Colorism, Self-Hatred & “Blackfishing” in America

By Maymunah Ibrahim

    I have been wanting to do an article on these topics for a long time. I figured I had a lot of research to do, and I was right, which is why I am just now talking about these issues. I’ve always had a curiosity about how these problems began, how far back did they arise, if they are only common in the Americas. (Yes, Latin America has its own problems regarding self-hatred and skin bleaching, Africa as well, but right now we’re going to focus on the country that has been called out for it most frequently.) 

    I first want to start off by saying that I understand where the self-hatred comes from. Growing up as a dark-skinned black Muslim girl in an area that was predominantly hispanic and Catholic, it was hard for me make friends and even harder for me to love myself when I didn’t really look like anyone else. Even Spanish boys and girls as dark as me were treated differently, and I just couldn’t comprehend that. It wasn’t so bad until I got to 4th grade. I transferred to a school filled with kids that had grown up in the neighboring ‘hood, while I was raised by an optimistic mother who wore her heart on her sleeve. I wasn’t prepared for anything that my heart would endure for the rest of my school life. 

    But enough about me, let’s get to the point: colorism is a thing! And anyone who claims otherwise must get their eyes and ears checked. We live in a country run by white men (and recently women) whose ancestors strategically built this country to keep themselves up and others (mostly black Americans) down. People like to claim that the word is “made up”, but the Oxford Dictionary has even accepted it into their family. By definition, “colorism” is the “prejudice of discrimination against individuals with a dark skin tone, typically among people of the same ethnic or racial group.” This deals a lot of damage in the black community, mainly by separating us once again based on skin color. It’s worth noting that examples of workplace discrimination include age, race and other factors that can similarly impact individuals’ opportunities and experiences.

You’ve got to admit, these people who control our country are super smart. The main thing that allowed the American country to be taken from the British was the unity of the colonists under their hatred of the King. If the entire black community stuck together, we could probably achieve complete equality.

Hypothetically speaking, of course.

 

     I haven’t really had any issues with colorism. No one has ever told me I would be prettier if I was lighter, nobody has picked my lighter friend over me because of their skin color. The bodega downstairs from my apartment building likes to serve the Spanish people before me, but that’s another issue entirely. However, I’ve heard instances from other men and women who were dark like me, who were called “African booty scratcher”, “Michael Blackson”, or even referred to as “the bottom of a bed”. These are all such disgusting names to be called, but has anyone ever told you the meaning of the phrase “African booty scratcher”? Through research, I’ve concluded two interpretations: a slave whose task was to scratch their lazy master’s behind, or an African who was lazy. (At one point, this was just used to refer to all Africans, as a way to say they are all lazy, wild, and dirty, and to justify colonialism [Manifest Destiny] ).

    While there may have been slaves tasked at scratching their owner’s behinds, the term is mainly used in a disrespectful way to degrade people of dark skin and call them lazy and dumb. The phrase might not be used among the older generation, but growing up as a dark-skinned male, you will hear it once or twice. It’s a strong emotional destroyer, and leaves a permanent mark on a man’s self esteem. Imagine hearing at a young age that the whole world sees you as a dumb and ugly person. It’s hard to build yourself up from that, because after a point, you begin to believe that you’re dumb and ugly, too. When you’ve been told something all your life and begin to believe it yourself, it’s hard to believe others when they disagree with it.

 

[Image below is from: @allison.evansss on TikTok]

 

     That is how self-hate ties into the black community. Although we have no reason to hate our dark skin, we do because those who aren’t our skin color give us reasons to. They look at us like animals, treat us like pigs and call us disrespectful names, all without provocation. They criticise our hair texture, the way we style it, tell us that it needs to be longer, straighter, then tell us that we have no business wearing wigs and weaves. That’s the part that gets to me the most. 

     There was a TikTok trend where black women would put up images of white women wearing box braids and twists in their hair, playing these images along with a sound that said “Can I have it back?” They claimed this as cultural appropriation, along with the fact that box braids and twists are protective styles for curly and kinky hair. White women, feeling attacked, used this sound while displaying images of balck women wearing weaves and wigs, claiming that if the black community wanted their protective hairstyles back, white women wanted their straight hair back. The fact that white individuals believe that straight hair belongs only to them is baffling. Curly hair doesn’t only belong to the black community, many Spanish men and women have curly hair, as well as individuals in the Middle East. Asian women and men have straight hair also, so the gene for straight hair does not belong only to white people.

     Lastly, the beauty standard was created by white society. Black women used to cover their hair with scarves because they were embarrassed by their hair texture. Then, once the hot comb was created, they began straightening their hair to look “more presentable” and to be more accepted in a society run by white individuals. Wigs and weaves that are straight are the offspring of this notion. Therefore, the people that you should be upset about for introducing straight hair wigs and weaves to the black community are your ancestors.

 

 

     Black men and women are very disliked in society to this day. However, a lot of the characteristics of the black community are being used by non-blacks, something that Is criticized as cultural appropriation, or “the adoption of an element or elements of one culture by members of another culture.” Examples of this are Nicki Minaj’s costume she wore in her music video for “Chun-Li” and Megan Thee Stallion’s chola appropriation costume that she displayed on her instagram. While Nicki didn’t receive much backlash, an instagram model by the name indigodess blasted Megan on her story, claiming that “black females are the first to scream cultural appropriation when a Latina tries to lay her baby hairs or braid her hair” and saying that “[she will not] tolerate chola cultural appropriation.” While the tone of her words was extremely harsh, (name dropping black women was a low blow that was most likely said out of anger, but still very uncalled for) I understand how upset she is. Chola culture is rarely touched upon in school, in fact I had to do a substantial amount of research to know its origins and the clothing associated with it. 

     Back on the main topic. Cultural appropriation is a syndrome with many sub-topics, one being “blackfishing.”  Blackfishing, known by many as black-face, can be described as “when a person, usually social media influencers or personalities, passes as Black by altering their appearance – often their hair and skin tone.” Many instagram models have been called out for their spontaneous skin darkening—one model named Emma Hallberg being at the center of the backlash with video evidence of her using foundation that was a couple shades too dark. Since Hallberg and many others were exposed in late 2018, blackfish instances have been brought to light, one being Danielle Bregoli and her make-up mishap. Danielle got exposed through various social media sites when she got her make-up done in a shade that appeared to be too dark for her natural complexion. She was questioned about it for weeks before she got on her instagram live, and believed the best way to address the allegations was to ask “Who wants to be black? I just can’t comprehend that.” Best believe that little comment did not go well for her, in fact she received even more backlash for outright shaming everyone who is black simply for being black. Like most things, however, the heat she was facing died down once the attention people placed on her moved to other things. She got to keep her fame, and barely gave an apology for her wrongdoings.