You can believe that race is a social construct, or you can believe that race is a biology, or you can believe that race is both biological and social. I tend to believe itâs both. Genetics work in funny ways – sometimes – but of course race and racism seeps into cultural, political and social life in a million different ways. This is the first time Iâve heard the term âblackfishingâ – apparently, itâs where white women use tanning, hair & makeup trickery to âlook black,â especially online. The idea of blackfishing has been in the news recently because apparently, thereâs a wave of white women and girls on social media who are pretending to be black⌠for, like, attention and profit.
The young woman in these IGs is named Emma Hallberg. Sheâs just 19 years old, and sheâs Swedish and a self-styled âInstagram influencer,â meaning that sheâs got a lot of followers and she posts a lot of stuff about fashion/hair/makeup. Sheâs also white. She was recently âoutedâ as white when someone posted a candid photo of her. Note the stark difference between how she presents herself on Instagram versus how she looks normally.
White girls if you want to pass as Black, how about using your platforms to address the injustices and discrimation actual Black people face. Don't just appropriate, Appreciate the people you are imitating #emmahallberg pic.twitter.com/gpmkvB0BZj
— Niccole Nero Gaines (@2CsNiccole) November 19, 2018
Emma has a bit of Kardashian to her, eh? Initially, Emma addressed the criticism by messaging a fan, writing: âYes Iâm white and Iâve never claimed to be anything else. And by no way, there are no âbeforeâ pictures, the pictures that has been spread are just two diefferent [sic] pictures taken on two different seasons of the year.â Then she went on Instagram Stories with this message:
âLet me explain. Youâve probably seen these two pictures besides [sic] each other all over Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, where they are called the âbefore & after. The left picture was taken 2 years ago right before summer with barely any makeup and my hair straightened. The right picture was taken in July right after I came home from a vacation, with makeup. Iâve been accused of doing frequent spray tans, taking melatonin, getting hair perms and lip injections and many more. When I havenât done anything of the above.â Hallberg then shared a series of recent photos of herself and credited her skin tone to spending a lot of time in the sun. âThis is how the sun tans my skin naturally during the summer.”
As I said at the beginning of this post, I believe race is both a biology and social construct. Of course there are white people with olive skin tones, white people who tan very deeply whenever theyâve been out in the sun, and of course there are white folks with naturally curly hair. There are people who are biologically white who can easily pass for mixed-race or black, just as there are black or mixed race people who can pass for white. So, is that whatâs happening here? Or was Emma hoping that the âI never claimed I was blackâ technicality will get her through? Because she certainly seemed to be presenting herself as a black or mixed-race woman, and this definitely feels like blackfishing (from my understanding of it).
Photos courtesy of Instagram.
It is clear to me that this young caucasian woman intentionally and willfully appropriated the look of a black woman. It actually makes me sick to look at the photos. Black people donât have the option of shedding the color of our skin (nor would I want to) after using it to get âlikes.â
Black people have DIED because of the color of our skin. To hell with this girl.
I guess it’s trendy to look black/mixed black these days.
Naw, Iâm not black but Iâm letting you assume I am….
‘accused me of taking melatonin.’
lolz. she must be sleeeeepy.
Lol đ´
LOL bros I missed that!
Technically she is not trying to look “black ” but biracial/mixed (Note she isn’t rocking a 4c Coily afro or using Mac NC45 makeup).This is a look that unfortunately Black men AND women have put on a pedestal (look at who is fawning over these mixed chics on IG) and white people have said if you are going to be black at least look like this
This is why , we really cannot have a honest discussion about racism without addressing its evil spawn colorism .This sort of stuff just reinforces that.
“Technically she is not trying to look âblack â but biracial/mixed (Note she isnât rocking a 4c Coily afro or using Mac NC45 makeup).”
Bi-racial is a fairly new construct. I have several family members who are not bi-racial who also have fair or light tan skin (me included) with loose curls. Please know that there are many Black women who identify who can look like this and have two black parents. Just a heads up.
@Nicole
I specifically said biracial/ mixed which would include MGM (multi generational mixed ) or light skin blacks . I am a black women with every single shade and hair texture in my family so I dont need a ” heads up ”
My salient point still stands this type of thing is also very much about colorism and the “right kind of black ” being elevated on SM and elsewhere
How is biracial a fairly new construct? It just replaced mulatto thatâs all.
@NOTHISAGAIN
+100000
Colorism perpetrated by Hollywood (including Black actors/directors/producers) is part of the problem. POC being programmed to worship Blackness only when it comes with Caucasia features and hair. Just line up pics of successful WOC actresses and musiciansâ-same hue and âexoticâ features. Some White Women notice and those without scruples use it to make money. But heads are buried in the sand about both racism and Colorism.
This site makes me so happy. This is an awful subject, but having a place to go where people understand is big. Having people like Girl Ninja and all of the Black women and white allies and all of the Mexicanas here who understand cultural appropriation is wonderful. Living as a White-looking Mexican woman with a mixed race, African-American child, these have been issues in my life since I was a child. I am so grateful that you all are here. My poor kid was screamed at to âgo back to her countryâ, we are many generations of Americans on both sides. This White girl doesnât understand the challenges that come with being a minority, and this is sickening. I love you folks even though I donât know you personally because I can talk with you and feel understood about these issues.
I heart this comment so much. I usually only lurk, and only comment when I feel *strongly* pulled. But one of the things I love about this site is that the writers seem to get a lot of things about the subtlety of racism, ageism, ableism, and sexism (and all their intetsections and crossections!) that mainstream media treats as either completely foreign concepts, or complaints that are held by such a minor fraction of the populace that they can be ignored. And so many of the comments are even better! It gives me hope that there is truly a better human nature that can be appealed to in our current f-ed up sociopolitical landscape.
This! I am a white woman from a North European country which is not racially diverse at all. So many issues about race have been difficult for me to understand for the very same reason – I have no experience (personal or social).
This community here has educated me so much and made me look at things so differently. I absolutely love the discussions here which come down to the point and never become a personal attack when someone has a different opinion.
Thank you all!
An incredibly gross situation made more gross by her playing the victim for being outed. Instagram should ban her.
@Megan – yes. This. I thought of Rachel Dolezal, which seemed like an anomalous situation, but now along comes this chick, leaving me scratching my head. Is taking cultural appropriation to another level for personal benefit some sort of new and icky thing? (Hopefully, no.)
@cannibel you wouldnât believe how many comments on the celebface insta post on this were like, Rachel Dolezal isnât even that bad, at least sheâs celebrating Black culture!!! Smdh
I agree, this is disgusting. Especially the fact that she’s trying to claim that’s her hair’s natural curliness and tan! And please, look at those pictures side by side – she didn’t get lip injections just like Kylie didn’t get lip injections.
I guess, unfortunately, it’s not surprising that things have gone this route – I thought for a long time that Kim Kardashian was mixed (white and black) before I found out that she was actually white and Armenian. Khloe and Kylie also use surgery and makeup to look mixed, and Kylie isn’t even part Armenian! Celebrities definitely started using surgery to look more “ethnic” or whatever you want to call it, so it’s not surprising that influencers who are trying to be as famous are trying to emulate the same looks.
But it’s really gross and inappropriate.
Alissa, Armenians are white though, unless you’re going to go around calling Clem from Westworld a woc. White doesn’t just mean Nordic.
I’m black and my skin is lighter than this girl’s. Who is she kidding?
^^ agreed, However, Its not just this woman who is to blame, it is the companies who knowingly allow her to endorse their products- often to make themselves look like they are more diverse. If you want to stop blackfishing- go after the companies who are paying her to racially appropriate in this manner. Pressure them to endorse women of color instead.
Emma Halberg is obviously pig ignorant in everything except tanning techniques.
this girl has some issues, for sure. but there’s no way she’s doing this to harm black people in any way. she must be thinking that that fake tan makes her look sexy and that’s why she’s doing it. maybe she’s seen some darker skinned women who got attention and now she tries to get it too. what I’m sure of is that that’s a psychological problem and has nothing to do with social issues or black people.
Itâs not really attention sheâs after but $$$$. Sheâs making profit from passing black on Ig while living her days being a white girl with all the privileges that it entails.
since when were swedish peeps anything but blonde?
@bek, non-Swedish person here, though my step dad was Swedish. He told me that it’s a common misconception that Swedish people are all blonde – in fact they tend to be brunettes and Norwegians are really the giant, blonde hair, blue-eyed people that Swedes are often confused with.
Emma Halberg’s appropriation of black culture is obvious, offensive and deeply disturbing. Please don’t insult our intelligence with “I tan deeply” smdh
As it has been mentioned here so many times – not all black people look the same. It appears to the swedish people as well – they are not all blondes with blue eyes. It is a stereotype.
Swedish is a nationality, you can be any colour. Also stereotyping.
Oh hell no! She is absolutely using the black culture to her benefit. Even if she does tan that deeply naturally she is using makeup techniques, clothing and filters to achieve the black culture asthetic which she obviously thinks is sexier than her regular Becky ass ways. She is fetishizing black women but not acknowledging all the black women struggle. They are not costumes!!! Iâm Latina and it drives me nuts when white women wear traditional Mexican clothes and donât even get me started on Cinco De Mayo.
Its not just white woman, Kevin Harts recent cowboys and indians party for his kid proves that.
Gurl, yes.
I mean it’s so obvious IDK why she is bothering to deny it…she should just own it FFS.
Disgusting, appalling and just really uncool. This is also why I roll my eyes when Europeans people try to make it seem like racism and cultural appropriation are uniquely American problems.
And apparently she has a BF who does the same thing or..? Look at the first comment underneath LOL: https://www.instagram.com/p/BipiSFDAbw_/
IDK whether the dude is white or brown or what. Still…it’s all a bad look.
Um, do you keep up with EU politics or politcal discourse? I do not know what kind of Europeans you are referring to, but I am preeeeetty sure that most os us “Europeans” (you realize that we are not one country, right??) would agree that several Europeans countries currently have major issues with immigration policy, hate crimes and a general hostile climate towards foreigners.
#NotAllEuropeans
Um. People on this board all the time. ALL. THE. TIME. Canadians, too.
I have literally seen countless comments here about America’s racism and “we don’t have that problem here”. Usually used as an excuse to dismiss or ignore racism.
Sorry you don’t see it. Maybe you should pay more attention because the cognitive dissonance is pretty glaring. If your country made millions of dollars from the Transatlantic slave trade then you can thank racism for your country’s wealth, straight-up.
Ugh. Yes, I know that Europe is not one country so please save your patronizing tone. I’m both a French and American citizen and have traveled many times (and extensively) all over the continent. On that note, half my family is in France and my older relatives don’t think racism against blacks is a problem in France.
Thanks for playing though.
@saho, as a EU citizen I don’t have a problem with Kitten referring to Europeans. Yes, we all have our national identities but there are some things that are European Union problems and our politicians on a global scale. When it comes to racism I think we should be frank and admit that there has been a lot of fear promotion and extreme and radical opinnions are so easily taking over. Europe is becoming a right wing center. I actually find the situation in all the EU countries scary atm. The immigration policy especially and it should be considered a subject for all Europeans to be aware of and educated on the subject, not just percieved through how several countries are taking care of it. I do believe we will only be seeing how things will develop in the future.
Kitten, thanks for schooling the ânot meâ Europeans. The denial is striking. Your relatives in France sound like some of mine here. Some of my family deny racism, too. They donât really view it as effecting them, so who cares? And some of my cousins are pissed that brown people donât always accept that us white-looking Mexicans are Mexican; people who canât pass KNOW that whiteness greases the wheels. Hell, how can you not see it? Iâve watched racists treat me like a queen because they didnât know that I was with the Black woman who was just treated like dirt. They donât get it. Whiteness has advantages all over the world because of the colonialism and established economic power structures .
I recently just got in an argument with my french/english bro-in-law (who lives in asia) about this. he was telling how americans are so racist…blah, blah, blah. of course i pointed out that europeans are just as racist and xenophobic. um, hello, like brexit never happened. look at how brits treat polish people. i’m a brit-thai-frenchie who was born and raised in the us, i’ve experienced racism/xenophobic/colorism in the us, europe, asia, etc…
geez Kitten you do realise what a hornets nest you’ve stirred up referring to “Europeans” – Im from Oz and even I know many find that offensive. (makes me giggle though, payback for the convict comments)
UPDATE: On IG his sister says she is “mixed”.
Yes. She is a mix of Caucasian, White, hubris, self-tanner, and bronzer. She truly represents the diaspora.
@SlightlyAnonny I’m cackling! You hit it on the head
SlightlyAnony: She truly represents the diaspora. HILARIOUS.
SlightlyAnony – you win!!! Seriously, aside from their jobs, she’s no different than that Dolezal chick.
Yeah, Swedes can become quite tan (Alicia Vikender for instance) but câmon! Donât tell me itâs all natural and no self-tanner was involved.
Thatâs about the most ânaturalâ she looks on her Ig feed, her hair and her tan in most of her pics are definitely altered to pass for a WOC
https://www.instagram.com/p/BMcZl2cACVY/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=r3cfjp3ckhp0
Lmao. The comments on her Instagram are hilarious. âYouâre a goddess!â with some âcracker ass bitchâ sprinkled in.
Vikander excessively uses bronzer as well, she’s doing the same thing on a different level, (trying o look more “exotic”, so she isn’t swallowed up in the sea of all the other white, doe-eyed actresses) which is what annoyed me about her in the first place. She’s not a good counter example.
Arpeggi, if you look at the date of the photo it is in November, which is plenty of time to lose the summer tan. Most of her darker photos correspond with summer months and lighter photos correspond with other seasons where you would not have a tan.
Alicia Vikander was the original prototype for this trend. The exact same excuse of “tans deeply in summer” has been used for her!
Mindy really, the clothes? I donât know a single Mexican that is not proud of people appreciating and wearing embroidered blouses and other ethnic stuff. The exception are particular things that symbolize status, like some details in the leadersâ clothing, but otherwise it is an important way for the women to make money, they supoort their families that way and I am a frequent wearer (I am meztiza) and never ever ask them to lower the price in what they make to sell.
Ennie, you are correct. Mexicans are accepting and are pretty open. Mexican Americans, however, get to watch white chicks not wear the clothes with pride, like you do. Many become Frieda to be someone else they donât feel free to be as themselves, and they sexualize us. I stopped dating white men 30 years ago because they always wanted to start with sex. And touching me. Gross. I was âso exoticâ because I look white but have big lips and hair. I hated that crap. I am now married to the ONE white guy I let in 30 years later because He isnât a racist jerk.
Christina, it is quite sad whatvyou tell me is happening, I know many foreigner, even tho I donât live in a regular expat hub, like San Miguel de Allende or Guadalajara, I know people from there, mostly ESL teachers and many of them wear and appreciate the clothes , the culture a bit less so, I think , since many of them refuse to learn the language. still, Mexican embroidery is fabulous, I wish every one of you Celebicthes could have a beautifulf item of clothing from my land, the hands of thise hardworking ladies can do (and some men!, one of my male students designs and does embroidery , too)
Yes! Thank you for pointing this out. It’s not just her coloring or the texture she puts in her hair, it’s her stylistic choices that together are a cause for concern. She’s out here trying to look like a round the way girl so she can miss me with the blink blink who me?
I would have never guessed that was the same person. Wow
She just looks insanely different. The bait & switch is real
+1
All the teenagers in my fam are so hooked on Insta and I keep on telling them how fake / photoshopped etc. everything is. Grrrr, it makes me really stabby.
I used to be on Insta, mostly for makeup looks, and then I got so sick of the fake airbrushed, ‘perfect’, highlighted, drawn on eyebrows, overlined lips, layers of caked on foundation, perfectly contoured crap. I can’t handle it. Those makeup looks do NOT translate well into real life. I saw a woman at the grocery store with ‘insta makeup’ on, with tons of contour and highlighter and it was atrocious in the lighting. I want to look like me, not someone else, so I stopped following makeup gurus on instagram. It’s such a bad example for young girls that you need to apply 30 different products and make yourself look completely different to be ‘beautiful’. I’m over it. This woman is a perfect example of that look and it’s so obvious she is trying to look black.
Khloe, Kylie and Kim probably DMed her to know how she does it.
Creepy…there are pics of her where she looks like a regular white girl.
It’s sad to me whenever someone feels the need to change their physical looks so much they look like another person. She just strucks me as a very insecure person.
She does look like she’s presenting herself as black but it’s really hard to be certain. To look at her without seeing the before photo, I wouldn’t have known what race she was. I think it’s pretty sad that people feel the need to cover themselves in so much fake tan and can’t be comfortable in their own skin though. Saying that, she has incredible make up skills.
I doubt it has anything to do with insecurity. I think itâs just more profitable for her not to be another Becky.
If abusing a shiny highlighter to the point of looking oily all the time is an “incredible makeup skill”…..
She looks like her highlighter was put on by Thomas Kincade.
Bwahahaha, Sassy! That made me cackle!
Sooooo very disturbing!!!! She is sooooo clueless and totally intentional does this for attention and profit. I agree with the first two commenters Girl Ninja and Mindy 100%.
So they want the aesthetic but none of the injustices of being a person of color? Gtfo
Aesthetic and the Dollars! I think the KardashianJenners made it obvious that it is very profitable for white women to steal from black and mixed women.
Exactly! If one is dying to be black then they should experience all the racism and prejudice that comes with it.
Stop this Emma.
This is gross. I am an Ariana Grande fan, but she does this even more (or at least as much as) Kim K, and it’s quite offputting. She doesn’t get nearly as much crap for it though. Everyone on Instagram seems to be going for that ethnically ambiguous/exotical/am-I-or-am-I-not-black look.
Especially with that last photo, this girl knows exactly what kind of look she’s going for. The Kardashians have young women out here thinking that feigning Blackness and purchasing Black features is the latest “trend”. They probably don’t even know how problematic they are. They’re just jacking a “look”.
I am glad Girl_Ninja got the first comment on this post
Ariana Grande is Hispanic, isnât she? And she doesnât seem to me to appropriate black culture.
Shes from Italian decent. She got a lot of plastic surgery to get that look
She is Italian.
I went to a Mexican art night at our local musuem here in Sacramento with one of my mexican girlfriends and we saw a bunch of white girls dressed as Frida Khaloâs. They ran around the dance floor dancing provocativly and overly sexual. We could not roll our eyes enough at those âFridaâsâ. No appreciation of our culture and ancestors and imitating us by acting overtly sexual and vulgar on the dance floor was insulting. Idiots.
Then we saw a bunch of drunk white people whooping and hollering with some native american dancers. We stood back and watched everything and it was uncomfortable. These white people were geniunely excited about Mexican and Native American culture but there seemed to be this underlying disrespect for the cultures. It felt off
From my white view, Ariana Grand looks like hundreds of south Italian girls. just by looking at her, I would not think WOC but Mediterranean.
The girl above in her Instagram pictures looks like a WOC to me and that is, at least in my understanding, purposely feigning blackness. And the excuses that she is just “tanned” are completely stupid. There are european women who get a dark tan, but tan does not chance the features the way she changed hers.
look at photos of ariana back when she was a teen – sheâs naturally quite pale and has curly dark brown hair. she looks very different with her tan and light, straight hair now.
Guys, I am quite aware that she’s Italian. She is as Italian as I am. Ariana is NOT a dark skinned Italian as a quick Google image search will make clear. Using being Italian as an excuse is no different than Kim K using her Armenian heritage as an excuse for her increasingly audacious blackfacing/brownfacing. Ariana got her dark skin tone from a bottle (more like a jug) of spray tan, not from her genetics.
This is an interesting read for anyone who cares: https://cultplastic.com/2017/12/14/blackface-and-pop-princesses-a-brief-genealogy/
As I said, I like Ari…but it is what it is.
Please correct me if I am wrong, I always thought the problem is either with white women appropriating traditional styles like cornrows or dressing up as a geisha, or with white women creating the illusion to be a WOC, or both together like Kim K.
When I look at the picture of the woman above my first impression is WOC, same with current photos of Kim K. When I look at Ariana Grande my first impression is Mediterranean and not trying to pretend to be another race.
Lara – I agree that Ari stops short of what this Swedish woman is doing, but if you look at her Instagram, she has some photos where she is a dead ringer for Ari. The link Jessica shared is really interesting – Ariana apparently answers questions about her race or ethnicity not by confirming she is white, but by saying she is half Sicilian, half Abruzzeese. I liked this quote: “Rather, another mode of transraciality materializes as not so much a complete transition from black to white or vice versa, but it relies on ambiguity and ambivalence, on a sort of racial and sexual exotification that sells in pop culture.”
As far as Kim Kardashian and her crew – no doubt there is something fishy afoot there. However, I’d note that having friends who are Armenian, and being of primarily Turkish descent myself, at least when we were kids there was a question of whether we were “really white” – to the point where I was teased about it. KKW has mentioned this before in relation to her being half-Armenian. That being said, the big lips/full booty surgery — in addition to the endless appropriation — suggests she took that “otherness” in the really questionable direction of appropriating African American culture.
F*ck this Emma chick.
First thank you for the link Jessica, I finally found the time to read it.
I did not realize the many ways blackness was appropriated by white artist, I only looked at the obvious cases like Kim K with the skin color she could never achieve naturally and the cornrows but not at the more subtle ways.
The only point where I still disagree is the sentence “never explicitly saying that sheâs white (Italian) but always insisting that sheâs half Sicilian and half Abruzzese to play with this racial indeterminacy” sind Sicily and the Abruzzen are both part of Italy.
A million thumbs up.
I also like Ariana Grande, but that is EXACTLY what she is doing. Agree with the Vikander comment – she’s also doing the same, on a smaller scale.
TBH, It’s also what the majority of celebrities do – they fetishize and appropriate other cultures (even if it’s culture within their own countries, within their own cities, but outside of what they have ever known). Rita Ora is another very clear example in my mind. Jim Sturgess, who I can’t stand, has basically made his career by being the go-to Asian replacement white guy.
It happens in pretty much every continent – but, and this is the crux of the problem – the only consistent cultural ‘punching bag’, the only consistent cultural appropriation, denial of representation, denial of acknowledging the whole of the cultural experience that is common in every continent, is to BLACK PEOPLE. The ‘korean wave’ music through western teens is so tied up in ensuring no black people are present. “Rappers” who get famous with the tiniest discography, overnight are white (Iggy Azalea, yet another example of also altering her style and image to be ‘black’ without being black).
The ridiculous ‘I don’t see colour, and if you do, you’re being racist’ is just another way to avoid facing the very real effects of racism. It might be what you want in the ideal world, but that’s not where we live, and to ignore historical abuses, the meaning and origins of customs and what’s going on right now to deny equality and even a right to exist without immediate abuse is to be the worst kind of privileged and exploitative.
This woman is disgusting, and she is obviously lying. Why lie? Because they don’t want to give any acknowledgement to the culture they exploit and profit off. That’s racism, plain and simple.
Holy crap! I didnât know this was a thing. I wonder what all the pro cultural appropriation commenters from the Mexico/Jennifer Lawrence think of this.
I commented on that thread. Those outfits come from European influence and were worn by mestizo people, currently most charros are well- to do people with mostly Hispanic heritage. Anyway, I donât really care for people wearing what is called âropa tĂpicaâ, actually lots of native women make a living supporting their families out of it as well as doing crafts to sell. I am frequently traveling to states where this is a normal occurrence and I have never heard that they dislike people wearing their huipiles or dresses, from Chiapas, Oaxaca, Michoacan, Yucatan, etc. . I despise people that ask them to lower their prices and prefer to eait to buy directly from the maker than from thise who buy in bulk cheap from them to make a profit, taking advantage of them. In an upper comment someone mentioned girls looking like they were impersonating Frida, I donât like impersonation even by Mexicans, especialy used with commercial purposes as it has become a fad of sorts alike wearing sugar skull makeup as if it were a tradition (itâs a new âtraditionâ (eye roll). Things like changing your personal appearance to copy a different, more vulnerable group or ethnicity for monetary gain is absolutely reprehensible.
There was a case of another white female “influencer” who photo shopped her eye lids out to look Asian. Her fans were shocked to learn she wasn’t who she portrayed.
Also Black Cyna does something similar by being the face of certain skin bleaching products in Nigeria. I’m African and mixed race and was shocked to read how popular such things are in some African countries.
These cases are just sad all around. Love and embrace the skin/race you are no matter what.
Theres this insta/youtuber girl (simplykenna) or something that does the same thing but with Japanese themes. She uses filters to look pale.
I have so much anger about this. As a White woman she is just average. Pretty but nothing special. But as a Black woman she is gorgeous and an influencer! Ummmm, yes, because of what people believe are the European influence on the African genes. People are so messed up.
The worst kind of cultural appropriation is when White people steal from Black culture. Because no one even tries to make it right. No one talks about the beauty of American Black Culture or how we want to pay homage to the influences of Black culture in modern day America. I am so tired of people taking from Black culture and using Black culture, looks, music, style, fashion influences, etc on one hand and then mocking and denigrating us on the other.
Let’s see how Black you want to be when you’re being followed around a store or have to ask to have a $2.00 jar of hair gel unlocked at your local drug store. I won’t even speak of the beloved souls who have been martyred at the hands of the police for nothing more than being not White.
Bye, Felicia!
@ Alyssa- THIS, +1,000,000. Thank you, next to to this Becky/the Kartrashians/etc.
Preach Alyssa!
As a bi-racial woman, It infuriated me when Rachel Doezel claimed to be bi-racial black…. No B*tch you’re not… you can’t just slap on some spray tan, get a perm and pretend to be who you aren’t.
It really is disrespectful, these people really don’t KNOW what its like to be of the race they are appropriating, so they need to stop, apologies when they are exposed, and live like their authentic selves there after.
Very well said Alyssa.
thank you for explaining it so well.
I am a white woman, and this helped me get over my tone deafness to this.
Thanks!
Preach, Alyssa!!!! THANK YOU!!!
It’s true, and the fact that most of the really famous POC celebrities and ‘influencers’ are mixed and ambiguous looking is a testament to the creepy fascination with that look. I’ve experienced it myself, and I admit that while it can be uncomfortable, there’s another part that’s gratifying, especially when you feel ostracized from your two (or more) cultures in daily life. ‘Well at least people find me attractive’ has run through my head here and there. I fully acknowledge that this is messed up!
Have you read the article that talked about multiple influencers doing this? It wasn’t just her, and it makes me absolutely sick to my stomach that these women who have ZERO understanding of what it’s like to be black in the world would treat it like a costume for profit.
Sheâs 100% doing it for attention. I read elsewhere that she liked being retweeted by accounts that celebrate black makeup trends and fashion – run by women who are actually black. She should have set the record straight.
Aside from my disgust, my other thought is how these fakers operate in real life. Do they just one day decide they want to appear black and all their friends and family go along with it? Itâs so messed up.
I think they think black is beautiful, which it most definitely is. But it just comes across as so racist. White girls who can go back to looking white when it suits them.
Yeah, scrolling through her Instagram, she went to PROM like this?? How did her classmates not call her the f*ck out on this bullshit??
Itâs not so much for attention as it is for profit and thatâs where it really hurts. Especially when you consider the pay gap between white women and WOC. This girl gets praised and profits of passing black, but doesnât have to suffer the prejudices WOC are experiencing regularly because all she has to do is shower in makeup remover and sheâll get all the privileges of being white again. Itâs gross.
When did it become de-rigeur to have a face so shiny you could send aircraft off course? Seriously I’ve just checked her instagram and each cheekbone has shine like a cartoon balloon. I don’t get it (grumpy gen Xer here)
I hate the contour/highlight trends. So stupid looking.
Highlighting one’s nose is particularly odd, IMO. I mean, it’s in the middle of your face, we all have one, why does it need MORE attention drawing to it? Everytime I see someone who’s done it it makes me think of the muller light yoghurt adverts with Nicole Scherzinger! Oops, I have yoghurt on my nose!
YES!
Thank you, I’ve been wondering the same thing for years (just like when the “dewy” look became popular in the late 90’s/early 2000’s as Clean and Clear was shilling oil blotting sheets). How is highlighter a thing? I remember going to raves with glittery cream on some parts of my body over 15 years ago, but I never wore it in public because it was very stripperesque. I’m baffled by the look. Just like clear heels/sandals.
It. Does not. Make. Sense.
Like, a little bit of highlighter, OK sure. Accentuate your cheekbones or brow bones , fine. Your nose?? Just weird. (Disclaimer: obviously everyone is free to wear what makeup they want blah blah, I just think it looks insane)
I said the same above. This shit and the stenciled eyebrows will be laughed at in a few years. Glad I’m old enough to not get sucked into these horrible trends.
Oh the brows! This Emma person’s do at least look like they may involve some actual hair somewhere, so there’s that I suppose. I don’t wear make-up usually (just for evenings out, as it gives me spots) and when I do I always feel majorly self-conscious about blowing my nose or rubbing my face at all. Wearing that much slap has got to do terrible things to your towels!
I refuse to put down my highlighter! That said – it’s not even vaguely in the same universe as the instagram highlighter. I’m super pale, and finding one light enough is hard to begin with – but even then I have a light hand because I just want a hint of sheen. I look much less like death warmed over if I use it.
Do NOT even start me on the garish eyebrows that are all the rage. Mostly they are like train wrecks and I cannot look away they are SO bad.
@Lakota Your comments made me choke on my coffee. đ
let them live lol
if they want to glow like a disco ball, that’s their prerogative
This is awful and she is a liar.
Iâm mixed race (german/Irish/Jamaican) Iâm basically the colour of her âafterâ photo and find this disgusting. What a sad girl Iâm telling u. But also like someone said above she can decide to take her black off essentially when itâs not fitting for her and what when our culture is no longer âtrendyâ just go back to whatever her nationality is. Wow she grossed me out this morning
Rachel Dolezal V2
She clearly paints her skin with brown girl foundation and tries to pass as a black girl.
She must look like a freak in person with all the obvious skin paint, greasy highlighter. I imagine in person she looks like she is in a costume.
I saw that there was a video of her actually putting on several shades darker foundation, it was really bizarre.
Also, I like using highlighter, but she goes WAY above and beyond and it’s every single time she uses makeup, she just has a gold streak on her chin, nose, and cheekbones. It looks pretty funny.
I think there is a difference between making a conscious decision to look at certain way (and taking steps to do that) vs. other people just making those presumptions FOR you. Example: My family is mixed race, as I’ve said before. My dad is a Native American man and my mom is German. My youngest sister has the white girl in the winter/native in the summer thing going. By August, she’s dark. A lot of people will think she’s partially black, Latino, etc. She gets a lot of racial confusion in the summer. But here’s the rub: she isn’t courting that. It’s a presumption others make. She isn’t styling herself to pass as anything, she’s just being herself. We can’t control the projections others put upon us.
This girl, I look at her pictures, and it’s pretty clear (to me, at least) that she’s going beyond that. She is styling her hair in a way that suggests she’s shooting for styles traditionally associated with black women. Her makeup seems done to exaggerate certain features to suggest she’s black (mainly her lips – look at that candid pic, she is absolutely over lining and filling those lips). It just, taken all together, seems calibrated to give the suggestion of blackness.
Exactly. My brother and I are the same – people have thought we were black – especially as children before the days of regular sunscreen use! They used to ask my red-headed mom if we were adopted. But it’s never been something we were asking for in any particular way. Now – thanks to some DNA analysis – we’ve learned we have recent Subsaharan African DNA along with Northern African and Middle Eastern DNA but that doesn’t change the fact that we are culturally and for all practical purposes – white people.
What this woman is doing is purposeful to say the least. Maybe she’s not “trying to be black,” but she certainly is taking everything about blackness and trying to profit from it, without actually having to live it.
Yup. I have a good friend who is one quarter Portuguese and he could be mistaken for being half black, especially in the summer. But he’s not trying to “pass” as anything or capitalize – he’s just existing.
That troubled young lady is deliberately misleading people into thinking she’s someone she’s not, and presumably it’s for profit or she’s trying to be “sexier.” Ugh.
I guess these people have always existed, and social media shines a light on their actions and magnifies it? For some reason that makes me feel better than thinking the whole world is now going to heck in a handbasket. đ
Yup – Even if you believe she tans to this perfect brown color, her hair and makeup completely give away what she’s trying to do.
Sam The Pink, yes! This is our familyâs story, too. And I am mistaken for Hawaiian, Creole, all sorts of stuff. Iâm not trying to look like anybody, but itâs important to many people that my daughter and I be âcategorizedâ when they meet us. âYou have a great, exotic look. What ARE you?â
Yes! My father is full blood Cherokee and my mom is a mix of European (Polish, Irish, Italian). People used to mistake me for Mexican or Spanish regularly, but not as much now that I regularly straighten my hair. I get asked fairly regularly “what’s your ethnicity?” instead. I get very tan in the summer, and in the winter I have a very slight perma-tan and general olive tone to my skin.
And honestly I feel uncomfortable calling myself biracial, even though I am, because I am white passing and I don’t want to take away from Indian people who have experienced racism that I haven’t.
Her behavior is clearly cultural appropriation for fame and fortune. See Al Jolson.
Yep. It is a tiny step away from blackface.
wow, I’m seriously sickened by this. I don’t care what she says, you can not not be aware of taking it this far.On the other side, I think, if she’s appropriating anyone it’s the Kardashian clan, so that makes if it even worse if you know what I mean. So many superficial young women out there, admired by many other young women. It’s a bit scary.
So getting that tan also means you just happen to âplayâ at being black!? Disgusting. My brother and I also tan deeply (thanks to a crazy mishmash of genetics) but that has never led us to try to âpassâ as black which is CLEARLY what this lady is doing. Ridiculous.
Will I ever stop being surprised by people doing this? No. It’s mind boggling, insulting and racist.
She is definitely blackfishing! I’m born and raised in Florida so I love to tan and be tan but I have never, ever tried to alter my hair or makeup etc. to appear to be a POC. She is wrong for this. Also, delusional for that matter.
I bet her bed sheets are disgusting
As someone who spray tans fairly frequently AND has purple/magenta hair I can assure you, yes! Her sheets and towels and a disaster!
I’ve got blue ends – I had to just give up and buy some black towels and black pillow cases. My poor tub is quite blue, but it’s also going to be replaced soon.
I feel like melatonin was not the word she was looking for.
So she was being accused of taking a natural sleep aid to achieve that skin tone? đ đ¤
Think the spray tan is seeping through the brain. Melanin not melatonin đ¤Śđťââď¸
She fell asleep in the tanning bed perhaps?
This is disgusting, don’t celebrate, modernize, or plain out steal from a culture or race and then not give a crap about the injustices that are happening to them. We are not a costume you can use for your gain. We are people who are being persecuted and killed, but nothing is being done to stop these things much less by the people who claim that they aren’t stealing but celebrating or modernizing aspects. They don’t care when a black security guard is killed by police when he is saving others, they don’t care when a black man is killed in his own apartment by a police officer, when a black teen is killed walking home. Them going on Instagram and Twitter and saying black lives matter isn’t enough. Vote for candidates who will change our country, go out and protest, donate and volunteer with charities and organizations that are helping and impacting change. That is caring and celebrating a culture/ and or Race, not profiting from it and not giving a damn what they actually are going thru.
Her and Kim Kardashian have A LOT in common don’t they? Kim does this all the time.
yeah, there’s been a few times where I find it very interesting that Kim and her children have essentially the same skin tone. Like…what.
Is anyone here from Sweden? I am interested to hear how Swedish people view her and her conduct.
I’m swedish, but I might be the wrong person to answer your question. I come from a part of Sweden where almost everyone is white, and most of my friends are white swedes. This is the first I have heard about this girl, and I haven’t heard the term blackfishing before. To be honest, I don’t think cultural or ethnic appropriation is something that most swedes think about or even know about. It’s not okay, and it’s not an excuse, but it might be an explanation?
Iâve seen some blonde Swedes with very deep natural tans – itâs a genetic thing. (Iâm mostly Irish and just burn.) But itâs an evolutionary advantage in Sweden to be able to switch so easily – impossibly long dark periods in winter and impossibly long light periods in summer.
But her coloring seems different to me. Is it still a possibility for a Swedish sun worshipper? She may also be using makeup to enhance features to look more African. But maybe the skin color isnât as impossible as an American might think? Have you seen anybody with that kind of tan in Sweden before?
@Jwoolman her tan isn’t that deep, she has a YouTube video where she applies her foundation several shades darker to achieve her look
https://youtu.be/9mcv1j_kjlc
Jwoolman, if I met her in Sweden I’d assume that she’s either not born in Sweden or that a parent or grandparent is from another country. Even if she tans easily, I think that she had some help getting that shade (but i don’t know her heritage or how much time she spends tanning đ , so it’s just a guess). Her hair and lips though could absolutely be from purely Swedish heritage (at least in older pics) .
That is what I was wondering, if there is maybe so little diversity where she is living that no one there can conceive of it as an issue or is calling her out on it sooner than now.
God people! Get over these petty bullshit appropriation arguments. Our fucking country is burning and we need to get past picking people apart and give each other some love and space and join against a cruel land in democratic administration. Have you seen Lilâ Kim? Does her bleached skin, blue eyes lenses and blond her make her white fishing? Sheâs just going with a look that suits her. This girl likes to get all tanned and dark like many Euro chicks because tanned is. Thing. She didnât say she was black. Stop the labels already.
Wow, you could be the poster child for being ignorant.
Did you fall for the drain the swamp thing too?
You know we CAN be angry about the country and angry at people appropriating culture at the same time, right? We can also walk and chew gum too!
Lil’ Kim did not make her career out of pretending to be a white woman so that’s a false equivalency.
I’ have a lot of thoughts about this that I’m still processing.
I was actually waiting for a Celebitchy post about Kevin Hart’s “Cowboys and Indians” theme party that was problematic as well.
Oh stop it. I’m of Norwegian stock myself, and yeah I tan in a couple of minutes.
This one is mimicking appearance tropes in order to make her look of a race she’s not. When Lil’Kim puts on blue contacts she doesn’t want to pass as white, she’s putting on a costume. This girl is different – she’s an interloper.
Kris: outting herself as being too pea-brained to think about more than one problematic thing at a time. I know it’s hard, girl, but you can fit a couple more thoughts in your brain if you really try.
You are so loud and wrong on so many levels. I am a black woman and I’m telling you that the BS this “influencer” is pulling is part of the discourse of western cultural hegemony: the idea that you can be vilified and marginalized for BEING an actual person of color while a WHITE person, a member of the dominant culture, can co opt aspects of your culture and even your very physiology and not only get praised for it, but PROFIT from it. She’s not merely tanning her skin, she’s deliberately presenting herself with physical markers of a certain segment of POC. It’s not OK for her to treat our skin as a costume and it needs to be called out – but by all means you go ahead and talk over the people that are actually hurt by this crap.
And for the record, lil kim has carved up her face and bleached her skin because she’s been made to believe that the wide nose and dark brown skin she was born is ugly. Sort of ironic that she’s going for a look similar to this silly swedish girl: just a little bit black – but not toooo black, of course. Wouldn’t ever want to be that. SMH.
Lob it, exactly!!! Lil Kim kept getting left by guys for girls who were light skinned and long haired, so she altered her beauty. She was so beautiful. Seeing her face now after knowing her music and face when she first came out makes me so sad. When she revealed this, I just wanted to hug her, but my fan love isnât going to make her love herself when this happens to her.
She doesnât look like someone who can pass as mixed race. She looks like a normal Caucasian brunette.
Also I am a mixed raced person with one Scandinavian parent and I spent a lot of time there growing and now the region well . And let me tell you white people in Scandinavia can NOT pass as black..Also they are generally liberal and very good on feminism but really clueless about race.
I don’t know what “normal Caucasian brunettes” you know, but she looks absolutely nothing like any of the ones I know. Her “before” photo looks like a standard Caucasian brunette. If I didn’t know, and I saw her instagram, I would think she was biracial.
Is this a joke? She looks like a white person with dark hair. Thereâs absolutely no way sheâs looks like mixed raced looking in her before photo. Not sure what caused your bitchy response to my post but this woman isnât biracial and her before and after photos are extremely different ( including black face, lips, hair etc ) so your opinion on her before photo is kinda beside the points. This is clearly cultural appropriation.
What an entitled idiot.
Wow. This is really helpful for girls of all colors. So glad these role models are out there…. :-[
I am so relieved to see that most commenters are seeing this minstrel BS for what it is.
Well hello, Rachel Dolezal 2.0! So politically and economically, you want to shut down immigration but your culture’s too dry to go without POC’s? Obviously shit is bad when you have to go this far to get a guys attention. I don’t care, let these weak imitators at it and let’s see how far they get. This should be funny. These kinds of people have no idea how stupid they look.
I only have a short break at work so I have not read all the comments yet. Please donât hurt me, but if this is how she feels most beautiful, so be it. As long as she does not claim to be black or mixed race and is not using her fake race for profit (like that Rachel Dozel chick- who I believe is as offensive as she is mentally ill), I say go for it! As a pale white woman, I will admit to spray tanning and getting lip injections to make myself look and feel better. I do not see how that is any different from black women straightening their hair, adding bleach blonde extensions and getting nose jobs. Basically, all races are beautiful and I see no problem with admiring certain traits from other races. With advances in beauty products and plastic surgery becoming more accessible, it seems many women are morphing into some mixture of what they/society deem beautiful or ideal. At the end of the day, I believe this is more about the Kardashian effect. Most of these IG âmodelsâ are all carbon copies of Kim/Kylie. Again, I wrote this quickly so I may not be stating my point as eloquently as Iâd like. My main point is that there are women from all races and backgrounds that are âborrowingâ traits from other races and cultures. *Donât hurt me*
If you have to say “don’t hurt me” about your opinion, you know it’s a bad, so why share it?
And FYI, this girl IS using her “fake race” for profit.
I totally agree with you. At the end of the day, this girl can say, do or be whoever and whatever she wants. She feels good about herself and feels beautiful. If she wants to spray tan, good for her. Im white and Ive done self tanners NOT because I want to look black but because I love a golden glow, like I have been on a beach all day. Ive had my lips done NOT because I want to look black but because I had a thin upper lip that always drove me nuts and bothered me. Bronzers, tanners, lip injections… these have NOTHING to do with white women wanting to be black. It is tiresome to have people say this over and over. People like Rachel Dolezal are sick and mentally ill. I see an olive skinned girl (like Alicia Vikander) who seems to be some sort of Kardashian fan. And didn’t a relative of hers say she is mixed race anyway? Live and let live.
@Bbeauty and @Hildog stop minimizing and trying to excuse the inexcusable. I’m so tired of the white women in these threads speaking over WoC and black women specifically and offering up their horrible takes on race. You both need to have a seat and educate yourselves because your comments are consistently dismissive and not at all helpful.
I tend to agree, too, because you can style and become who you want to become. It is part of freedom and liberty. You can tan or you can avoid tan. You can bleach or dye your hair. Go ahead.
Emma Hallberg is likely mixed-race: dark hair and dark eyes. Sweden has had a lot of immigration. Why I think she might be mixed? Because Swedes are blond. Crazy lot of blondes with blue and green eyes there.
And how do we know for sure she ainât mixed?
my guess is she brought out her non-swedish genetics a bit more.
@BBeauty @Hildog @Samuel
I’m gonna have to stop you right there. You should be embarrassed for drawing a false equivalency between white women tanning and injecting their lips to plump them vs black/latina women straightening and bleaching their hair.
NO NO NO. Take several seats.
As an light skinned Afrolatina who straightened and ruined my hair regularly, I didn’t do that so I could feel good about myself. I subjected myself and my bank account to countless hours under hairdryers and layers of relaxer so I could look palatable for American society. Why? Because i was told repeatedly that my curly hair, especially on me, with my features, was too black. Too unprofessional. Unkempt. Ugly. I’ve since started taking better care of my hair and I wear my fro loud and proud.
As a teenager people often made fun of my large, full lips, saying that they were big like monkey’s or sexualized them often. In my early 20’s I seriously considered getting a nose job so my nose would look more European (I’ve since then radically changed my mind, I’m proud of my nose). When I tan, I tan deeply, and that deep tan combined with my curly hair and more “African” features change the way people see me. It changes the way people perceive how beautiful or professional they find me.
This story is not unique to me, and I’m sure plenty of other biracial and black women can relate to my story. So while I bore the brunt of having ethnic features I can’t turn off (at least not easily or visibly), you come into this conversation overlooking the very fact that when those features are on white women society values them more than when they are on ethnic women. And what stings is that there are white women out there paying to look like me while I, and others who look like me, get torn into, or are discriminated against. So yeah, a lot of this is actually white women picking and choosing black features and then slapping them on their bodies. You willfully ignoring this makes you PART OF THE PROBLEM.
As a result, many biracial and black women straighten and bleach their hair to fit into Eurocentric beauty standards that continue to pervade not only the US, but countries world wide, including Latin America, where my family is from.
Let me tell you something – the next time the three of you enter a conversation about race, black beauty or black culture you better come correct or don’t come at all.
No. No no no. Caucasian women can have naturally plump lips without needing injections (or, you know, embrace thin lips). African-american women can have what you deem “socially beautiful” noses without nose jobs. Some Caucasian women have unfortunate noses, too. We don’t all look the same. That’s the beauty within every ethnicity.
Now, this young woman is making herself look black in order to profit. I’m sure she’s going after an “exotic” look and it seems it’s working for her.
@Samuel she’s 100% white and denies being anything other than a white Swedish woman. Stop bending over backwards to give this clown the benefit of the doubt. She doesn’t deserve it
Cee, so our black noses are “unfortunate” when white women have them. How revealing.
, She’s definitely blackfishing. She’s also 19 and in Sweden, so I can give her the benefit of the doubt that she was simply ignorant. The thing for me would be to see if she changes her ways now that she’s been educated. I’ll be honest, when I was 19, that would not have occurred to me either, I would have just seen it as me looking the way I wanted to look. I’m not saying that makes it okay, but I’m willing to believe her intent wasn’t malicious, and hopefully she’ll understand now. If not, girl bye.
This is shocking. I’m speechless. I really don’t know what to say except I’m sorry, on behalf of my race.
kristen, come on. a chick who happens to be white does something bizarre and stupid and you have the need to apologize on behalf of your race… that’s a little much.
Yeah that’s a bit much.
#KristenSoWoke
So here you all are talking about her which is EXACTLY what she wanted. Before today, nobody here had ever heard of her. Today, because of people giving her attention like she wants, she has had her name spread all over the internet and probably conventional media as well. So, really, she wins in this situation no matter how many people dislike it.
I was going to say the same thing ! This “controversy” worked in her favor. This is why many other girls will follow suit.
Agree. Before this, she was just one of many, many influencers on Instagram with a reach of less than 300.000, who was probably followed by 1/3 horny or bored guys, 1/3 fashion followers, 1/3 advertisement bots and now she has suddenly become talked about all over the world.
Good! Let every talk about it. Let everyone see this for the racist, modern MINSTREL show that it is. You think racism just goes away if we ignore it? It doesn’t! When I see racism I’m going to point it out. You can pretend you don’t see it if you want to – something tells me you’re very good at that.
Oh, this jackass. Yeah, sheâs not even the first to do it. Northern Europe has an unsettling population of people who love to exoticize Africana.
Same for Africa and Asia. they have a lot of people who exoticize White and try to emulate white.
And if Asia had the same history of colonization and appropriation as influential in the modern era as Western colonialism, that would be a valid counterpoint. But, you know. Itâs not.
I take melatonin every night. Sometimes maybe more than I should so I can sleep. I’m still pale and white AF. She’s not very bright in her excuses.
Melatonin is hormone which everyone produces. It’s function is to make you feel tired & sleepy & originates from your pituitary gland.
Melanin is a pigment produced in your skin cells which dictate what colour your skin is.
I think you confused the two words, and taking Melatonin pills nightly will not make anyone darker đ
I’m pretty sure Heather’s comment was a joke because this girl used the word melatonin when she meant melanin.
This is nothing short of bizarre. I just don’t get it.
I agree with Kaiser that race is probably both biological and socially constructed. The unraveling of the human genome is producing some surprises, particularly in the area of health and susceptibility to certain diseases. That kind of info will one day be very useful to humanity, provided we don’t make all the wrong uses of the biological information.
If she’s telling the truth about her “tanning” color (which I do not believe she is,) her skin is going to look like sh!t by the time she’s 40.
I find the Kardashians making millions and millions and millions off the same thing far more offensive than this wannabe clearly influenced by them and emulating them.
I find this so sad. she used to be so beautiful until she started painting herself and putting so much highlighter. I can’t believe that look is so popular. we have kardashians to thank for that phenomenon.
I feel like you missed the actual problem here.
I think she looks beautiful know. Where exactly is she ugly? Just because her skin is tanner?
Isn’t this way of thinking and criticizing indicative of some weird racism in and of itself?
You’ve been “accused of taking melatonin”? I don’t think I’m going to accuse this girl of taking 101 community college courses.
There’s a drug called Melanotan 2, nicknamed the barbiedrug, it’s supposed to help you get thinner and to tan more easily. Some Swedish influencers were promoting the drug a couple of years ago. I guess it’s that drug she’s talking about?
There is a video that shows her dad (who looks mixed race to me) and her mother’s hair, which is naturally black in color and naturally curly. There are other photos as well. https://twitter.com/iaamriiaa/status/1063861620080852993 After seeing it I think this is much ado about nothing. There are a ton of photos on her Instagram page and she has a bunch of different looks. She looks Hispanic in this one: https://www.instagram.com/p/BAAU7_zjxDM/
But the internet…
Both my sister and my niece do this. We are all pale as pale can be, medium brown hair and hazel or blue eyes. They self-tan, dye their hair darker, use makeup like this girl, and in the case of my niece, get perms and extensions either to have curls or braids. It is so fake looking and I donât understand what in the world they think they are doing, or who they think they are fooling.
Well with folks like the Kardashians doing the same, what is to be expected?
people on IG actually say that she was listed on the site as “mixed”, but she took it down when the controversy started…
Why is this any different than changing one’s gender, which is somehow socially acceptable whilst altering the colour of one’s skin is not? The “meaning” and “significance” of skin colour IS purely a social construct, not a biological one, and it’s distressing to see in 2018 that anyone would be informed otherwise. The “biological” argument pertaining to skin colour would necessarily support the idea that blondes are dumb or that dying one’s hair, getting a boob or nose job etc is also some kind of appropriation. But these same people don’t even blink twice when a man says “but I feel like a women trapped in a man’s body” and decides to have a sex change and spend all day playing dress-up like Caitlyn Jenner. Because that IS a question of biology. Should that man feel obligated to embrace all the issues and the history that one could call the “baggage” of the female gender, consequences of millenia of subjugation by men? I absolutely can’t wrap my head around this hypocrisy.
This comment I disgusting and problematic on so many levels. Stop with the false equivalency of transgendered people and this “transracial” nonsense and stop comparing cultural appropriation with assimilation. We’re not playing this game or even entertaining this BS anymore.
I agree @sans
I’m torn about this, yes she’s definitely presenting herself as a multiracial woman and benefiting from this through followers and cashmoney just like the kardashian family and their ilk. But the bigger question for me is why was she and her look elevated over other real black and multiracial girls?
Colorism where the lighter and more European a “black person” looks then the more they are accepted and elevated in both the black and mainstream community. It started with light skinned and multiracial black people but now we have full white women dressed up in “black face”. We as black people need to ask ourselves why has this look become idolised in our community….
Lolagirl and Kiki, agree with all youâve said. IMHO, racism has been so bad for so long, some folks who were mixed were not judged for passing because it made your life better economically and kept you safe. I have a friend whose parents were Black and married in the 1950âs, but she was super light skinned. When they drove to see family in the south, he put her in the back seat and made himself look like her driver to keep them all safe from police and racists on the road as they drove from California to the South to visit relatives. The lighter you are, the safer you are, and thatâs a damn shame. My hair is curly, and even though I look white, I STILL felt pressured to straighten my hair to make people feel more comfortable with me in work situations. I wear my hair naturally now, but as a young people raised in the ghetto, my friends and I knew that physical assimilation was critical to career success in LA, SF, Florida. One of my best friends moved to Atlanta to reduce having to deal with it.
I agree 100% with those who are saying that this woman is attempting to co-opt black culture and style for attention/profit without experiencing the lived reality of being black. I did want to add something about the notion of race as a social construct. Humans do have biological differences; saying race is a social construct doesnât negate biological differences among people. But we focus on some biological differences and group people according to those and not others (e.g. some people have a longer second toe, but we havenât tried to subjugate or classify people according to that difference). Constructivist theory says that âraceâ is how we have made meaning out of some differences, that they arenât fixed but shaped by culture and history. But saying that race is a social construct should not negate the very real and pernicious effects of peopleâs understanding of race and treatment of people of color. Thatâs the problem with âI donât see color; people are just people arguments,â well meaning (if naive) as they might be. Because as people have noted on this thread, the weight of being black in America, for example, isnât something someone can just shed or choose not to be seen by others. And even though race is a social construct, we have treated it as a biological/material fact, and that violent, prejudicial history of doing so isnât magically erased by recognizing race as a construct. We have real work to do, and this womanâs appropriation only harms those efforts, IMO.
Who was it who said there would be a vast decline in humanity when a computer resides in every home? It was a scientist, I think. I don’t think this person was wrong. This is wrong for all of the reasons listed here but also, this is just sheer, unadulterated vanity. Go play sports Emma. Go to University, get a full time job. Tell us about the things you accomplish. I just can’t stand watching young people focus so much on their physical appearance. Looks fade. Wisdom comes with age. Lines, wrinkles, sagging .. but incredible wisdom. Go live life, post ugly photos of yourself.
I want to give this girl a bike and a land line and twelve books on race, Colonialism, feminism, appearance and self-confidence.
I love the saying, for every selfie you post you should have to read a book!
Kiki I truly appreciate your comment and am interested in your view. Do you (or any other reader) feel a non-American should have to be held to the same standard? What if the “appropriator’s” culture’s “understanding of race and treatment of people of colour” is different? Also, the implied undesirable “lived reality of being black” that you refer to, is that something that should be perpetuated out of historical guilt, and now that Americans have created this “meaning” out of a biological circumstance, there is no changing it?
They want our rhythm but not our blues.
–said by somebody on the twitternet
Its not just the skin colour or the curly hair. Its the way she dresses and poses too. Its very Kardashian-esque who in turn also appropriate black culture all the time.
And even if she truly has never come out and said the words “Im black” or “Im mixed”…its not like she hasnt done anything to stop perpetuating those rumors.
That second picture – the tone of her face looks … I donât know, greyish, muddy? Like sheâs using a foundation too dark for her skin tone so now it looks weird. She can say whatever she wants, but I canât see how anyone would excuse this as anything but appropriation. Skin color is not a costume.