bell hooks fram, Black Lowks Chapter 9 Is Paris Burning? ‘There wa atimein mye when ed to es pat male snd {o cunt the weld. tvs a foam of ao play eas sso abot Power To erosr-des aba woman In patra —ther owe ao than ‘ow-—was also to sybelcaly eros fom the word ef powetensnss Ingo a wold of prvlege. i was the ulate Innate, voyeeas este. Searching old journal fr passages douerting ht time, ‘und Wis parish: Se plese within rc, wellevery now andthe, pt ‘ates tobe bystopeter {man des he jose at A sake the wort bok xr ify mak hens ees ‘Bes ete sue sd scehon ay cues hee Soman deedup ies mn etc Sock ay mane Is eflerarte boy iverSasring mins oe tte pam Der wo itabe tal ery atau, wan es gh atyou tke tel keep hem unin, auch ‘aya hey wal eer ks fee Dnt ny hen te ete ane abe i fx you sini for ow fe epanecher Crossdressing, appeanng a dg, uansvestsm, and travers ‘emerge ins context where the notcn ef subjects chalga, where Ment is always perceive as capable of comucion ime, on, change. Lang before tere wus ever contemporary fea ‘ovement these oltre experiencerentubvemiveplaserohingMe BLACK 100K a a eaerens ecaceeeme raie neat ea ree aig era te Trae Sah mtg toe ca Eten peepee deo ears eae feo cv gee ee eee eae eae ogee Sea Se ee ea ei fee are Per La poppe le elem lee rahe eran a cae Ea poe ae eegepeee read pr eros eee nc a ee ee eae ea ere ay SS arse oe ee cee Ele ergata acess eae eevee ae 2 ees ence ees ae Perea es eerie eee as Soe ere Rae ae Se eae en oe ee oe eee pees as eect Ger es ae eee ted he wy th opesaon opes dd ns alow Be 0 “Fenty spar te weld gered plones hese a a ‘rome cxeapied Sua aMerer val spaces abd wee TW Fabian ites re peeling Oe oie see ors ev, ‘Sine Looking Satay arimayes oF men Opera si FooHE Faithcy were mom ofen poraaved as Vics Isa Baring? w re andar ass wom, ene bated een nga ‘ming tuck to eto i even Bese Bat ow ben wo eenberbentngtgucsoftriyed wounded men ao {Eye ane hao torte Asn ese mene ne Frinoy cows onthe pa thy cy 3 an hy ser do tae bern hy fe sons by reo em erable ‘Rdtmm wha ne them down, Tey pare fen. one vain ‘i Skah “Many teosemal bck nen in white supreme paiarcal “atu hve nce a hogh the pomary "ev of race hs bee te Tefal f the dominant coleare alow Gem fllaces pana “poner statins ea ey are compelled inabis sphere oh -fiweticsmes deemed erie" ence ey Save peril ie “Teves ar ermecobted To the exes! Wat ack men accept « white Tupremocst scx repietentation of themelves ae costae, WHOM ‘hale poner, and therefore psebdo females dey wl aed to oreriy cert a pale misogynix mancliny, one ected in contempt fer the female Muchbuck aul homopkobuisroccdin the deseto eschew ‘connection with ll hinge deemed “Temnipe” and dat WOU, of ‘our incide blac gay men. A contemporary black comedian ike Edie tui provers pale power by daring publicly ecule ‘women and gay is days ofappeasiag it dag are over Indeed ti the dg queen of his misogyit imagination tat 6 most often the luge of ack pay culture he evokes and sje comic homepe {eee tha aodiences collude perpetuating oracles take appearing in drag secs, be they ay lor staght st oppose a beerseatrepeescntion of black man- ood Gender bending and Bening on the past of Black ales has sleayebeen a clgue of palloceric masculinity in tadona Black fipetirce, Yet she subversive power of those images is sdicaly red wen informed bya ecalizedFitonal constascton of Ue crnine” Ws sodden makes the represetalon of woes 35 way “Psion of whee woerrood. Th Brualy evar s Yemte (ngs new Tim Pari ar. Within the woof the Back ny raghall cure se dpi the Wea of womans and ferininty Eta penoaled by witents, Wat viewer tes sao Blackmenlangngioimpeconate evento becemelike-reat back women bother obeesion wth an idealized feshiedvslon ofr tnt ‘Shite Caled oti the tin by Doran Cre, who names iby saying so blac drag queen of day waste o be ana Hore, he rakes eur thatthe femininity most sought afer, mos adored, was hl pereevedtobe tiexclusive prope of wie amauhood. When we See visual eprescnistions af womanhood nthe ls Gnages tom oe Iagazies ad posted oa wal ia ving space) they ate, wi ste ‘Seeepons,ofwhite nomen Sigifcary the xason oa sore ‘Bch ke whe female xpos implicitly evokes connection © A igure never visble nis i that fe Whe male pach And [yet the clas, race, and gender sipitons expres by the eng ‘ueen who shire thet deepest dreams essays the longing tbe the position ofthe ruling-dass woman then tar meas there sls he esr fo atin patersip wi he sunglass whe male "Tis combination of clas snd race longing that pees the femininity’ of the rlingclae white woman, adored and kept, shrouded in onary, doesnot imply segue of paiarehy. fe {s assumed dat te gay ale, and post speci the "queen i both antephallocentae and intepatrchal Manyn Frye’ et “Lesbian Feinism an Gay igh” remain one of te mot el cal debunkings of this myth. Writng in The Politics of Rely, Frye comments (ne of tags which parades he ght weld at yen Sse otal en tena of se ane ad ihe gy natn Fhe person of weno ck ‘He sussied ithe pul mind wih tale Pomona Be 2Stread gay envy a dosage spp “plas volve olor aucaton wh nomen rte wena) Yor the mat pan. isersiny sete was cancers Dp tastra cxspgenton Rit cal sod el meceery of ‘woo frat se epoig of oppreion Del Salto wkndofpiyaioyng wiht nics so. Wea fale secon of ein seems ob = sre pa ‘heh men muy ence ek power and col oes ee See uh pt ean Any sewer of Pas Buringcan seks dey the way ia which ts coruemporay dag bale fave eau of spon event, yee Ccompartions. one tar Ge this ase “hose” cong apt ater 2, nor goa Ue way in which the mele ane fo te acne : : 5 h oes we rye tsa Bing w Aveda purscipnisina nanerakin(o the obecifing pale sare Sight men dat at ensue’ women cain public Spaces Parts “Burning that many auchences sume a nerey oppose tional because of is sbject ater a the Sent ofthe amar | Wertheim’ pois frac, gender, and dass are play out in ays Ma ar both progesine and scion. 1 Neel fst iardthat ihre was ths new documentary Snabout ace gay en, drag queens, and dag bale wa fcnnedy thee evoked images the rel Parson fre, of the death and dexuction (of dominating wate wesiern ciation and cule, an end to ‘Opprestive Euroceatisn and wate supremacy Tis fy teal (Gove me a sustained sense of pleasure! beween me and the ‘ube sealty that a young whe Famaker, offering a progressive sion of"acaess rom the sundpoint ly htenesay would reelve “be pase press accor aid beri. Witching Pare ‘Baring began thik the any yuppie looking, sight acting, ) Ij poshy: predominaray white faerin the aulence were tere because {he lat so way izamogaten“whitenes* These fl lf the saying Iwas “anazing marvelous” “ned fay? worthy of ‘Stemens ike, “Die you jst loved" And no, 1 dia tone For Inmany ways be fm was graphic docomensry porte the way Inwhch coloized back people ith cae back gay bites sone ‘of whom were dig queens) wortip athe tent whiten, even ‘when sch Wotaip desde that we live fn perpetil eat, sa lie, go hongry, and even eins put The we" evoked here al ‘fs, black peope/pecpe fear, who ae daly borbarded by a powerful colonizing Whtenes that seduces us ay fem cules, that negates that ee beauty be founda ny fro ackness ‘hac stocinstason tenes “The whiteness celebated in Pari uring not ayo brand of whiteness trate that ul penal mlingelass caps, Pataca witness at preven iets way of Meas te oly ‘eaninghl Me these. Wat could be mare reusing to wie bli erful hat marginale daefeanchied black oles nig rae {ny day now and sake revalusonay barton eggs ely than 2 documentary afrming that colonized, victaed: exploited, biackfoksareall too wilingiobecompistin perpenstingthefarary tha lingtas white culture the quiescent ite of unstated Joy. feedom power, and pease Indes hist very please that ‘So teany whe viewers wih clas petege expeence When watcha150 BLACK LOOKS ths ln hat as acid to censor denn voi wo Bd te fin Shas rec coealy poenat in oe Cay ele of ie i i New York Tine be begins by gotng the wore of aback atherto ha hanosenl en The fanhesturer tac fest or acme ose a es {ose aad at °fyour back sod male ad gy, you ba Be Sonera yeu aninagiDegining his overlnay poste ‘eiew with he words ofa gt Back ta, Canby fps a finn some way documents uch sng, porta ot Dc gy pide Yetbein sway ast ways ts ie ae pomee aie fine wore Lie mover the Ry wat he Ads os Competing te pageany of te dag balls Ho wr no ange desing ce a dat peopariver shen sugeng ae a Is plete hat behind the foi ying tre alo a eile sass {nie eatin. Cy doce oot esl fly the oc of as ‘Seas ead hes The eens nce heneler om ote themertcofssodey dat wiloaiave en Tas makes apps thatthe ples of mnt we cae ae soley sol and rot pes sl aenthete ques fc and ea te Sprenins of power nd lege Gaby ces axel ade at SEU oft aged anda fs evoked by twig Tessofbise py een obaec nace ot ising rales) Gare an power ete a one of he primary ages ott cpereion td eploladen say, he very “ase ered ‘leipe omte cooing cone, ah we pale people ‘Sten appropiate and ebwespecs tthe oma ee, Pae ‘Bernig despot finely ugg cha poses ting pace ag in en ous pas documentary providing a candid, even celebratory, look at Bl . tals Andree the mondo ccrason at nas ent {0 wih he alba t necessary adel expression af dente thagiaton werk nsermningandeallenggibe ahs gu Much dt ns fms om pager kes te raf Black cng al {ad nak iopecale ial at econ oc that crs ih ‘mening agacace beyond war sppen, wil specoce une tno panty tsencracg nate deploy. Toss es who bas {pon pinaeprepedbiclscdng ete weperkipaedin dese eons ands tao bat he enero genial Ermpowenag ad s.bvenive ay at be ey vale tan one teeing in Hence eer for wae teres dpi ack ees ssopeucle Pais uring? 11 | __ Jennie vngston approaches hee subject ater as an ousie looking. since her presence as white womarvledisn fmm = "absent rom Pars Burnes) for viewers to inagin that ey se watching an eoprapie lm docamenting te hfe of back 5 Soave and not ecognite hat they are watching a work shaped and foamed by a paspesive and sandpcint speci Livingson. By ‘deeraiaty anking dhe ely (we eat er ak quero but vet See heo, Livingston does not oppose the way hegemonic whiteness “represents busckness, but rither asames in imperial oerscing pos dats inno way progesiv or cous hegeron By shes ‘hefilmusingsconvensonalapproach to documentary and ot making ‘ear how her sandpolatbreaks with ts taditon, ivingston assumes 3 pateged location of anocence’ She a eprsented Dah in ee. ‘sewn and sews as the lenderheared, mldmanneted, it | ste wo dango venurtntosconemporiryheanofdarknest 1 being back knowledge of te mate, "Aveview inthe New Yorker declares (ath no argument to substaaate tie asern) thatthe moves asymsthete servation (fa species, penate worl” An inteview wit Uvngsin Out tooo sited Pate, she Sai” and we ae tld inthe peace that she “discovered he Bll weedy chance" Lvinpson does not cache trees ei ascnaton wih black paysite She not eked to speak about what knowlege, information, oived undestanding of Muck cure and histor she postessed that provided backgroud oe her work ort explain what ion of lc Ife she hoped o sony sto whom. Caa anyone imagine thar black woman lesbian would fake 2 fim aboot whe gay subculture and not be asked these {questions Livingsensasked nthe Outueokineniew “How did you bull up the hind of st where people ate so open 0 king about thew peronal experience” She ever answers ths quesion, Lata she suggests that she guns ber “cedby" bythe latent of er Spector, adding “aso targeted poop who werearsculte, who ‘hu stu dey wanted wo sy and were vey poy aioe wanted tolisten Avoiding te cfc questions undeshing wiat treat Deawhie person i white sipemacs soiey eretng =m bout ay aspect of black Ife, Lagson responds Ue queson, "Didnt ‘he fat tha youre a white lesbian going toa werd o Black queete snd steetislomake date serie proces diol" mpct { ‘rokiag shallow sease of univesaleonnection She respond, fo Know someone over a petted of two yeu sod they sl fea det sex and her rie, youve gotto bes pay sex cla potion Yeti