Eva Hoeke has resigned her position as editor-in-chief of Dutch fashion Jackie after publishing a questionable feature in the December issue that described Rihanna as having the “ultimate niggabitch” fashion sense. Though Hoeke tried to defend the use of the invective as a joke, the strong negative reaction to the article led to her decision to quit.
Wow.
It this were Vogue or some other fashion magazine published here in the U.S., I would be among the first to jump on the bandwagon calling for the issue to be pulled. I might not go as far as to ask for Hoeke’s resignation, but certainly I’d demand an apology and a retraction. But this is a Dutch fashion magazine published for that audience. I don’t know shit about the Dutch. I doubt that the N-word carries the stigma for them as it does for us. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have published the article. That brings up a much bigger question that I think we, as American, need to address seriously.
Who Gets to Use the N-Word?
If someone on the outside were to take a survey of American Hip Hop music and culture, one would certainly be exposed to the N-word. Some people use it as punctuation. And if you weren’t familiar with the negative connotations the word carries, you might think that this is an acceptable way to express yourself when commenting on Hip Hop. I mean, clearly these rappers think it’s an acceptable way to describe each other. Why can’t we use it in our magazine?
For those of us who grew up in the U.S., most of us feel that the use of the word is verboten unless you’re Black. Although, that’s beginning to change in some places (see V-Nasty).
We’re very quick to label someone who isn’t Black racist if they use the word. But I don’t think it’s that simple. In the case of V-Nasty, she’s not being racist. Apart from using the word, she doesn’t say anything hateful against any race. She doesn’t proclaim that White people are superior. She’s talking about drinking and fucking and fucking shit up without any racial bias. She uses the word because her friends in Oakland use the word. Now I haven’t read the article in question, but I’m guessing that they focused on Rihanna’s clothes, not her race. I seriously doubt they were dumping on her because she’s from Barbados.
Rappers use the word in a familial sense. V-Nasty uses the word in the same manner. I doubt very much that Hoeke has any friends who use the word often, but the usage in the article comes from the same sentiment. Is it still wrong if there was no malicious intent behind it?
I honestly don’t know at this point. The word is still so very charged with so many layers of meaning. It’s a slur, it’s a greeting, it’s offensive, it’s familiar, it’s Black, it’s White, it’s just a word, it’s more than just a word.
From: Fashonista
