This week, Blake Lively invited outrage with an Instagram post.
And because these kinds of debates fascinate me, I thought I’d work in a few
quick comments. The Instagram post shows two views of Blake Lively on the red
carpet--one from in front of her and one from behind, with the caption “L.A.
face with an Oakland booty.”
“L.A. face” refers to the white, American beauty standard. Something you possess. It’s why the Daily Mail publishes your photo so many damn times you’d think you were about to pop out a royal baby. “Oakland booty” refers to a large derrière, an undesirable butt that Jane Fonda workout tape enthusiasts from L.A. wouldn’t be caught dead with. It’s the reason you take SoulCycle classes. It’s why you have Pressed Juicery on speed dial. It’s the type of ass that the Kardashians or white people turn into a circus attraction like Saartjie Baartman. You don’t have an Oakland booty. You have a Burbank booty.
The caption is actually a quote from “Baby Got Back” by Sir
Mix-A-Lot, who defended Lively to New York Daily News:
I don't get [the debate] at all. She's saying she's proud of her butt. I'm glad she embraced the look, because that's what I wanted [with the song].
I suppose now I’m supposed to tell you which side is right, but searching
for the right side and the killer argument to end the argument is exactly what
we have to stop doing. Most of these debates involve interpretation of facts rather
than mere facts and as such have no absolute right or wrong or any resource to
which we can turn to settle the debate. The right answer isn’t just difficult, it
doesn’t exist.
This is hard to accept, but accept it we must.
Madison is the type of writer who should know that and restrain
his hyperbole. It never ceases to amaze me how so many in the online outrage
factory are highly educated and well-intentioned but have incorrigible writing
style, hopelessly confused ideas, and no compunction about publicly branding
people racist or sexist over their interpretation of a music video, movie
poster or Instagram post.
I’m not saying we should all just get along. Important issues
are at stake, and in the absence of absolute right and wrong, there are only
arguments, many arguments, none ultimately potent, which sway us one way or
another.
Is it all right for Gwyneth Paltrow to tweet the song title “Niggas
in Paris”? Is it all right for Beyoncé to use Black Panther imagery in a Super
Bowl halftime show? Is putting Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill a sign of real
progress or is it mere tokenism? I’m sure I don’t know, not in any way I can
prove for all time, but having these debates is not pointless. It changes
hearts and minds, encourages action, and shapes our society.
Thus, the fight against social ills must be fought and fought hard--even when it comes to celebrity Instagram posts--but I insist it must be fought with some honor, by which I mean solid thinking and human decency in tactics. Spaz attacks like Madison's do more harm than good.
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