大象传媒

Last week, the story of a young Swedish woman in 鈥淏rown skin鈥� went viral.

Emma Hallberg, an Instagram model, says she identifies as White and never claimed to be anything other than, so no we don鈥檛 have another Rachel Dolezal here.

But Black and Brown women took to social media with their disapproval. Some called it 鈥�.鈥�

Turns out the young Swede is not the only White woman 鈥�.鈥� That is overly tanning themselves or literally spray-painting their bodies darker, in some cases wearing traditionally Black hairstyles and appearing to have augmented their bodies (lips, butt) to resemble that of Black and Brown women, and posting their photos on Instagram.

Although I understood the upset and offense felt by many, I initially didn鈥檛 find the issue problematic.

After all, throughout history, women of all different backgrounds, ethnicities, cultures鈥攊ncluding White women (they鈥檙e not all naturally blond with angular noses)鈥攈ave decorated and manipulated their bodies to conform to . In some African and Asian countries, women painted their bodies, they mutilated their bodies through scarification, piercings, foot-binding.

So, having studied the impact of Eurocentric standards of beauty in both undergrad and grad school, I guess I chose to view the issue through a lens of shifting the narrative on beauty standards.

For centuries, Black women and other women of color have been bleaching their skin, or straightening their hair or coloring it blond, or getting nose, lip, and eye jobs, because we鈥檇 been taught that light skin, straight hair, angular noses and thin lips and bodies are beautiful, and that our naturally dark skin, broad noses, and coarse, curly, or kinky hair is not.

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on Sep 12, 2018 at 9:31am PDT

There was a saying I grew up hearing that derived from a about the Jim Crow system, 鈥淚f you鈥檙e Black, get back. If you鈥檙e Red, you鈥檙e dead. If you鈥檙e Brown, stick around. If you鈥檙e Yellow, you鈥檙e mellow. If you鈥檙e White, you鈥檙e all right.鈥�

The impact of race classification has been and continues to be detrimental to us all.

But over decades there have been cultural empowerment proclaiming that 鈥淏lack is beautiful鈥濃�攐ur Brown skin in all shades, 2A to 4C , big noses, lips, and butts, etc.

Traditional and social media platforms have shifted to acknowledge this beauty. More Black women are featured on the of beauty magazines. Blogs like聽,听,听, and new continue to pop up sharing stories that exemplify this beauty and

Imitation is the best form of flattery. So what then is the problem when White women imitate our culture?

There are several. But I鈥檒l start with these.

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on Jul 31, 2018 at 12:30pm PDT

The difference between the 鈥淏lack is beautiful鈥� message and the 鈥淲hite is the standard of beauty鈥� message is that White beauty is not being devalued.

Also, this isn鈥檛 just cosplay for some of these women, Hallberg in particular. They鈥檙e profiting from their new look in ways that Black or other women of color are not.

One who is mixed-race and identifies as Black says what these women are doing takes away from actual Black creators on the site.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e getting sent natural hair products aimed at Black people,鈥� Annie Nova says. 鈥淲hen companies [do this] an actual Black influencer has lost out on work.鈥�

And although Black women have struggled to have their beauty recognized, Blackness is more than an aesthetic. Race classification and racism have made it so that in whiteness there is鈥攐r at least the appearance of鈥攆reedom and liberation.

In Blackness, there is oppression and the struggle for freedom and liberation.

So when White women 鈥渢ry on鈥� Blackness they鈥檙e only admiring what is the 鈥渆xotic鈥� for the moment. An accessory they can take off.

Comedian Paul Mooney put it this way: 鈥淓verybody wants to be a n鈥�, but nobody wants to BE a n鈥�.鈥�

In other words, non-Black people like Black culture, but not Black people.

The ultimate form of flattery would then be for White girls to not change at all their outward appearance鈥攖hat is for the sake of 鈥渓ooking Black,鈥� but to change on the inside.

I came across a quote by Essence senior editor Kirsten West Savali, recently, that says, 鈥淲e, as in Black women, know that [W]hite women have proved over and over again that their [W]hiteness鈥攖heir access to power, wealth, and intentionally constructed institutional blamelessness鈥攊s more valuable to them than their womanhood.鈥�

I want to challenge White women, even the Hallbergs of the world, to try on our struggle, our sorrows, our resistance.

罢丑补迟听look, I imagine, would be longer lasting, more fulfilling, and more beneficial to us all.

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Zenobia Jeffries Warfield is the former executive editor at 大象传媒, where she directed editorial coverage for 大象传媒 Magazine, 大象传媒 Media鈥檚 editorial partnerships, and served as chair of the 大象传媒 Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee. A Detroit native, Zenobia is an award-winning journalist who joined 大象传媒 in 2016 to build and grow 大象传媒鈥檚 racial justice beat, and continues to write columns on racial justice. In addition to writing and editing, she has produced, directed, and edited a variety of short documentaries spotlighting community movements to international democracy. Zenobia earned a BA in Mass Communication from Rochester College in Rochester, Michigan, and an MA in Communication with an emphasis in media studies from Wayne State University in Detroit. Zenobia has also taught the college course 鈥淭he Effects of Media on 大象传媒,鈥� as an adjunct professor in Detroit. Zenobia is a member of NABJ, SABJ, SPJ, and the Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting. She lives in Seattle, and speaks English and AAVE. Connect:

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