The Frisky

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Since the news of the tragedy broke, many have tried to rationalize why it happened. Was Belcher dealing with some type of mental illness? Did the pressures of manhood that make it impossible for a young black man to seek help finally become too much to bear? Were stress and alcohol factors? Did his girlfriend send him over the edge by coming home late from a Trey Songz concert? Most of the reports that I read and saw on TV seemed to be more concerned with making excuses for Belcher’s behavior or trying to figure out what lead him to kill himself. What about the domestic violence aspect of the situation? Is anyone going to talk about the young black woman who was killed in the prime of her life? For some reason, when it comes to acts of violence against women of color, the mainstream media has a hard time categorizing it as such. The “strong black woman” stereotype has made it nearly impossible for people to think of black women as victims. Whether it be a young woman who is missing, or a girlfriend or wife killed by her husband, violence against black women is often ignored or unreported. It seems as if many times in American society, white women are the only ones who are allowed to be victims. (via The Soapbox: On Kasandra Perkins And The Color Of Domestic Violence)

Since the news of the tragedy broke, many have tried to rationalize why it happened. Was Belcher dealing with some type of mental illness? Did the pressures of manhood that make it impossible for a young black man to seek help finally become too much to bear? Were stress and alcohol factors? Did his girlfriend send him over the edge by coming home late from a Trey Songz concert? Most of the reports that I read and saw on TV seemed to be more concerned with making excuses for Belcher’s behavior or trying to figure out what lead him to kill himself. What about the domestic violence aspect of the situation? Is anyone going to talk about the young black woman who was killed in the prime of her life? For some reason, when it comes to acts of violence against women of color, the mainstream media has a hard time categorizing it as such. The “strong black woman” stereotype has made it nearly impossible for people to think of black women as victims. Whether it be a young woman who is missing, or a girlfriend or wife killed by her husband, violence against black women is often ignored or unreported. It seems as if many times in American society, white women are the only ones who are allowed to be victims. (via The Soapbox: On Kasandra Perkins And The Color Of Domestic Violence)

Filed under Kasandra Perkins domestic violence Jovan Belcher intimate partner violence black women women of color domestic abuse race racism feminist feminism The Frisky