Abstract
The #MeToo movement signaled that women’s voices will no longer be silenced. Yet the very woman who coined the term ‘MeToo’ had herself been ignored. Tarana Burke, founder of the US-based movement, began her fight in 2006; however, at first she was unrecognized within the #MeToo campaign. This erasure speaks to broader issues regarding Black Women’s representation and power throughout the world. Similarly, Indigenous women have long been relegated to the back of the line when discussing women’s rights in Australia. This chapter examines Indigenous Australian women’s responses to, and inclusion within, the #MeToo movement. In particular, it questions the impact of #MeToo on Aboriginal women in Australia and how we are being recognized in this space. This chapter demonstrates Black Women’s strength in how they speak their truths, calling for a change in Black Women’s representation in Australia.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Native American women were regularly called ‘Squaw,’ which has been thought to refer to a Native woman’s vagina, although this appears a contentious point, as some references have been made to the term simply meaning ‘young native woman.’
- 2.
References
AAP. (2017, July 31). Mother-of-seven Lynette Daley died after violent group sex, court told. Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved November 11, 2018, from https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/motherofseven-lynette-daley-died-after-violent-group-sex-court-told-20170731-gxmkl9.html.
Ahmed, S. (2010). Killing joy: Feminism and the history of happiness. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 35(3), 571–594.
Australian Screen. (2005). Pioneers of love. Retrieved August 10, 2018, from https://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/pioneers-love/clip1/.
Behrendt, L. (1993). Aboriginal women and the white lies of the feminist movement: Implications for Aboriginal women in rights discourse. Australian Feminist Law Journal, 1(1), 27–44.
Bond, C. (2018a). Chelsea bond: The audacity of anger. IndigenousX, Retrieved November 28, 2018, from https://indigenousx.com.au/chelsea-bond-the-audacity-of-anger/#.W_4vtuJoQuU.
Bond, C. (2018b, August 24). Wild black women: Trevor Noah. 98.9fm. Retrieved September 1, 2018, from https://989fm.com.au/podcasts/lets-talk/wild-black-women-22/.
Cheetham, D. (2018, March 6). The Drum. ABC News. Retrieved September 1, 2018, from http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-06/the-drum-tuesday-march-6/9519892.
Conor, L. (2013). ‘Black Velvet’ and ‘Purple Indignation’: Print responses to Japanese ‘poaching’ of Aboriginal women. Aboriginal History Journal, 37, 51–76.
Fredericks, B. (2010). Reempowering ourselves: Australian Aboriginal women. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 35(3), 546–550.
Gorrie, N. (2017, November 7). Post-#MeToo: Creating a culture of support. NITV. Retrieved November 10, 2018, from https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2017/11/07/post-metoo-creating-culture-support-1.
Gorrie, N. @Nayuka. (2018, February 12). Hey @QandA surely you could have gotten women of colour on your #metoo panel instead of these white dudes? Fucking hell. What a white wash. [Twitter post]. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/NayukaGorrie/status/963212412382883840.
Humphreys, A. (2008). Representations of Aboriginal women and their sexuality. Unpublished Honour’s Thesis, University of Queensland.
La Rosa, L. (2018, June 27). Trickle-down feminism doesn’t cut it. Eureka Street. Retrieved August 30, 2018, from https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=55977.
Lawson, H. (1900). The ballad of the Rouseabout. The Bulletin, 21(1039), 32.
Liddle, C. (2016, March 9). Looking past White Australia and White Feminism. New Matilda. Retrieved August 1, 2018, from https://newmatilda.com/2016/03/09/looking-past-white-australia-and-white-feminism/.
Liddle, C. (2018, June 13). Maimed but not dead: Is an Aboriginal rose a rose by another name? Independent Australia. Retrieved November 11, 2018, from https://independentaustralia.net/australia/australia-display/maimed-but-not-dead-is-an-aboriginal-rose-a-rose-by-any-other-name,11594.
Lui, N. (2018, July 27). Comedian Trevor Noah in hot water over sexual Aboriginal women ‘joke’ pressured to apologise. SBS. Retrieved October 23, 2018, from https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/nitv-news/article/2018/07/23/comedian-trevor-noah-hot-water-over-sexual-aboriginal-women-joke-pressured.
Maguire, A. (2015, March 5). All feminists are created equal, but some are more equal than others. New Matilda. Retrieved August 1, 2018, from https://newmatilda.com/2015/03/05/all-feminists-are-created-equal-some-are-more-equal-others/.
Moreton-Robinson, A. (2000). Talkin’ up to the white woman. St. Lucia, QLD: University of Queensland Press.
NAIDOC. (2018). Retrieved September 1, 2018, from https://www.naidoc.org.au/.
Noah, T. (2013). Born a crime: Stories from a South African childhood. New York: Spiegel & Grau. (2013). Cited in Donaldson, M. (2017, February 15). Trevor Noah: Why he owes it all to his Mum. Stuff. Retrieved September 4, 2018, from https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/tv-radio/87198967/trevor-noah-why-he-owes-it-all-to-his-mum.
NoUluruForYou. (2018, June 4). The symbolism of Aboriginal words wiped out to be replaced with a word that represents a movement predominantly for ww—yet stolen from a black woman—just screams of colonisation and I don’t even know why it surprises me at all. [Twitter post]. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/ChewbeckaSolo/status/1003613966331871232.
Our Watch. (2018). Changing the picture: A national resource to support the prevention of violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and their children. Melbourne: Our Watch.
Phillips, S. (2016, May 9). Black Velvet: Redefining and celebrating Indigenous Australian women in art. The Conversation. Retrieved November 20, 2018, from https://theconversation.com/black-velvet-redefining-and-celebrating-indigenous-australian-women-in-art-56211.
Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service Provision. (2016). Overcoming indigenous disadvantage: Key indicators 2016. Canberra: Productivity Commission.
Williams, J. @JoeWilliams. (2018, July 21). Hey @Trevornoah, your comments about Aboriginal @Indigenousx in this clip are utterly unacceptable! As a man of color, you are usually in point with racism & divide—Here you are perpetrating & encouraging racial abuse! [Twitter post]. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/joewilliams_tew/status/1020918115616501761.
Wyld, K. (2018, June 6). Meanjin debacle: Erasing Aboriginal words in order to highlight white women’s appropriation. NITV. Retrieved August 3, 2018, from https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2018/06/06/meanjin-debacle-erasing-aboriginal-words-order-highlight-white-womens-1.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Ryan, T. (2019). This Black Body Is Not Yours for the Taking. In: Fileborn, B., Loney-Howes, R. (eds) #MeToo and the Politics of Social Change. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15213-0_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15213-0_8
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-15212-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-15213-0
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)