Black Queer Women Defining Their Sexuality

I ran across an article on the similarities between Gladys Bentley and Janelle Monae (link: http://msmagazine.com/blog/blog/2012/02/21/queering-black-herstory-janelle-monae-and-gladys-bentley/). I found the article intriguing because Gladys Bentley came up in one of my other gender studies classes as an example of the butch female stereotype that existed in the early 1930s. This article made comparisons between the Bentley and Monae because both women are disrupting the gender binary by performing in clothing that is predominately male (tuxedos, pants, etc.). This has prompted much speculation about their sexual orientation. In the case of Bentley, she identified as a lesbian for much of her career, was very open about her lesbianism and was the ultimate lesbian symbol for many people of her generation. Monae has been more discrete about openly publicizing her orientation. The article mentions that this may be in a strategic move to not lose or alienate her fan base but at the same time is refusing the performer the “right to define their own sexualities”. The article elucidates the problem for queer identifying black women, the struggle “to prove their womanhood in a racist and sexist society”. Because black lesbians do not fit the stereotypical model of black womanhood they automatically become labeled as butches, despite what they may actually identify as. The article realizes that there is a need for more images of “proud out black lesbians” as it promotes pride and visibility in queer communities of color. However despite this need, society needs to allow these women to express their sexuality without pressuring them and ultimately acknowledging their sexuality as whatever they say it is. There is currently no respect for this and is why society has an incredible urge to label any person it sees as not performing heteronormative standards. There is no need to prove that these black women are lesbians but rather “queer them through their refusal to let heteronormative identities define them”. And in that way give black queer women the power to invent and reinvent themselves.