So, About That Patricia Arquette Oscar Speech… And Giuliana Rancic Thinks Zendaya Smells Like Weed?

• published: 24 Feb 2015
• views: 2

The Oscars just keep getting more and more racist, don't they? Best Actress-winner Patricia Arquette has recently come under fire for a feminist, post-win Oscar speech that revolved around equal pay for women. While that sounds like a noble cause, her use of phrases like, '“To every woman who gave birth," "To every taxpayer and citizen of this nation," and, "We have fought for everybody else's equal rights," rubbed many the wrong way (What about women that haven't given birth? Non taxpayers? Non-citizens?). Elaborating further backstage, Arquette also stated, "All the men that love women, and all the gay people, and all the people of color that we've all fought for… [need] to fight for us now.”' Yikes. Not only is this getting heavily into 'Oppression Olympics' territory, where members of marginalized groups pit themselves against each other over who is the 'most oppressed,' her speech also buys into the idea of 'feminism' as something does that does not include men, or gay people, or people of color, etc- in a nutshell, what many of us call, 'white feminism.' This particular brand of feminism revolves around ignoring concepts of intersectionality, where, for example, race and sexuality affect gender. It's very easy for rich, cis, straight white women- like Patricia Arquette- to see feminism as this 'one thing,' because they benefit from privilege: he privilege of being rich, so poverty doesn't have to intersect with their feminism. The privilege of being cis, so being non-binary doesn't have to intersect with their feminism. The privilege of being straight, so sexuality doesn't have to intersect with their feminism. And the privilege of being white, so race doesn't have to intersect with their feminism. In addition to Arquette's white feminist rant on Oscar night, fashion correspondent Giuliani Rancic also made headlines by claiming actress Zendaya Coleman's faux locs made her look like she smelled like 'weed' and 'patchouli oil' on the red carpet. Many pointed out that her comments had racist undertones, especially because Rancic recently praised white teen Kylie Jenner's similar hairstyle of fake dreads as 'hip' and 'edgy.' Zendaya blasted Rancic on Instagram, claiming she wore the hairstyle specifically because of the racial climate around natural hairstyles on Black people, and that she found Rancic's 'slurs' to be both offensive and stereotypical. Rancic quickly said she never *meant* to be racist, and that she only meant to call Zendaya a 'hippie.' That's a nice backtrack, but especially when placed within the context of Rancic's glowing praise of Jenner's hair, it was clear that Rancic carries subconscious biases about Black hair. This is a classic case of 'Black features' being unacceptable on black bodies, but being accepted and praised on white bodies. What next with these Oscars??? Thanks for watching. Links: 'Zendaya Shames Giuliana Rancic for Oscar Night Comments About Her Dreadlocks:' http://www.people.com/article/zendaya-blasts-giuliana-rancic-oscars-dreadlocks-fashion-police 'Patricia Arquette’s Feminism: Only for White Women:' http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2015/02/23/patricia_arquette_on_pay_equality_insulting_to_feminism.html 'Patricia Arquette Loses Feminist Goodwill with Comments Backstage at Oscars:' http://www.mediaite.com/online/patricia-arquette-loses-feminist-goodwill-with-comments-backstage-at-oscars/ 'Patricia Arquette: Time For Gays, People of Color To Stand Up For Women' (Honestly, how RIDICULOUS): http://jezebel.com/patricia-arquette-time-for-gays-people-of-color-to-st-1687434603 'The Gender Wage Gap Is A Chasm For Women Of Color:' http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2014/09/18/3569328/gender-wage-gap-race/ '“Racism begins in our imagination:” How the overwhelming whiteness of “Boyhood” feeds dangerous Hollywood myths:' http://www.salon.com/2015/02/22/racism_begins_in_our_imagination_how_the_overwhelming_whiteness_of_boyhood_feeds_dangerous_hollywood_myths/ Demographics of Texas (Wikipedia): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Texas Relevant tumblr links: http://sensei-aishitemasu.tumblr.com/post/111951449503/sourcedumal-baritonepats-flacamaritza-dont My other videos: Reader Request: On 'Feminism:' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLxH23MBY5s Oppression Olympics RANT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CV3Q8GrXuak white Girl With Box Braids RANT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MA7RQRbSao The New York Times, 'Angry Black Women,' and Accountability: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwTKq1wLgbA Social Media and Anti-Black 'Safe Spaces:' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qhn3YGAExHM&feature;=gp-n-o&google;_comment_id=z12syttqmoaxhftrd04chrjq2uyni3t53u00k #VogueArticles and The Erasure of Black Women: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwKTbuQvMSw