Parallels
I was told cite black women. We are told to cite black women. Sometimes the words and ideas of black women, when cited, become something else. Sometimes the ideas of black women wear out and wear down even though those narratives provide the clues and instructions to imagine the world anew. Often the words and ideas and brillance of black women remain unread. The words and ideas of black women go uncited.
from Worn Down by Katherine McKittrick
For the most part, I am not discussed in relationship to the word. On several occasions, I have contacted writers to ask why my contribution to this scholarship have been erased. In casual conversations in social space, I am almost never referenced, even if people do decide to mention Moya’s coinage. Most people who know the word have yet to acknowledge how I am involved. While I do not expect anyone to cite my work when discussing their personal experiences with misogynoir in their lives or the lives of people they care about, when these personal experiences become public and/or paid theory, explanation, or analysis of “misogynoir” articles that erase my relationship to this word, then that erasure is also misogynoir.
Trudy in conversation with Professor Moya Bailey