Raven-Symoné doesn't want to be labeled as Gay, African American; Is that better?

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D

Dany

Banned
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXAho8vlmAI

The star of TV's The Cosby Show and That's So Raven sat down with Oprah Winfrey and attempted to clarify the misconceptions about who she is. One of the topics the women addressed occurred in August 2013, when the Supreme Court ruled that the ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. At the time, she tweeted, "I can finally get married! Yay government! So proud of you." Many people saw it as her way of publicly coming out. Asked to explain, Raven replied, "That was my way of saying I'm proud of the country. But, I will say that I'm in an amazing, happy relationship with my partner. A woman."

"People in my family, they've taught me to keep my personal life to myself as much as possible. So, I try my best to hold the fence where I can," Raven added. "But I am proud to be who I am and what I am."

When did Raven know she was interested in other women?

"I knew when I was, like, 12," the entertainer, now 28, recalled. "I was looking at everything." Still, the actress cautioned, "I don't want to be labeled 'gay.' I want to be labeled 'a human who loves humans.'"

"I'm tired of being labeled," she said. "I'm an American. I'm not an African American; I'm an American."

"Oh, girl," a surprised Winfrey said. "Don't set up Twitter on fire...Oh, my lord. What did you just say?"

"I mean, I don't know where my roots go to," Raven explained. "I don't know how far back they go...I don't know what country in Africa I'm from, but I do know that my roots are in Louisiana. I'm an American. And that's a colorless person." Winfrey warned, "You're going to get a lot of flak for saying you're not African American. You know that, right?" The College Road Trip star put her hand up and reiterated, "I don't label myself. I have darker skin. I have a nice, interesting grade of hair. I connect with Caucasian. I connect with Asian. I connect with Black. I connect with Indian. I connect with each culture."
"You are a melting pot in one body," Winfrey said.

"Aren't we all?" Raven asked. "Isn't that what America's supposed to be?"
Click to expand...

http://www.eonline.com/news/585707/...to-be-labeled-gay-i-m-not-an-african-american

So I find this interview interesting for several reasons. Is it bad to be labeled? I see myself as gay because I am gay. I feel like she is attempting to overreach the current issue and find a reason to distance herself from taking action. There is still action that needs to happen in this country before I can say "I love humans"

Regarding heritage, I see myself as Mexican because I do know where my roots are. I have not visited mexico often and My parents and grandparents have been in America for nearly 60 years but they see themselves as Mexican.

I guess what I'm trying to figure out is, when is it okay to move away from labels about sexuality and heritage? I don't think we are close to being there yet.
 
M

Mesoian

Member
Dany M said:
I guess what I'm trying to figure out is, when is it okay to move away from labels about sexuality and heritage? I don't think we are close to being there yet.
Click to expand...

When you have the money to do so.

I'm not saying she's wrong, this is the future that we should be aspiring towards, a society where race, creed and color doesn't really matter as everyone can connect with everyone through our own combined culture. But it's super easy to say "I don't need this identity" when you have enough money and support coming from millions of faceless people every day. A lot of people need the support from others who share the identities they choose, for solidarity and mental safety. Sympathy is nice, but empathy is important, and there's a lot of things in this world that a gay black woman is going to have to deal with that other people, even if they are loved ones, are not going to relate to.
 
K

Kano on the Phone

Member
Dany M said:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXAho8vlmAI



http://www.eonline.com/news/585707/...to-be-labeled-gay-i-m-not-an-african-american

So I find this interview interesting for several reasons. Is it bad to be labeled? I see myself as gay because I am gay. I feel like she is attempting to overreach the current issue and find a reason to distance herself from taking action. There is still action that needs to happen in this country before I can say "I love humans"

Regarding heritage, I see myself as Mexican because I do know where my roots are. I have not visited mexico often and My parents and grandparents have been in America for nearly 60 years but they see themselves as Mexican.

I guess what I'm trying to figure out is, when is it okay to move away from labels about sexuality and heritage? I don't think we are close to being there yet.
Click to expand...

When a person chooses to for themselves. If she wants to self-identify that way, it's her right. Obviously we can't help what others label us, but if she wants to choose to at least wish people wouldn't label, that's also her right.

I don't see anything here where she says "no one should identify as anything." She might be hoping against hope and maybe getting ahead of where society is, but it isn't hurting anyone.
 
S

Slayven

Member
Mesoian said:
When you have the money to do so.

I'm not saying she's wrong, this is the future that we should be aspiring towards, a society where race, creed and color doesn't really matter as everyone can connect with everyone through our own combined culture. But it's super easy to say "I don't need this identity" when you have enough money and support coming from millions of faceless people every day. A lot of people need the support from others who share the identities they choose, for solidarity and mental safety. Sympathy is nice, but empathy is important, and there's a lot of things in this world that a gay black woman is going to have to deal with that other people, even if they are loved ones, are not going to relate to.
Click to expand...

Great way to put it.
 
D

DoktorEvil

Banned
Didn't know Raven was gay. Good for her that gay marriage is now recognized for her.

As far as the identity thing, it's a very sticky situation and it's usually left up to the person. Context becomes important IMO. Outside of America, I label myself American. Inside of America, I'm a New Yorker.
 
D

Dany

Banned
Mesoian said:
When you have the money to do so.

I'm not saying she's wrong, this is the future that we should be aspiring towards, a society where race, creed and color doesn't really matter as everyone can connect with everyone through our own combined culture. But it's super easy to say "I don't need this identity" when you have enough money and support coming from millions of faceless people every day. A lot of people need the support from others who share the identities they choose, for solidarity and mental safety. Sympathy is nice, but empathy is important, and there's a lot of things in this world that a gay black woman is going to have to deal with that other people, even if they are loved ones, are not going to relate to.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I think thats why the video really rubbed me the wrong way. :/
 
R

Rambaldi47

Banned
The term "African American" has always irked me if I'm being honest.

Black people in England aren't called "African British" they're just called British
or Leroy.
 
D

daemonic

Banned
People label other people. I know she doesn't want it to happen, but it will. She's calling herself an American and that's a label in itself. I understand that as a celebrity from a young age she needs to protect herself and keep her affairs private but the reality is that people will see her however they choose to.
 
D

Dabanton

Member
Rambaldi47 said:
The term "African American" has always irked me if I'm being honest.

Black people in England aren't called "African British" they're just called British
or Leroy.
Click to expand...

No we're called Black British or descriptors of our parents heritage which in my case would be Black Caribbean.
 
S

Servbot24

Banned
Everyone falls under labels, or more accurately, words, whether they want to or not. It's how language works.

African-American isn't a very good one though.
 
R

Rambaldi47

Banned
Dabanton said:
No we're called Black British or descriptors of our parents heritage which in my case would be Black Caribbean.
Click to expand...

Like when you're filling in a form, sure. I'm White British then.

But I mean in just general day to day life. I've never heard anyone say "Black British" or whatever. Yet I hear "African American" whenever a black american is on the TV.
 
J

Joni

Member
Dany M said:
Is it bad to be labeled? I see myself as gay because I am gay.
Click to expand...
Your gayness is one of part of you. Being gay isn't your entire personality. Labelling you as gay often means taking away everything else that makes you unique.
 
R

RedTurbo

Banned
I'm OK with this. To me it's a non-issue that people in power have created to keep us divided and for their personal profit knowing that we'd run along with it. The most successful people I know of transcend these ideas and I honestly wish people didn't derive an identity from something they were born with like race, gender, or their sexuality either.

While awareness is needed to get rid of misconceptions, in the long term, the goal should be to show that everybody is deserving of respect and that we all respect one another. I'd rather people derive identity from what they choose to be and you can't choose to be a race, a gender or a sexual preference.
 
F

Femmeworth

Banned
I would suggest she should look up "internalized homophobia" but she would probably find that too constricting. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I know I shouldn't be too harsh on her, I imagine she has been through a lot in her life.
 
D

DoktorEvil

Banned
RedTurbo said:
I'm OK with this. To me it's a non-issue that people in power have created to keep us divided and for their personal profit knowing that we'd run along with it. The most successful people I know of transcend these ideas and I honestly wish people didn't derive an identity from something they were born with like race, gender, or their sexuality either.

While awareness is needed to get rid of misconceptions, in the long term, the goal should be to show that everybody is deserving of respect and that we all respect one another. I'd rather people derive identity from what they choose to be and you can't choose to be a race, a gender or a sexual preference.
Click to expand...

Ideally, this would be a nice world to live in.

Realistically, humans are messy and difficult creatures with varying motivations, different and varying forms of communication and perceptions shaped by multiple stimuli.
 
R

Roo

Member
I didn't even know she was gay.
I've been living under a rock apparently.
I used to watch her Disney Channel show. Fun stuff.
 
R

Replicant

Member
I can understand where she comes from. As a minority, sometimes it's hard to be one without your otherness being the key defining description about you. Sometimes I just want to be acknowledged as me, a unique individual, instead of some part of a race or sexual identity.
 
F

FoneBone

Member
I'm sympathetic to people who don't want to identify in a rigid gay/straight binary, but beyond that, her rhetoric reflects a very privileged take on identity politics.
 
quickwhips

quickwhips

Member
I agree with her. I hate labels. We are melting pot almost everywhere no matter how people see you. Trying to make everyone fit into a category is what I feel causes some of the problems. People being assholes causes more though.
 
I

Infinite

Member
FoneBone said:
I'm sympathetic to people who don't want to identify in a rigid gay/straight binary, but beyond that, her rhetoric reflects a very privileged take on identity politics.
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Yeah. Even with her rhetoric she acknowledges that she is seen not just as an American but as a American variant
 
S

studyguy

Member
Maybe I'm oblivious, but I didn't know her real name was Raven Symone. I thought that was just a character she played in that show. Hmm.
 
P

PeskyToaster

Member
I can see that. I don't think of myself and German or English American or even Dutch American despite those being the places my family is from.
 
G

Goliath

Member
People hate labels when there are serious negative stereotypes towards them. It's a minority thing. You don't see too many people in the majority crying about labels.
 
M

Mesousa

Banned
Rambaldi47 said:
The term "African American" has always irked me if I'm being honest.

Black people in England aren't called "African British" they're just called British
or Leroy.
Click to expand...

That is because they are separated in distinct categories. West Indians are definitely called that. Even further you have Guaynese,Jamaicans, and Trinidadians among others who are not shy to tell you what their heritage is.

The Africans are also not shy to tell you a specific location. African Americans had that identity stripped from them, hence the General African title.
 
S

SRG01

Member
I don't think she's taking up a privileged position with regards to her ethnic identity. In fact, it is perhaps more empowering for her -- and simultaneously more difficult for her -- to choose her own identity, free of the labels that society puts onto her.

I mean, look at the posts already made degrading her position on the basis of privilege. Does her class or social status make her views wrong? That's the difficulty that many ethnic minorities -- myself included, the children of two or more worlds -- face when we want to choose an identity for ourselves and not by our peers.
 
D

Dreams-Visions

Member
quickwhips said:
I agree with her. I hate labels. We are melting pot almost everywhere no matter how people see you. Trying to make everyone fit into a category is what I feel causes some of the problems. People being assholes causes more though.
Click to expand...

People should be able to mentally handle being multiple things.

Everyone in America is an American. Duh. We're also a salad bowl -- not a melting pot -- of a beautiful variety of cultures, heritages, and customs. These do not need to go away or become "blended" (read: lost) into some generic culture that the majority approves of that steals meaning away from history in favor of surface shallowness.

To say that you don't see my blackness is to say that you don't see ME. You're saying you don't want to acknowledge my family, my heritage, my culture and all the things that lead to me being me that the sub-culture groomed me to be. It's to say you don't acknowledge my father who was one of the first black men to graduate at the top of his medical school class at Michigan State. It's saying you don't acknowledge the racial struggle my grandfather went through after serving in WWI. It's saying you don't acknowledge my great grandfather being raised on a plantation. It's saying you don't acknowledge my great grandmother on an Indian reservation.

No, fuck that. You'll see my roots in me. You'll see my heritage in my hair. You'll see the contribution of mine in our history books with attention paid to their ethnicity because it's paramount to many of the stories. You'll acknowledge the struggle and I won't accept being washed or "melted" out of history for convenience or to make some larger culture feel more comfortable.
 
C

CrazyDogg77

Member
It's pretty tiring to see so many successful Black people try to distance themselves from their blackness. I don't want to hear bullshit about how there's a new black or I don't see the color. For all the poor disadvantaged even middle class people you don't want to identify with race is a daily reality. And the fact that we can't get our most successful people to align with us is pretty discouraging; especially when they are the people most promoting us needing to work together for success yet not actually living it out.
 
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