04-11-2016, 09:36 AM
I don't think the phrase "little brown women" is racist. There are little women with brown coloured skin, it's a fact. I've said things like, "There was a big black guy at the gym today who could bench 600!", and I don't think that's racist. What I would consider clearly racist or sexist would be making negative generalizations about all little brown women, wherein all little brown women are seen in a negative light by virtue of being a little brown women. I.e: little brown women are dirty whores.
There is something of a grey area in my mind, with "positive" generalizations. This is where Dale's poem fits; he is making generalizations about little brown women, but they are all positive - everyone should be more like these great people.
What could be considered racist/sexist about Dale's poem, though, is that all the things he says are good about little brown women "the way they cover their mouth when they laugh", "the way they dance" are in the grand scheme of things, insignificant. It could be taken to imply that these trivialities are the only good thing about little brown women. I personally do not believe that this is what Dale's poem was saying, but I can see how someone might. It's why some might consider it racist to say: "black men are good at basketball", while no one would consider it racist to say: "black men have incredible work ethic".
On to racist/sexist poems as a whole:
If I find a poem racist/sexist, even if it is written beautifully, I would still call it a "bad poem" from my perspective. That being said, racism and sexism are both subjective concepts when talking about poems, so I think it isn't pigpen's place to disallow poems that some might consider racist or sexist. Of course, there could be some exceptions - if a poem advocates violence against a certain race/gender, I don't think that should be allowed.
There is something of a grey area in my mind, with "positive" generalizations. This is where Dale's poem fits; he is making generalizations about little brown women, but they are all positive - everyone should be more like these great people.
What could be considered racist/sexist about Dale's poem, though, is that all the things he says are good about little brown women "the way they cover their mouth when they laugh", "the way they dance" are in the grand scheme of things, insignificant. It could be taken to imply that these trivialities are the only good thing about little brown women. I personally do not believe that this is what Dale's poem was saying, but I can see how someone might. It's why some might consider it racist to say: "black men are good at basketball", while no one would consider it racist to say: "black men have incredible work ethic".
On to racist/sexist poems as a whole:
If I find a poem racist/sexist, even if it is written beautifully, I would still call it a "bad poem" from my perspective. That being said, racism and sexism are both subjective concepts when talking about poems, so I think it isn't pigpen's place to disallow poems that some might consider racist or sexist. Of course, there could be some exceptions - if a poem advocates violence against a certain race/gender, I don't think that should be allowed.