Paper:11.Post-colonial Literature

                                              Name: Joshi Deepti M

                                                        Sem: 3              

                                    Paper: Post-colonial Literature

Topic: Black skin white masks: Women of colour and white man.

                            Submitted to: Smt.S.B Gardi

                    Department of English, Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji

                                Bhavanagar University, Bhavanagar

                                                Gujarat (India)

       Black Skin White Mask – Woman of Colour and the White Man

Introduction: -

 ‘Black Skin White Masks’, written by Frantz Fanon was the first book to investigate the psychology of colonialism. It examines how the colonialism is internalized by the colonized, how an inferiority complex is inculcated, and how, through the mechanism of racism and black colour-black people are suffering from inferiority complex.

Fanon writes from the perspective of a colonized subject. He has also suffered from racism that naturally developed an intense hatred for racism and in his introduction part he asks,  

“What does a man want?

What does a black man want?”

In this introduction Fanon should have also asked,

What does a woman want?

What does a black woman want?

The fiction can be read to some extent from the perspective of black women also as black women compared to black man suffer triple more subjugation than black man. So, from the perspective of black women should also be asked like that of black men, ‘what does a black woman want?’ 

Above question is somehow difficult to answer but one general reason can be that ultimately black women needs acceptance by the society, a white society. And when any black woman gets married to white man people generally think that,

“When woman of colour go after white man and get married, nor do this woman truly love white man, she just above his colour”

Here secretly she wants to be white. For black woman, marrying white is her way of doing this. And to marry white man she degrades a man of her own colour and race. Here, the idea of blackness can be seen that how not only of white men’s mind but also black women’s mind have been conditioned towards blackness. We people believe that black colour is something negative or spreads negativity, black stands for impurity, animal instincts, danger and more than that as blacks are niggers, something to escape, to be saved from, something not to be and for white people black stands for evil even. On the other hand, white stands for purity, virtue, positivity, God, peace, wealth, beauty, and intelligence. So, black women want to marry white men even though they know very well that very few will marry them. 

After reading this we may think that a black woman is degrading a man of her own colour and marrying white man. More than that people would say black woman wants to make black man feel inferior. But I believe that whatever black woman is doing cannot be seen just as something negative. As I said earlier, that compared to black man, black woman suffers thrice more than black man. Somehow, even black man has inspired her to marry white man. Here black man’s mentality towards whiteness and blackness plays a vital role.

In society black men are suffering from inferiority complex due to his race and colour, he feels inferior to white man and white woman as white man does not allow or give him opportunity to prove himself and always treat him like a slave. On the other hand, as black man cannot overpower white man, he tries to overpower white women. Here, gender discrimination does matter for man. As a consolation that he cannot overpower white man, he tries to overpower white women. But white woman does not give a black man importance and does not accept black man, even instead of accepting or showing sympathy for him because of his blackness. By and large, black man as a sort of consolation or to satisfy his ego, will propose black women and tries to get married to her. In a way, only black woman has to suffer from the entire trauma. Just because of mentality of people or whites for blacks, black woman suffers. Here black man always degrades black woman. He makes black woman feel inferior as he is feeling from white man and woman. 

After degraded even by black man, black woman tries to come over from this inferiority complex and as she is not accepted even by man of his own colour, she runs after white man and there is no doubt that black woman wants to marry white man just to enter in the society of white people. 

For a black woman, white man is merely a tool through which she can get whiteness, whiteness not physically but mentally, social acceptance in white society. By marrying with white man, she wants to show black man that even after being a black; she has been loved and accepted by white society.

One question appears that is it really so? I mean just by getting married to white man or having an affair with white man, woman’s suffering ends? No, it never ends because black women’s suffering is endless. At every stage of life, in every situation, she is just made to suffer either because of white man, white woman and black man. Fanon gives one example of Mayotte, a black woman. Mayotte had an affair with a married white man. Once she asks him to take her to the white side of town and he does, taking her to a friend’s house for the evening. But, there not only white men, but also white women makes her feel so out of place, so unworthy of him and she decides that she would never go back to the white side again. Like Mayotte, thousands of black women face same situation every day. 

In society, black woman has become just an object to be used. Not only does white man, but also black man use her. For white man either married or unmarried, black woman is an easy object to use compared to white woman. White man knows very well that white women will not get convinced for the affair and extra marital relationship easily and black woman would happily engage herself in such matters. Here the fact is that white man knows that black woman is craving for whiteness and want to be accepted by white people. For black woman, an offer from white man is a door to get acceptance in society. So black woman is in a way a tool of use. And black women are ready even to be used, to get place in white people’s society. For them whiteness does matter more than their virginity or self-respect. For black women white man are only key, and respect for them is social acceptance by white at the cost of losing self-respect. 

Black women either in any way suffer and not only by man (black man and white man) but also by white women. We see that how because of black man’s frustration towards his own blackness lead black to use black woman to prove his masculinity, and to satisfy his ego, while for white man black women remain as an easy tool to use for own personal pleasure. After that it was not enough for black woman that, even white women make her feel inferior.

It reminds me again the title “women beware women” of Middleton. It is true that white women have failed to understand the pains of black women. Black women are already suffering from inferiority from black and white men, and now even white women is there to make her feel inferior and pain in the society.

It is a human nature that when one suffers from inferiority complex as a consolation, he or she tries to make other feel inferiority complex as a consolation he or she tries to make other feel inferior when one cannot survive and tries to overpower the other.  However in the process it so happens that he or she gets overpowered by the other at that time. He or she attacks the other who is weaker than them. Here the reason is same. White women are being overpowered by white men and partly by black men so as a consolation or to satisfy their own ego, white women try to overpower black woman. They try to make black women feel that same pain or agony, which they have passed through. 

So in this world, there is no space for black women. They are to suffer either by man or by woman and by black and white both. Her suffering is endless, she has to suffer throughout her life and even today in the 20^th century or 21^st century, black women are suffering from racism. It reminds me the incident happened in one of the reality shows namely “The Big Brother” which was broadcast in Britain. In this reality show, one of the participants, who was a black woman and unfortunately Indian, also had to suffer from racism and blackness. In 2007, there was the Britain television series Big Brother 5 and Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty, was invited as one of the participants. And during the show the late Jade Goody, Danniel Lloyd (a model), and Jo O’Meara (a singer), commented on Shilpa Shetty’s race and colour. Even they said that

 “Shilpa can’t speak English properly anyway.”

They referred to her as cunt, paki or dog. Jade Goody repeatedly maintained a belief that Shilpa was fake and “a mole”. It was not enough. Once Danielle Lloyd mentioned that 

“She did not like Shetty (Shilpa) touching her food because she did not know where her hands have been.”

It shows how white men and women tried to make one black woman feel inferior; how black woman who is highly respected in her own country, not given expected respect or reverence. In that show she was treated as a black woman or evil. It shows that how racism has been rooted deeply even today in our psyche.

After few years again one black woman is insulted by white people. Recently, in this year (2013), in American History, the first Indian American Miss America has been crowned and opened the door for many racist in white society. In the month of September, an Indian woman Nina Davuluri won the miss America Competition and here she even suffered as black woman or as a woman of colour.

To wind up, my arguments for ‘woman of colour and Whiteman, I would say that history always repeats itself. It’s an endless suffering of black people, either man or woman, both blacks have to suffer, in either ways. It was there in past, it is in present and it will be there even in future.