The Color Commodity

The capital of “experiencing” persons of color

So, hear me out…it’s no secret that women have been acquired and discarded as disposable companions or just short of for centuries, and in today’s age, combating disposability has been woven into the fabric of hookup culture (which some have worked diligently to make synonymous with dating culture). When we think of disposability and its wrongfulness within relationships, we must think of the social merit of one’s identity and how it frames our value and respectability. Identity is background, culture, and race. I think to myself in the effort to establish companionship, what does my identity as a black woman mean for my experience, or better yet, the experience that I serve to others? Let’s talk about the color commodity and the capital of “experiencing” people of color.

In observing how race and cultural background calculate the metric of expendability, it’s interesting to note that many of us don’t recognize the depth of our commodification.