As a recent Twitter storm brought attention to social media blackface, Emma Dabiri looks at the cultural history of this racist practice and its links to black women being perceived as sexually available.
has extended to body parts and many of today’s most celebrated beauties are white women with augmented bodies and faces who’ve been cut and carved to produce a facsimile of blackness; pumping their lips and asses full of god knows what, to achieve the same features myself and many others spent years of our lives being bullied for. You couldn’t make it up! Good thing you don’t have to.
Some of these gals are convincing, I'll give them that. These young white women from all over the world are really nailing their transformation from caucasian into seemingly “mixed-race” , through a combination of heavy make-up, hair styles, extreme tanning and, likely, some serious augmenting via apps. With their adjusted complexions, full lips and in some cases, rather rounded posteriors — they blow’s black costume out of the water.
In addition to all of this good stuff were the assumptions about my sexual availability and perceived licentiousness as a black woman. This didn’t only come from men. The recentabout being sexually “attacked” by Lily Allen, really hit home. She reminded me of my numerous encounters where drunk white women have groped me and/or attempted to stick their tongues into my mouth.
However, in the years since that was written , the “skinny white blonde” standard has been somewhat displaced from pole position -- a new beauty standard is emerging and its manifestations are troubling. At this stage in my life I’ve mostly overcome the belief I once had that I was ugly and inadequate. I can recognize the features I was bullied for are -- quite simply -- beautiful. It’s not just me, collectively black women are decolonizing.
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