Khaalis Smithers – Current Event VCU FA24

IG: @himcess and @inyouyasha

This week we’re focusing on a post from Halle Bailey she responded with in defense of her motherhood and family optics. Since the announcement of her pregnancy Halle has been subjected to massive scrutiny regarding her child’s appearance and the credibility of DDG’s potential for fatherhood. Millions of Twitter users, especially Black women who make up the majority of her fanbase, harass her daily for her supposed indignant choice in choosing DDG as the father of her child. They insinuate that despite her supposed hyper-intelligence and emotional complexity, she is predisposed to maltreatment in romantic relationships because she is “pick-me.” To them, she displays “bird” behavior, denoting a stereotypical affront on her agency and autonomous choice. This same rhetoric employed by Black women harms Black women and deepens the capacity for misogynoiristic stereotypes of Black women’s behavior to manifest in social spaces.

Black women are seen as degenerates and as incapable of sustaining healthy relationships. It forces subservience on Black women to adhere to white societal normativism that disparages Black woman and fem identities. Halle endured this for over a year but finally found the courage to express the dissonance It creates in her life. Even then, here are some responses to her expressing that discomfort of nosiness: