21. Nell Irvin Painter - The History of White People

[pauraque]

What is Whiteness? Who is White?

These are questions that many people (and especially people who consider themselves white) never seriously ask, as though the category of whiteness is a natural one. It isn't, of course -- it's a socially constructed idea that has developed and changed considerably over many hundreds of years.

This book takes us through the history of that idea from its earliest known roots in antiquity, and ultimately goes on to focus mostly on Britain and the United States, where various different "white races" were long spoken of and ranked in value. The gradual incorporation of light-skinned people into one big group called White proceeded (and continues to proceed) in waves in the U.S., corresponding to waves of immigration, backlash against it, and an eventual admission that such-and-such a group is at last "American".

You've probably heard this phenomenon mentioned as a derailing tactic in discussions of race. ("Irish people were treated worse than black people") That is not what Painter is doing at all. She understands that the racialized ill treatment of white groups by other white groups does not erase anti-black racism -- it illuminates it! As the definition of who can be "white" has expanded over the centuries, it only sharpens the line between white people who might be able to become "just plain American" someday if they work hard and assimilate, and black people who, no matter what they do, never can.

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a: Painter Nell Irvin, African-American, non-fiction, history, race

2.33 Amy Chua, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother (2011)

[emma-in-oz.livejournal.com]

2.33 Amy Chua, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother (2011)

I am actually reluctant to review this book, because it is genuinely hard to write it without impugning the author.

There was a heap of articles and blog posts about the whole Tiger Mother concept earlier this year when the book came out (or, to put it another way, a furore), but I preferred to wait til it was available in the library. I knew it wouldn't be a keeper.

I don't want to get into whether Tiger Mothering is typically Chinese, as Chua argues but I would like to make one comment on her parenting philosophy which she summarises thus:

'Unlike your typical Western overscheduling soccer mom, the Chinese mother believes that (1) schoolwork always comes first; (2) an A-minus is a bad grade; (3) your children must be two years ahead of their classmates in math; (4) you must never compliment your children in public; (5) if your child ever disagrees with a teacher or coach, you must always take the side of the teacher or coach; (6) the only activities your children should be permitted to do are those in which they can eventually win a medal; and (7) that medal must be gold.'

I have not thought to articulate my parenting philosophy but off the top of my head it would probably be along the lines of (1) the best thing you can give your children is a happy childhood; (2) you can't spoil a child by giving her love and attention; (3) children are all different so each should be given what they need; (4) but what they all need is love and affection.

So, it's pretty hard for me to comment on her book in any meaningful way since I just, literally, kept feeling ill as she described fight after fight with her daughters as she forced them to practice their musical instruments for hour after hour. The scene where she locked the three year old on the porch, in the snow, because she refused to practice was pretty harrowing.