{"id":142,"date":"2015-04-18T16:20:50","date_gmt":"2015-04-18T16:20:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/arlduc.org\/brogram\/?p=142"},"modified":"2015-05-25T18:02:45","modified_gmt":"2015-05-25T18:02:45","slug":"a-century-of-white-women-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arlduc.org\/brogram\/a-century-of-white-women-2\/","title":{"rendered":"a century of white women [poetic response]"},"content":{"rendered":"<pre>At Jack Shainman Gallery:\r\n100 modified advertising images \r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jackshainman.com\/exhibitions\/past\/2015\/hank-willis-thomas\/\" target=\"_blank\">A Century of White Women<\/a> by Hank Willis Thomas\r\nOne image to represent each year, starting in 1915.\r\n\r\nA limited representation \r\nBut edifying nonetheless.\r\nA nested set of lenses framed by power\r\nMeant to inspire desire\r\n\r\nWomen were the subject\r\nAnd\r\nThe object\r\n\r\nBut an object perpetuating \r\nObjectification\r\nOf colored servants\r\nExotic locales\r\nPhalluses\r\nAnd children.\r\n\r\nDolls and toys to play with.\r\n\r\nThe gallery offered its usual gallerinas\r\nA front desk of cliquish white women\r\nGuarding 100 images\r\nOf themselves?\r\n\r\nIf nothing else\r\nIt was a corrective for me.\r\nPeriodically\r\n(This year it coincided with springtime appearance fretting\r\nI gave up candy until I finished reading the springtime issue of vogue\r\nSeduced by a glamourous black tennis player \r\nOn the cover of the most elitist fashion magazine)\r\nI get lazy about my own definition of femininity \r\nAnd spend too much time gazing\r\nGlazing\r\nGlorifying\r\nMy personal flavor of \r\nWhite\r\nWoman.\r\n\r\nI'll call her the\r\nNew York White Woman.\r\nBlonded\r\nInnocent but cosmopolitan\r\nOr, if not innocent, at least sheltered\r\nOr at least overflowing with a performed na\u00efvet\u00e9 \r\nSometimes poor\r\nBut only temporarily so\r\nAlways privileged \r\nAlways desired by multitudes\r\nShowered with accolades and invitations\r\nAn insider even when she's an outsider\r\nFelicity, Carrie, Serena \r\nEarnest, impulsive, kooky,\r\nFalsely bohemian\r\nReally on the track to the urban version of the\r\nAmerican dream\r\n2.5 children, husband, and dog\r\nIn an airy, sophisticated downtown loft\r\nMILFy\r\nUnrapeable\r\nSo fuckable\r\nUnmurderable\r\n(A cadre of white men are on revenge standby)\r\nAlways making mistakes\r\nAlways forgiven by all\r\nAlways friends with other young white women\r\nAnd the occasional token colored person\r\nHighly educated based on a diet of attractive but unmarketable skills\r\nInterior design\r\nBeauty\r\nNutrition\r\nFitness\r\nSelf-care \r\nSelf-indulgence\r\nWellness\r\nWriting essays about any and all of the above.\r\n\r\nDo I want to be this white woman?\r\nNot really.\r\nI come from tiger parents\r\nWho wanted me to be a financial \r\nTitan and pillar\r\nKing and queen\r\nSo that's the mantle I squirm under.\r\nThat's the unhealthy criteria \r\nBy which I still subconsciously\r\nHarshly\r\nJudge myself\r\n\r\nNevertheless \r\nI deeply envy her\r\nHer comfort with her own confectionary appeal \r\nHer decorative declaration that\r\nShe Has It All.<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At Jack Shainman Gallery: 100 modified advertising images A Century of White Women by Hank Willis Thomas One image to represent each year, starting in&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":146,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[10],"class_list":["post-142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sistahood","tag-writing","has-post-thumbnail-archive"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arlduc.org\/brogram\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arlduc.org\/brogram\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arlduc.org\/brogram\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arlduc.org\/brogram\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arlduc.org\/brogram\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=142"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/arlduc.org\/brogram\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":159,"href":"https:\/\/arlduc.org\/brogram\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142\/revisions\/159"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arlduc.org\/brogram\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arlduc.org\/brogram\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arlduc.org\/brogram\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arlduc.org\/brogram\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}