cop passed us very slowly, and once the driver of the car made eye contact, the cop pulled around beside us trying to catch us doing something suspicious. He eventually left us alone because another driver pulled an illegal turn. This caused a different type of anxiety for me; so now when I’m driving alone and I see a cop, I stop singing in the car, turn down my music, and stay completely silent.
S: Last question for you. Do you think that the Black Lives Matter movement is a feminist movement?
M: Honestly, no. I think that the feminist movement is focused more on the white woman experience than it is on any other experience to try and achieve equality. The feminist movement tends to focus more on the problems that white women are facing and completely ignores the coloured community. I agree with certain things that the feminist movement pushes for, but I think that there needs to be more focus on the coloured community’s struggle and less on the experience of white women since they are a single minority, whereas I’m living my life as a double minority. I look up to artists like Lizzo and Megan thee Stallion because they are fighting for both feminism and Black Lives Matter, but also because they are unapologetically themselves. These are role models that the black community needs because they are living the life of a double minority. And their names are huge right now, so their stories are more likely to be listened to. I think that a lot of times, when people are looking for information on Black Lives Matter they look towards white allies for information rather than listening to the black communityーwho it is actually happening to.
S: Do you have any closing statements you’d like to put out there for people reading this article?
M: Please, just listen to our stories; they are ours to share and no one else’s. We are human beings and just want to be treated as such. We matter; please don’t be racist and please look to black voices first before looking to white allies for information. It’s like the movie The Help. The black woman who wrote it didn’t want it published, but the white woman went ahead and did it anyway. Just listen to us and our voices.