Feline Formal Shorts

One of the biggest reasons people give for not wanting to engage in conversations about race is that they’re worried about doing or saying something offensive. After all, race is a fraught topic in the United States (and elsewhere, even if the issues are different), and the overwhelming impression well-intentioned but clueless people get is that any phrase can be a trap.

This is partially true - there is a lot of history, and as the colorblindness issue illustrates, even the most earnestly good-natured sentiments can come with a lot of baggage. But it’s also a cop out; just because something is difficult doesn’t mean that there’s no reason to engage in it. Let’s take a look at the issue and see what we can make of it.
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[Bah. Guess I jinxed my rush. Oh well, I'll blog instead and hope the thought comes back to me soon.]

So what’s the problem with colorblindness? A lot of people will offer “I’m colorblind” as a symbol of good faith; they’re trying to express that they aren’t actively thinking racist things, and that they don’t see the race of others as a problem. And, as far as that goes, it’s a sweet thought. Really. But it functions for PoC in much the same way as “you’re just one of the guys” and “I don’t think of you as a girl” functions for women. It’s a nice thought, but it misses the point entirely.

I don’t want [my race] to not be a problem for you; I don’t want race to be problematic.

The distinction may seem subtle, but it really isn’t. When a person says “I don’t see color” as a way of saying “your race is not a problem for me,” it casts the problem as race. Race is not the problem, racism is.

That’s the first, and biggest, problem.
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(”Race Relations 101″ isn’t exactly the title I’m looking for. Suggestions for better things to call this series would be much appreciated.)

The issues surrounding “ethnic” hair in general, and black hair specifically, come up pretty frequently in discussions about people’s experiences of race. It intersects with feminist concerns about beauty culture, hierarchies and colonial issues, and the difficulty of conveying lived experiences, to name a few issues. I’ll start with those, and work out from there.

This is going to be slanted toward the issue of black hair, both because I myself am black (well, black-Japanese, but I definitely have stereotypically black hair), and because much of what I’ve found that has focused on hair has been in that vein. If anyone has come across (or written) anything they would like to have included (particularly on the issue of asian hair, which I find least mentioned), please comment about it or otherwise let me know so that I can add it in.

White hair stories are also welcomed, but I would like to preserve this space for those that truly intersect with the issues laid out. If you have a story that you would like to share, but which does not really hit any of the major issues I lay out, please leave it in my Open Thread. If I get enough stories, I will write up a corresponding post about that over at Feline Formal Shorts.
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One of the most frequently asked questions in 101 type discussions is: “What can I do?” Granted, the focus of that question ranges from “how can I integrate my friend-circle?” to “how do I combat passive racism?” to “how do I have conversations that deal with race?” but they all have the same general elements. Here are a few links that might help you on your way.
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