Today during section, we discussed how identity is influenced by how others perceive you and who you surround yourself with as well as how you regard yourself, a concept that ties deeply into Little White Lie. Lacey struggles with her identity because of the discrepancies between her perception of herself and her community’s; while her family had long told her that she was white and looked “different” because of her Sicilian grandfather, strangers often wondered why she looked the way she did and Lacey herself was conflicted and insecure about her appearance. The documentary also ties deeply to “Race as a Metalanguage.” After Lacey struggles to tell her father that she now identifies as a black woman, her father tells her that it’s no surprise because of her friends, the music she likes, et cetera; however, being black and having black friends are not mutually inclusive, and just because one enjoys listening to what is stereotypically regarded as music black people listen to does not mean they are black. This demonstrates these choices (in music, in relationships)—choices that are not racially charged—are stereotypically and inappropriately attributed to race. Similarly, the documentary also demonstrates how difficult it is to discuss race, especially among non-POCS; after the funeral when Lacey is announced as Rodney’s daughter, her white relatives don’t even acknowledge Lacey’s identity as black. Moreover, the fact that Lacey’s father is believed to be white for so many years shows our staggering capacity to deceive ourselves and the people around us.
Finally, I wanted to touch briefly on a quote that struck me in The Hemingses of Monticello on page 319: “Extreme racists spoke of what ‘all’ enslaved women did and felt about sex and what ‘no’ white slave owner ever did or felt. The opponents of racism and critics of slavery, deeply and justifiably concerned about the rape of enslaved women, tend to do the same in response, but from the other direction, and end up meeting their ideological antagonists on common grounds: across-the-color-line sex with enslaved black women always equaled degraded sex.” This was a perspective I had never considered before, and I thought it was interesting because of how both sides of the extreme rob from female slaves their sense of agency and humanity.
Finally, I wanted to touch briefly on a quote that struck me in The Hemingses of Monticello on page 319: “Extreme racists spoke of what ‘all’ enslaved women did and felt about sex and what ‘no’ white slave owner ever did or felt. The opponents of racism and critics of slavery, deeply and justifiably concerned about the rape of enslaved women, tend to do the same in response, but from the other direction, and end up meeting their ideological antagonists on common grounds: across-the-color-line sex with enslaved black women always equaled degraded sex.” This was a perspective I had never considered before, and I thought it was interesting because of how both sides of the extreme rob from female slaves their sense of agency and humanity.