Canadian rapper Daystar Peterson i.e. by his stage name Tory Lanez was declared guilty of a felony in the United States last week. He was a shot rap artist Megan Thee Stallion.
In 2020, Peterson shot Stallion, whose real name is Megan Pete. Pete was hit in the legs by bullets.
Hailing from Houston, Texas, Pete has over 24 million monthly listeners on Spotify.
Pete has said that he has been the target of anger since he went public about the incident. Pete, the victim of the shooting, has been mocked and accused on social media of lying, among other things.
Criticism surfaced again in December, when the court dealt with Peterson’s assault charges.
According to several researchers interviewed by the US media, Pete’s treatment is an example of misogyny against black women, or misogyny, for which the term misogynoir, which combines the English and French languages, is used.
This story tells what is meant by the term misogynoir circulating in social media and what examples of misogyny directed at black people there are.
What is misogynoir?
The term misogynoir was coined by an American researcher and assistant professor at Northwestern University Moya Bailey (you switch to another service) in the 2010s. The concept aims to describe the racist contempt, disgust or outright hatred experienced by black women.
In her book Misogynoir Transformed: Black Women’s Digital Resistance, published in 2021, Bailey writes with examples of how black women are hypersexualized and portrayed as unpleasant and different.
Although the term itself is new, black women have experienced hatred in the United States for centuries, a Howard University professor Tia Tyree emphasizes in an interview with news agency AP. According to Tyree, who has studied the representation of black women, social media and hip-hop culture, many people are now interested in the term as if it had a new meaning.
– That is the most depressing part of the narrative of the word misogynoir. The mistreatment of black women in the United States is nothing new, Tyree tells AP.
Despite its prevalence, the hatred and violence experienced by black women has not received as much attention in the United States as the violence faced by black men, says Moya Bailey of the American In an interview with the PBS television channel (you will switch to another service).
He brings up the #sayhername social media campaign of a few years ago, which sought to raise public awareness of the fates of black women shot by US police.
– The public has paid a lot of attention to black men who have been shot by the police, but the same attention has not been paid to women who have faced the same issues, says Bailey in a television interview.
How does misogynoir show up?
The shooting of megastar Megan Pete is not the only public incident that has been talked about misogyny against black people. For example, a basketball star imprisoned in Russia by Brittney Griner return to the United States attracted criticism (you switch to another service) about whether the basketball player was worth the trade.
Read more: The United States and Russia exchanged prisoners – basketball star Brittney Griner returns to her homeland
The American actress and the Duchess of Sussex have also been highlighted on social media Meghan Marklewhich has recently written hatefully in public (you will switch to another service).
According to Moya Bailey, black women are often seen as strong characters who are supposed to withstand violence or insults. Bailey believes the cases of Pete, Griner and Markle show how widespread misogynoir is, with even powerful public figures being blatantly targeted.
– I hope it makes us think about black women who are not in such a privileged position, Bailey says on the PBS channel.
researcher at the University of Southern California Shaun Harper write In Forbes magazine (you will switch to another service) from her research that shows black women face many forms of misogyny in their workplaces.
According to Harper, black women’s ideas are not taken as seriously as white women’s, and the opportunities for career advancement are smaller than other groups.
Why is misogynoir rampant on social media?
Peterson, who shot Megan Pete, now faces a sentence of more than 20 years for three crimes. Peterson was found guilty of assault with a semi-automatic handgun, grossly negligent use of a firearm and carrying an unlicensed and loaded firearm.
Despite the charges, thousands of people claim online (you switch to another service) justice for Peterson. At the same time, criticism of Pete continues on social media.
According to assistant professor Moya Bailey’s research, social media platforms such as Tiktok and Twitter exacerbate stereotypes against black women because the content is profitable for companies.
Algorithms normalize the dehumanization and objectification of black women for other people’s pleasure or to evoke mixed feelings, a professor at Washington University in St. Louis Raven Maragh-Lloyd says news agency AP.
For example, in the case of Megan Pete, social media trolls have highlighted Pete’s sex-positivity.
– People probably see the content of Megan’s sex history as some kind of “justification” not to believe her or blame her for the shooting, says Maragh-Lloyd.
In social media, it’s all about what sells.
– Spreading misinformation about black women’s bodies or desires attracts clicks and pairs of eyes, says Maragh-Lloyd.
Refined the beginning of the story at 20:23 so that the reader cannot get the impression that Megan Thee Stallion died in the shooting.
Source: AP