Imagine you just accomplished one of the biggest moments in your career, perhaps in your life. The world is watching, and someone puts a microphone to your mouth. What would you say?

I imagine some people would speak about what it means to accomplish something so monumental. Some people will thank friends, family, or maybe God. Perhaps they’ll do something honorable like call for peace.

Well, we aren’t in that world anymore. Josh Hokit took the opportunity to call former first lady Michelle Obama a man.

He is another white man obsessed with tearing down Michelle Obama. I would say he is telling on himself, but racism and sexism aren’t just accepted in America, it is glorified.

Josh Hokit is a fighter in the UFC, the biggest mixed martial arts promotion in the world. I was once a fan. Unfortunately, I had to give it up as it became more Trump-centered. By the time I stopped, every fighter was praising Trump at the end of their matches, and the camera spent more time on the orange guy than the athletes.

I wasn’t imagining things because fast forward a couple years, and the UFC is at the White House. (For more on the UFC and the White House, check out Kenny Minker’s article here.)

After thanking the Lord, Hokit said, “And lastly, Michelle Obama is a man! Am I right, America?’’

Why, in your biggest moment, are you talking about someone who hasn’t been in office in a decade? They are obsessed. They are envious. The Obamas, and especially Michelle, represent everything they fear.

She is smarter, more elegant, more powerful, better educated, more honorable, and more beautiful than they are. She is all of that despite the disadvantages. She took all the slander and never wrestled in the mud with them. It drives them crazy, so they repeat the same dribble to fill their shriveled genitals with blood.

Black Women and Masculinity

I know many Black women who are concerned with their masculinity. One friend who works out consistently occasionally asks if she is starting to look too manly. Another is worried that she is too independent, thus giving off masculine energy.

I never hear these concerns from white women, and I suspect this is due to how society and the media present each group. Black women are expected to fit into the same box as white women if they want to be categorized as feminine.

However, since slavery, Black women have been put into one of three boxes. They are the desexualized mammy, the hypersexualized jezebel, or the masculine worker. These categories are easier for the ignorant to understand, and it allows them to cling to an archaic narrative that was never true.

Serena Williams, Simone Biles, and Michelle Obama, some of the most successful people in their fields, are all placed into the masculine box.

It reminds me of a conversation I once had with a friend. She asked me about my “type’ of woman. I used the word strong and it frustrated her. She explained how Black women always had to be in their masculine energy because they were always expected to be strong.

I’m speaking from a personal place of ignorance when I say the thing I love the most about Black women is their strength. They darn near bend reality with nothing but willpower. For me, that is purely feminine energy. That is my mother. That is my aunt. These are the women who draw me in as an adult.

However, when the white world is constantly telling you that strength is a masculine trait, it becomes easy to believe it.

Whenever I feel myself buying into the narratives around me, I look to Michelle Obama. She is so strong, but she is so feminine. It is so clear that they are intimidated and envious.

Black Men Can be Idiots, Too

I don’t have a lot of firsthand experience with white men calling Michelle Obama a man. It just isn’t the type of thing they will feel comfortable saying around me, but I have heard Black men attempt to call Black women masculine.

It isn’t common, but the reasoning reveals a lot. It usually happens after a rejection or a breakup. The man either calls her this because he is trying to tear down her physical appearance because she wasn’t interested in him, or he is trying to tear into her independence because she doesn’t need him.

Sadly, sexism isn’t bound by race. I think of how Barack Obama talked with Black men because they were reluctant to vote for Kamala Harris, a Black woman. I think of Derrick Lewis, the Black man who was defeated at the White House by Josh Hokit. No, Lewis wasn’t fighting for Black women. He is just another brainwashed Trump supporter.

Black men could do better when it comes to supporting Black women.

I think the first time I paid attention to Melania Trump was when I saw a picture on social media comparing her to Michelle Obama. It was something about how beautiful and feminine she was.

Melania is the opposite of Michelle in so many ways, but just like these envious white men, she want to be Michelle Obama. Don’t forget, Melania plagiarized Michelle’s speech and presented it as if no one would notice.

So, what is feminine in the eyes of the people who love to call Black women manly? It seems to be quiet, submissive, and ignorant. From my experience, many Black women love to be submissive if someone gives them a reason to trust, but that trust does not come easily. As for that ignorant bit, I’m sure Hokit needs his women to be ignorant to receive any type of attention. He isn’t going to find that with Michelle Obama, and calling her playground names isn’t going to change that.

To anyone who lets these racist, sexist, transphobic comments slip into your brain, remember it comes from a place of envy and insecurity. Dust off your shoulder and pay attention to people who matter.