Schmeckt’s noch?

Es gibt ja so Dinge, die machen eine sprachlos. Wie diese widerliche „Kuchensache“ in Schweden. Auf Facebook las ich den Kommentar: „It’s getting worst!“ – fand ich ganz zutreffend. Nachfolgend vier sehr gute, messerscharfe, zynische und trockene Kommentare von Women of Color.

With allies like this, who needs enemies?

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I felt pain looking at that cake. It leaves me speechless and unable to articulate the hurt. That this was done by a supposed liberal group of White women comes as no surprise, because there is a long history of White people claiming to be concerned with the plight of people of colour, even as they work to support and strength White supremacy. These women may well have felt that because their intent was good that no harm was done, but they are wrong. Intent is not a magical elixir and much harm has been done in the name of good intentions. Womanist Musings

What makes the cake episode so deeply offensive is the appropriation, by both artist and his audience, of African women’s bodies and experiences, while completely excluding real African women from the discourse. It is a pornography of violence. The missing ingredient in Sweden’s racist-misogynist cake by Shailja Patel

Initially I did not know who created this work, I had just seen snippets of conversations on the internet. And then when I learned that the creator was an Afro Swedish man, I immediately thought about the intersection of race and gender. The question then became how do we talk about the intersection of racism, and sexism when the creator of a problematic and offensive piece of art is a Black man? Why is this “okay” for Makoda to create this but not a White woman artist? Lastly, where are the women who are apparently the “subjects” of this work? Bodies have Histories. Crunk Feminist Collective.

The symbolism of the whole affair is poignant. They are literally eating a black body as they laugh at its (performed) pain. The fact that this huge error in judgement, common sense and plain decency comes from the anti-racist faction of government in Sweden does not surprise me. What passes for anti-racism in Europe is people with a deep white savior complex that allow them to keep patronizing ideas about people of color while meeting their own needs to appear good and charitable. 5 Ways to eat your racist cake & have it too.