The epistemology of ignorance explores
hierarchies of knowledge and knowledge production. The knowledge that is
reproduced in society is heavily controlled by the dominant culture, leaving
the knowledge of women and minorities to the wayside. Tuana states that ignorance
is often seen as a gap in knowledge (3), but that is not the full story. As it concerns women and their bodies, there is
not a gap in knowledge as much as there is a suppression of knowledge. This has
led to the exclusion of women in science, art, etc. and where there is not a complete void of
knowledge, there are misconceptions and misinformation.
As I read this, I started to
think of how incomplete my knowledge of the feminine has been, and even more so
the black feminine. I thought back especially to my high school anatomy class.
There was only one unit on the female body. Each unit was two weeks long. Out
of about 40 weeks of school, we spent two on the female body. How is it that it
was assumed that we could learn everything there is to know about the female
body in two weeks? All other units we studied used the male body as the
example, the feminine only coming up again a few times when there was truly a difference
between the two. My experience, and that of every girl going through the public
school system, is the perfect example of this epistemology of ignorance.
I was also prompted to think
about how we resist such knowledge suppression. I’m specifically interested in
how black females have reproduced knowledge of their experiences and their bodies,
and sexuality through the blues and hip-hop. Two examples came to mind, Billie Holiday and
Lil Kim. Holiday used both sly figurative lyrics and obvious ones to relay her
experience with men and with the struggle for civil rights. Lil Kim, a modern
example, is often criticized for her raw sexual lyrics. I feel as if this is the
case simply because Lil Kim refuses to sensor her discussion of her body. Any discussion
of female sexuality in a public forum or space is seen as crude due to the fact
that such conversations are so thoroughly oppressed , but feminine art forms
have always been a point of resistance.
I really like how you draw on art as a point of resistance against epistemologies of ignorance and female oppression. Female artists hold a lot of power because of the positions they are in and the audiences that they can reach. It is interesting to think about how artists choose to use this power to fight ignorance, and whether it is their duty to do so. Billie Holiday and Lil Kim have very different styles and approaches, yet they are ultimately fighting the same battle. Because there is so much suppression of knowledge about women, are female artists who avoid addressing the injustices women face perpetuating the epistemologies of ignorance themselves?
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