KRT FORUM
By Barbara Ransby
Girl X, the 9-year-old black girl who was brutally raped, beaten and poisoned in Chicago back in January, was a victim of poverty, racism and sexism.
Being poor meant she lived in Cabrini Green, a housing project with little security, where screams are commonplace and hers probably went unnoticed.
Being black meant her pain was not viewed with the same outrage as that of a blond-haired, blue-eyed child who suffered a similar fate. But Girl X was also brutalized because she was female. She was assaulted in a way that most boys and men will never experience or even imagine, but too many women and girls will. Sexual violence against women and girls occurs every day, every hour, every minute.
A suspect finally confessed to the crime in the beginning of April. He indicated, with no accompanying remorse, that his motive was ``sexual gratification.'' Black leaders have rightly complained about the racist media coverage of this case, which initially downplayed its importance. These leaders must also speak out about the sexism that is equally to blame.
In researching this topic, I searched the Internet for other stories on the subject. I innocently typed in ``girl x.'' To my surprise, I came across a barrage of X-rated pornography depicting women and girls in the most base and dehumanizing ways. These women, all of them young, were represented as disconnected body parts displayed for the entertainment and pleasure of men. Some of the websites actually required subscriptions for Internet users to purchase access to young women's bodies, presumably for purposes of ``sexual gratification.''
There is a long-standing debate about the relationship between pornography and sexual violence. In my mind, there is a clear correlation. Many sex offenders admit to viewing pornographic material before or during the commission of their crimes.
This is not to suggest that we should ban all sexually explicit material from the media or cyberspace. But it does suggest that as a society we bear some responsibility for the cultural messages we disseminate. Music videos that portray girls as gyrating sex machines send a dangerous message. So do commercial ads that equate access to young women with purchasing cars, beers and cologne. Pornography that recasts rape as seduction sends yet another dangerous message.
After the arrest of the suspect, a Chicago radio station did a poll of Cabrini Green residents. Most women expressed a feeling of relief. Many men, however, were skeptical that perhaps the police had arrested the wrong black man and coerced his confession.
These divided responses are telling. Since many African Americans have experienced mistreatment at the hands of the police, skepticism of the criminal-justice system is warranted. At the same time, we cannot allow our opposition to racism to compromise our opposition to sexism.
Each time a black woman or girl is sexually abused, community leaders must speak out against it regardless of the race of the assailant. And when high-profile rape cases occur involving black people, we cannot indulge in a knee-jerk defense of the alleged rapist, and ignore the victim. If African-American interests can be betrayed by black politicians or Supreme Court justices, these interests can also be betrayed by other blacks who devalue and destroy the bodies and lives of African-American females.
We hear a lot about the gang violence that is taking the lives of too many of our young black men, but we hear very little about the sexual violence that mars the lives of too many of our young black women. That silence has to be broken.
Barbara Ransby is an assistant professor of African-American studies and history at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is a long-time community activist and is currently writing a biography of Ella Baker.
Readers may write to the author at: Progressive Media Project, 409 East Main St., Madison, Wis. 53703.
This article was prepared for The Progressive Media Project and is available to KRT subscribers. Knight-Ridder/Tribune did not subsidize the writing of this column; the opinions are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of Knight-Ridder/Tribune or its editors.
Distributed by Knight-Ridder/Tribune Information Services.
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