"Why Should I Do All the Protesting for Our Family?" Negotiating Gender/ed Participation in the Movement for Black Lives

Sample

August 2014—The week that 18-year-old Black teen Michael Brown was shot and killed in Ferguson, Missouri, by Officer Darren Wilson, Mark attended almost every “action” that was held. Action(s) were activities such as protests, public obstructions, and community forums that were performed by the committed citizens of St. Louis and its surrounding communities (and beyond!) in response to the killing. By day three, he knew the echoes of Brown’s killing had reverberated far and wide, as folks from all over the country started showing up in St. Louis. Mark was astonished at how quickly people gathered! He was also struck by the diverse bodies present and active in Ferguson action, who ran the gamut from feminine to masculine, poor to middle class, able-bodied to multiple-disabilities, and those who had same-gender partners to those with no partner in sight. While Ferguson action was a mix of many things, as a Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies professor, Mark found himself attending closely to the contours of gender in how people showed up to the events of the day alongside the various responses to difference. “Look at that sissy,” was one response to gender/ed difference Mark heard at a Ferguson action. It came from people walking behind him and his friends at a march, and it was directed at Todd, who had dressed in fitted jeans and a form-fitting, white Britney Spears T-shirt.