She-Hulk and the Black Woman: We're Not Angry...Kinda

From: cosplayingwhileblack.tumblr.com

I might come off as angry in this post. But I'm not. I promise. In the words of Samuel L. Jackson a la Dave Chappelle, "NO I CAN'T STOP YELLING! THAT'S JUST HOW I TALK!" But luckily, this won't be a caps rage session. And this post could be somewhat scatterbrained. I'm semi-ranting.

So, we've all heard it. "Black women are angry so I can't date them." "Why you so angry?" "Smile, stop looking so mean!" Yes, if you continue to say these things to me, I will be a
ngry. Very angry. However, when I am angry, I'm a little more like Jennifer Walters AKA She-Hulk. Not She-Hulk in her infancy. Raging out. Throwing shit. Beating people up. I'm also not a green Amazon. I'm quietly angry. It takes a lot, and I mean A LOT to get me visibly angry. And even then, I'm not the stereotypical "angry Black woman" we've seen for years plastered all over TV and every Madea skit. However, I would be lying if I said I did not harbor some sort of anger on a daily basis. Here's my list of things I'm normally angry at:

• My alarm clock
• Traffic
• Packing
• Stupid ass birds trying to fly into my windshield while I'm trying to mobile twerk
• Universal inequalities
• Being viewed as a default Angry Black Woman
• Being underminded/underestimated

There. This is why I'm angry. Especially those last two. The half-assed permanent scowl I have on my face does not mean I'm angry. It was a defensive mechanism for when I WAS angry all the time. I was weird. I didn't fit in. I felt SUPER alone. My home life SUCKED. My then boyfriend was an idiot. I was shaped like a fucking long piece of plywood. And my periods sucked. Now, it's just there. I'm not angry. I promise. 

When a little anger leads to success!

Many people think black woman are angry because we are often done wrong in some way. If not by our men, our families, then it's by society as a whole. "She's just mad because her man cheated on her." Well...yeah. You wouldn't be? You wouldn't be mad if you're overworked and underpaid trying to take care of your family and they may not appreciate that? You wouldn't be mad about being viewed as a second, or even third rate citizen in you work place despite your well-rounded background? You wouldn't be angry if you had an interest in video games, anime, science fiction, mathematics but everyone thought you were weird or your family just wanted you to be a "normal" girl? If you wouldn't be angry, you're better than me.

What's the point of this? Not all angry Black women are scorned because of love. We don't all suck our teeth, roll are necks, Z-snap, and act foolish in public. If you REALLY analyze the day-to-day life and often struggles related to being a Black woman, you might see why we have a tiny chip on our shoulder.

But hey, for every setback and angry day, I view it as an even greater stepping stone for my growth and development as a human being. A little bit of anger can definitely lead to a ton of success with the right mindset.