Feminists Hate Black Pussy
Funny enough, when one of our writers named Black Pussy’s Less Info More Mojo her pick for 2014’s “Album That Will Fuck Your Face Off,” she started her glowing recommendation thusly:
To start things off, don’t get all, “Oh my god, that name’s racist/sexist!” Black Pussy was named because that was almost the title of The Rolling Stones song “Brown Sugar” before their label made them change it. And despite the millions of blissfully ignorant middle-aged moms singing along with that song at the top of their lungs for the past forty years, “Brown Sugar” is a very graphic anti-slavery song. Don’t believe me? Look up the lyrics. And it was supposedly written for the beloved mother of Mick Jagger’s first child, who was black. Rock n’ roll was never supposed to be something you could talk about in front of your mother, and these guys don’t give a fuck.
I guess the column either didn’t make its way to black feminists or they just didn’t buy that argument, because according to The Daily Dot…
Last week, a petition began circulating on social media calling for Portland, Ore., rock band Black Pussy to change its name, or face a boycott of all the venues that book the band.
As of today, the petition has garnered more than 360 signatures. Outraged posts accusing the band of racism and sexism have also appeared on Twitter and Facebook. One San Francisco event listing suggested people call and email the local venue Bottom of The Hill to ask them to cancel the band’s Mar. 5 show.
Although their Facebook bio specifies that “Black Pussy does not condone or endorse any sexism, racism, ageism, violence, or any other douchebaggery,” the PFLAG Portland Black Chapter’s Youth Program Coordinator, Leila Hofstein, asserts that the band’s name is “a passive advertisement for violence… To take a really explicit name like that just says, hey, we don’t give a shit about you and the safety that you feel on the street every day. We just want to exploit it.”
I can see both sides of this argument, and am currently undecided about with whom I side. So I ask you: who do you think is in the right? Should the band change their name, or are people overreacting? Weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section below.
