Patricia Hill Collins Gets Her Freak On in Black Sexual Politics

As Patricia Hill Collins dives into the different meanings of terms such as freak and bitch, the important themes covered through out is that of discourse; who creates it, and who resists it. As Foucault discusses, hegemonic discourses control ideas circulating that define our realities, and even our bodies and self. In order to resist this negative naming and stereotyping, subcultures create new meanings of the same language used by dominant forces, in an in-your-face response that leaves most "outsiders" baffled.

The colonial creation of the term freak is discourse in the making. We have the dominant players, the Western white male, who comes to Africa to view the "inhumane objects" that are the African people, in particular, the fascinating African female body. With his power and privilege, the Western white male is able to define these bodies that are new to him, though had been in existence for years before. Instead of learning about these various populations within the context of their specific cultures and history, the Western white man sees them at the "Other" and compares them to himself, the hegemonic norm. That said, where Western civilization is just that, "civilized", African peoples are what Westerners are not, uncivilized, brutish, and animal-like; “under colonialism, West African people’s proximity to wild animals, especially apes, raised in Western imaginations of the spector of ‘wild’ sexual practices in an uncivilized, inherently violent wilderness” (C p. 120).

The most tragic and famous example of this shameful history is the life of Sarah-Bartmann.



As Professor Miller-Young discussed in class, Western scientists, or zoologist rather, who were fascinated by the bodies of African people literally stole African bodies, dead and alive, and took them back to Europe to study. It was believed that by looking at the proportions of the African body and their craneology, "experts" could prove they were descendants of Apes, while Westerners were of a distinct geneology. Sarah-Bartmann was put on display all her life. And though she never showed the men her genitals, upon her sudden death, all of her body parts were put in jars on display. Though some jars have been "lost", some justice was made when the rest of her remains were brought back to her home in Africa.

Noting this intense racist history of colonialism where the term freak has its origins, it is hard to believe that it is now part of everyday language and used frequently to express new meanings about the body and sexuality; “...the term freak came to permeate popular culture to the point at which it is now intertwined with ideas about sexuality, sexual identities, and sexual practices” (C p. 120). One well known use of the word as Collins points out, is in Funk musician Rick James' hit "Superfreak".

http://www.lyrics-top.com/178211-103621/SuperFreak/Rick-James.html


As the lyrics go, although the woman is from the "street" and is somewhat of a groupie, she is "alright" to Mr. James who gives his seal of approval to freaky girls and behavior.

The term has since continues to transform, as Collins details, giving the people who use the term to define themselves power, independence, and style; “the term has shown stunning resiliency, migrating onto the dance floor as a particular dance (Le Freak) and as a style of dancing that signaled individuality, sexual abandon, craziness, wildness, and new uses of the body” (C p. 121).

Missy Elliott also gets her Freak on in her hit song of the same title.



http://www.lyrics007.com/Missy%20Elliott%20Lyrics/Get%20Ur%20Freak%20On%20Lyrics.html

Although "get your freak on" is the chorus of the song, the lyrics seem to be more about Missy herself. She defines herself with power and as she says, "Shh, hush yo mouth Silence when I, spit it out" you better listen to what she has to say. This speaks more to the next part of Collins' article in which she discuses the term Bitch; “…only African American women can be ‘Bitches’ with a capital ‘B’. Bitches with a capital ‘B’ or in their language, ‘Black Bitches,’ are super-tough, super-strong women who are often celebrated” (C p 124).

Missy, along with her partner in crime, Lil' Kim, are Black Bitches. They are writing, producing, and marketing their music, and even their bodies as "many African American women rappers identify female sexuality as part of women's freedom and independence" (C p. 127).

Indeed, because the media is such a powerful source of discourse where so many go to get their knowledge, subcultures have created their own media to reclaim definitions of themselves; "Black popular culture and mass media [are] sites where ideas concerning Black sexuality are reformulated and contested" (C p. 121). Words like freak and bitch have been reclaimed by the same groups who were once oppressed by the terms to become modes of empowerment. Again, illustrating the power of language and discourse, and how they can be resisted and changed.

Patricia Hill Collins, Chp. 4: "Get Your Freak On: Sex, Babies and Images of Black Femininity," Black Sexual Politics: African Americans, Gender, and the New Racism, New York: Routledge, 2004, 119-148.