Response to Article: Time Magazine

  Per usual, the way some human beings think never ceases to amuse me.
  I just recently read an opinion article online from Time Magazine with the following title: 'White Gays: Stop Stealing Black Female Culture.'
  In short, the author (Sierra Mannie) points out that she doesn't appreciate when white homosexual males "claim either blackness or womanhood". She backs up her views with the following:
      a) White people "snatched up" "extracurricular black activities" (...what?) without having to endure "the ugliness of the black experience", which she refers to as racism.
      b) Black people in America have a disadvantage compared to whites.
      c) Moreso, black women are at a disadvantage compared to whites.
      d) Although gays are stereotyped and maltreated, they can "hide" their homosexuality, as opposed to black women, who "cannot hide their blackness and womanhood to protect themselves the way you can hide your homosexuality."
  Of course, their is more to the article (here is the link, if you're interested), but I wanted to keep the synopsis short, so I can have space for our favorite part: my response.
  So on the surface, I guess one could understand, and maybe agree with her argument. The main parts that I do agree with are the obvious things: that African Americans are held at a disadvantage, especially the females, when put next to a Caucasian-American.
  There was another statement that she made that I only half-way agreed with. It said "Breathing fire behind ugly stereotypes that reduce black females to loud caricatures for you to emulate isn't [okay], either." The reason I can only partially agree with this is because it is arguable that Caucasian-American homosexuals are not the reason that this stereotype exists, nor are they the reason that the stereotype persists in our society. Them (or anyone) re-enacting such behaviors isn't the problem. That is a whole 'nother issue, that lies in the fact that such behaviors are what are promoted and displayed to the society (through movies and shows on television, like 'Love and Hip-Hop'
 and the numerous Tyler Perry productions).
  Now I want to go on to explain what my biggest problem with this woman's viewpoint is.
  I'm not sure if I'm the only one who thinks this way, but I am a big believer in not forming my opinions based on skin color. To me, the culture that she claims is under attack is not "black" culture, but actually American culture. Think about it: the culture that she is referring to isn't the one that was brought over from Africa (and I can personally confirm this to some extent, being that I am a first-generation West African). It's the one that was birthed and brought up here in the States. And, considering the melting pot of a nation we live in, does any group based here really have a right to claim that their culture is anything but American? (The only group I do feel can claim that they are an exception to this are Native Americans, since they had their culture set in a way before America even became 'America'.)
  Also, I do slightly have an issue that she targeted gay Caucasian-Americans in such a manner. Are we really going to pretend as if they are the only ones who poke fun with hip-hop, twerking, and stereotypical African American female behavior?
  So white culture, black culture; straight female culture or homosexual male culture; it really doesn't matter. Can't we all just display nationalism and embrace American culture without addressing our evident (or not-so-evident) differences?
  Thanks for reading.