Casual Conversations with Tee Tee: Part 2
Since this conversation is pretty long, I am splitting it into three parts. This blog post is Part 2 of our conversation. In this part of our conversation we move from simple introductions towards a powerful song by a lady we all love-Nina Simone. After listening to Nina Simone’s “Four Women” this is how our conversation went. Let’s continue to read about May’s Casual Conversation.
Tee Tee: That’s a good song.
Marisha: Yeah, I love that song. I think it was the first Black Girls Rock on BET, and I heard Marsha Ambrosius, Ledisi, Kelly Price, and Jill Scott perform it. I was like, “OH MY GAWD!” Anyways, glad you liked it! So, what did each of the women- Aunt Sarah, Saffronia, Sweet Thing, and Peaches- represent to you?
T: So, Aunt Sarah is more of like a strong Black woman that knows what she is doing, and she has been through a lot. She is basically saying that she can take the pain. I’m guessing Saffronia is light skinned? The way she looks does not have all the Black features. She is saying that she belongs, and this is taken from the line, “I do belong.” She thinks that even though she is lighter, she is a Black woman? I don’t know. I don’t really get it-
M: So, I want you to listen to these lines, “My skin is Yellow/ My hair is long/ Between two worlds/ I do belong”…
T: So, she is saying that she belongs in the white world and the black world, and her father raped her mom. This is hard.
M: I want you to think about what they are saying (I wanted her to analyze this for herself).
T: The third one does not know whom her father or mother is. Is she a prostitute? Oh my God! I got that from her name (which is “Sweet Thing”) and the line, “Who has money to buy”. The fourth one, I’m guessing, is also tough. She has more of a wall built up, and does not let other people in. I am guessing that because her parents were in slavery she does not let people in easily. I like her name (which is Peaches)! Overall, the song is saying that there are different women in the Black culture that have gone through different things. We have to learn to accept and know that we are not just one thing. We are a lot of things in our culture.
M: Yes, nice!
T: Thank you Tina (her teacher) for analyzing!
M: Yeah, thank your teachers for helping you out! So, yeah they are four different and stereotypical Black women. I agree with you. I believe Aunt Sarah is the strong Black woman. Saffronia is like the mixed chick, whose mother did not have a choice. The master raped her mother. Also, I agree with you about Sweet Thing-I take it as a prostitute too. [This verse] talks a lot about our bodies such as with, “my hips invite you.” The verse talked about our natural voluptuous bodies. Peaches is the tough child, and her actual parents were slaves. She did not say her great, great grandparents were slaves; Peaches’ parents were slaves! Yes, I do agree with everything that you said. Do you feel like you can connect with any of them in some way?
T: All of them. I see myself as Aunt Sarah because I do take a lot of pain for personal reasons. Saffronia-well not really. I connect to Sweet Thing because I do have curves, and people comment on them. I remember one time- it was a joke, but I asked some people, “If I went to jail what do you guys think I would go for?” After I asked, a guy said, “Being a prostitute.” It was kind of a joke. I guess that is how I relate to her. For Peaches, I always look tough and as you know, I am a tough person.
M: What do you mean when you say, “you take pain for personal reasons”?
T: I do not only take physical pain, but mental pain too. Like, I am not the smartest kid alive, I guess I don’t see myself as smart either. I take it as a serious thing too. For example, if I get a test back and I don’t as well as I thought I would I don’t cry, but I always feel like I can always do better. I also take that as a society and cultural issue. What I mean by cultural is that although I try to dismiss the stereotypes and what people think of me, they are still there.
M: What do people say about you? What are the stereotypes? What are the issues?
T: I think it began in slavery [when] Black women and people did not think they were good enough. Every time we try to succeed at something, other people see us not worthy enough.
M: Do you think teachers and people remind you of that? Do people tell you, you are not good enough?
T: No, I think it is internalized. I always feel that I need to do better inside.
M: Very interesting. There was another part where you said that a guy would think you went to jail for prostitution. Do guys tend to talk more about your body compared to non-black girls?
T: There was this one guy-but it wasn’t as a bad thing- I guess, he did not mean it to be bad. Like he says things like, “You have a big butt”. I just laugh at it.
M: Well, in comparison to the non-black girls, and I believe you are like one out of two, or something right?
T: Yeah.
M: So, in comparison to the other Latinas in your class, do they get talked about a lot? Are they told that they would go to jail for prostitution too? Do people talk their bodies?
T: Well, the dude does too much sometimes. He makes silly comments and thinks it is okay all of the time.
M: Okay. [You know] I just find it interesting that we find it funny, and at times it can be [hilarious] because not everyone means harm. However, it is funny that we find it funny that boys or anyone jokes about our bodies in a sexual way. You are only twelve. This is not to say that it would make it okay if a person commented on a Latinas or even White girls body too. I don’t want to sound like that. But, I find it very funny that we think it is funny that your twelve year old and Black female body can be talked about in that way.
Tee Tee nods…
