Member-only story
30 Days on Clubhouse
And the app-based abuse of Black women
Is it me, or is there something wrong with the Clubhouse app, something sinister about it that I can’t quite put my finger on? By now, most of you have heard about Clubhouse. The invitation-only audio-chat iPhone app caused a feeding frenzy as 2020 neared an end, becoming quite the conversation starter as interest created an underground market for the coveted Clubhouse invitation. Like a real glutton for digital punishment, I took the bait, jumping headfirst into the world of random audio exchange. In a matter of hours, I was caught in the clubhouse trenches, drawn into dialogue that appeared to be placed there to piss me off.
My hallway felt more like a house of horrors. Black women were the content, the butt of too many demeaning discussions to count. Part of me felt like what else was new, from Facebook to Flickr; this was the reality of being a Black woman in digital spaces. But something about this felt different; perhaps it was the audio or the live studio audience. Black women were at war in these rooms, and I was sucked in and suited up before I knew it. The exchanges were draining, to say the least, often downright disgusting; it was the Black woman’s experience but on speaker where everyone could hear it.
Gaslighting, insults, threats of bodily harm, you name it. Within a week, I’d deleted the app…
