"Whose Pussy is this" (Talking Back by bell hooks)
Today during a book talk about Talking Back: thinking feminist, thinking black by bell hooks, chapter 19 quickly brought up a truth. Black women have never had control over their sex. Since our introduction to America, our lives have been filled with rape, subjugation, and abuse. It was not that long ago in our history that black women and men were simply put together in baby mills like the mating of wild animals. It is no shock that this particular chapter struck a chord in the group. The chapter mentions two films, She's Gotta Have It and The Color Purple . Both depict sexual relationships, but one is told from the viewpoint of a female and the other from a male. Both depict rape, but in She's Gotta Have It, once the rape occurs, the main character continues a monogamous relationship with the one who coerced her. And she takes the responsibility of the act on herself. In The Color Purple, consensual sex between two women is depicted in such a way that empowers the main ch...