Can the Queen Speak? Racial Essentialism, Sexuality, and the Problem of Authority

Can the Queen Speak? Racial Essentialism, Sexuality, and the Problem of Authority

Dwight McBride essay argues that black gays and lesbians are often excluded when people speak about the "black community." When McBride suggests that there needs to be an inclusive representation of the "black community" which accounts for "gender, class, and sexuality, where does the "mixed race" fit in this argument?

I also came across an essay entitled, "Can the Ho's Speak" by Mireille Miller who is the Assistant Prof. of Feminist Studies at the University of California. In her essay she compares McBride's arguments that gays and lesbians are excluded in discourse about the "black community" thus implying that they exist outside of the community to her own arguments that racial essentialism defines black "ho" (escorts, exotic dancers, gold-diggers, video vixens, chicken heads, etc) as existing outside of the black moral respectability, and the thus the community itself. I just wanted to know what others thought about this.

I also had a problem with the fact that bell hook’s name was not capitalized. I goggled and Wikipedia says that she does not capitalize her name as a statement that her work should speak for itself. In other words, her work is more important that the name she attaches to it. This makes sense but I am still bothered by it. :)