"Black Features Are Beautiful. Black Women Are Not" - Amandla Stenberg

[bcrusaderw]

It's .

Shall I bring up examples, bae?

 

[Kitsch]

Shall I bring up examples, bae?

Before you do, I'd like for you to re-read what you've said and and back up those claims.

 

[bcrusaderw]

Before you do, I'd like for you to re-read what you've said and and back up those claims.

List the specific claims that you think need to be backed up, and don't give me any BS like "all of them" for an answer. I notice you asked no one else to do this. A little confirmation bias going on, perhaps?

 

[bcrusaderw]

Are Nigerians the same as African Americans?

Who are more influence in their community? Nigerian women or African American women?

I understand the issue of colorism but it sounds like you don't think there is hope for us suppressing colorism.

You all seem to think that our wounds are solely economical. There are deep psychological wounds that have been given to us due to white supremacy, and economic power (something we aren't even collectively working towards anyway) won't cure them.

 

[Kitsch]

List the specific claims that you think need to be backed up, and don't give me any BS like "all of them" for an answer. I notice you asked no one else to do this. A little confirmation bias going on, perhaps?

I asked because you made a claim about Nollywood. I've been watching Nollywood films all my life and I'm wondering where and how you were able to formulate such opinions about Nollywood.

Nigeria is the best performing country in Africa, so it's a great example of this "magical patriarchal" society that AA men dream of. .

This so disingenuous.

Colorism is rampant in their movies and media.

This claim in particular.

 

[Kitsch]

http://un-ruly.com/the-ideal-beauty-from-hollywood-to-nollywood/#.VaTxrctwbqA

but fairer is better too
With some knowledge about skin bleaching in Nigeria, I began to explore skin tone in Nollywood and stumbled across a website called Naira Land. Nairaland.com published a list of actors with before and after photos of them being dark skinned and then fair skinned. Actress Oge Okoye is one I recognized from the film End of Facebook Love who seemed to undergo the transformation from dark to light. I noticed in the comment section under the before and after photos on Nairaland.com how curious people were about what bleaching techniques were being used, suggesting an interest in lightening their skin. One Nollywood actor, Yvonne Nelson from Ghana, blames the skin tone transformation on “photo tricks” and claims to be fair in complexion but looks darker on film. Meanwhile, Genviveng.com interviewed actress Tonto Dikeh who speaks openly about bleaching her skin to enhance her already fair complexion.

Author Cristine Edusi of the article “Is Skin Bleaching Apart of Nollywood Now?” writes:

The presence of darker skinned actresses like Genevive Nnaji, Mercy Johnson and Stephanie Okereke suggest that Nollywood is not biased towards lighter skin complexions as it is being suggested, however, this does not take away from the fact that bleaching within the Nigerian entertainment industry is a major concern.

Although Cristine Edusi disagrees with skin bleaching, she is thankful for Tonto Dikeh’s honesty and opening up the discussion on what she calls “Nollywood’s worst kept secret.” If Edusi claims the presence of darker skinned actresses suggests that Nollywood is not biased towards lighter skin complexions, then it is evident that the problem with light versus dark skin tone does not begin with Nollywood but it may be making its way into the industry.

In a country where, according to a World Health Organization Report, 77% of women use skin bleaching products, it would be hard for the phenomenon to not permeate media. In a 2011 interview published on This Day Live actress Stephanie Okereke discussed colorism in Nigeria:

There is really no way of psychoanalysing the situation without blaming the colonisers in part for such indelible mark left on our soil, namely white supremacy. It begins with the way the colonisers view the black skin colour. For them, the skin colour was abominable, evil, contemptuous and everything thing else that translates to evil.

Because fair skin as beautiful was heavily influenced by white supremacy, the desire to become lighter grew. Okereke continues to say:

Turn your eyes around local video stores and see a Nigerian film poster. Heavily made-up faces of fair-skinned women assail your vision. The industry apparently favours fair-skinned women. Perhaps, it is the closest they can get to whiteness. The effect is quite appalling. Dark-skinned actresses struggle to lighten up the skin. They cannot afford to be too dark since our producers make little investment in good lighting equipment. Or the reasons are not just technical, maybe sensual?

Interestingly, even though I was aware of skin bleaching in Nigeria, the film posters and billboards shown in the documentaryNollywood Babylon provided some relief to me. There were more black and brown faces in those posters than I had ever seen in movie posters in America. But more importantly, I started to suspect that my definition of fair skinned seems to be different from Stephanie Okereke’s. Perhaps what Nigeria considers fair skin is what African Americans consider brown skin. So for me, coming from a country where brown skin (let alone dark skin) barely has a presence in the media, seeing it in abundance in Nigeria was satisfying even though the country has a lot of work to do to solve its issues surrounding colorism.

Skin tone and body size have not been the only aspects of physical beauty in Nigeria that have been influenced by the West. Western culture also has had an impact on how Nigerian women wear their hair.

 

[Blackout]

You all seem to think that our wounds are solely economical. There are deep psychological wounds that have been given to us due to white supremacy, and economic power (something we aren't even collectively working towards anyway) won't cure them.

Psychology is also effected by media and upbringing and black media can be used to counter colorism

 

[BruhMayne]

I hope this doesn't become black men vs black women

Turned into a black woman vs black man, once again

Threads in the root should be put in TLR or the bushes whenever they come to this point

 

[Blackout]

It's interesting you brought that movie up since it's made by the same director (Rick Famuyiwa) who made The Wood. I haven't seen Dope but I know Zoe kravitz and chanel iman are in it (both mixed) vs the wood that came out in 1999 which had Malinda Williams, Sanaa Lathan and Lisa Raye as the main female characters (iirc), it kinda serves as an interesting contrast. What do you think has changed?

Lack of interest in black power.

Nowadays not much of our people put up a fight against white supremacy compared to back then.

It's somewhat proof of how better we would be if black people were in a better economic position.

Even rap back then had more black people in power compared to now.

 

[marcuz]

Let's say that this is correct why wouldn't black women loathe that? In the context of AA history black women have been treated as men since the beginning. Why should you receive all of the power when we've been through the exact same struggles? That's ridiculous that we've had to work, fight our oppressors, etc., but at the end of the day we still have to sit back, and let men lead to appease the male ego?

if you dont believe in black male leadership, you shouldn'n't complain at the current state of the black community. BW have their own agency, y'all run the matriarchal bubble, and the men spawned from your matriarchal bubble are going to continue to disappoint you. have it your way, see how much you like churning out the very men y'all complain the most about

 

[Box Cutta]

I hate the fact that this little girl is the only celeb calling people out.

Are their any OLD BLACKS left in entertainment?

She's probably destroying her career with this shyt....and nobody can come to HER defense?

Meanwhile, Bieber, a known racist, feels comfortable enough to jump in and speak out on racial issues in defense of Kylie?



fukking disgusting.

I'm ashamed that we as blacks have not created the kind of infrastructure where we could support her more.

 

[Red Shield]

I hate the fact that this little girl is the only celeb calling people out.

Are their any OLD BLACKS left in entertainment?

She's probably destroying her career with this shyt....and nobody can come to HER defense?

Meanwhile, Bieber, a known racist, feels comfortable enough to jump in and speak out on racial issues in defense of Kylie?



fukking disgusting.

I'm ashamed that we as blacks have not created the kind of infrastructure where we could support her more.

I figure at this point all of the older blacks either..
Don't care, don't want to rock the boat, or just do things quietly/behind the scenes


Amandla will be fine... with that last name... probably jewish

 

[Tae]

I still fail to see this black women oppression, I don't see what's so oppressed about it. Women are desired of all races, what's the problem? I still think theyre mad they don't have the beauty of being taken care of like some white women have. All thst anger books in and they rent out cuz females don't feel they get the privilege white women get. The "I can make a sex tape and still be a millionaire and have multiple men wanna wife and take care of me" attitude alot of white women get.

Being sexuslly desired and being marriage material I guess is two different things.

I never hear Hispanic or Asian women bytch over this shyt.

So now black women aren't oppressed.
While I agree with Amanda, black women need to stop writing gawd damn twitter and blog posts about how oppressed they are and take actions to try and uplift other sisters, because the end of the day actions speak louder than words.


@TMNT4000,
@Wenzel Dashington
@Killer Instinct
I don't get why you dudes even come into threads like this.
You say you are not attracted to black women, have no interest in black women, but are always up in threads about black women more than likely looking for way to bash them.
And for the most part Asian and Latina women don't bytch over shyt like this because their men have intact communities and resources to uplift them.
You all never seem to utilize critical thinking when it comes to race relations and how it concerns black women.

 

[godkiller]

So now black women aren't oppressed.
While I agree with Amanda, black women need to stop writing gawd damn twitter and blog posts about how oppressed they are and take actions to try and uplift other sisters, because the end of the day actions speak louder than words.


@TMNT4000,
@Wenzel Dashington
@Killer Instinct
I don't get why you dudes even come into threads like this.
You say you are not attracted to black women, have no interest in black women, but are always up in threads about black women more than likely looking for way to bash them.
And for the most part Asian and Latina women don't bytch over shyt like this because their men have intact communities and resources to uplift them.
You all never seem to utilize critical thinking when it comes to race relations and how it concerns black women.

Most Asians and Latinas are poorer than African American women and live in abject poverty with nothing to support them but beans, bread and rice. Most black women in black countries don't complain either--I know because I've lived in the Carribean--just you losers in America. Kylie wearing cornrows is irrelevant. No white woman ever enslaved blacks so who cares? Yall are pathetic.

 

[godkiller]

Let's look at Nigeria, and their film industry Nollywood. Nigeria is the best performing country in Africa, so it's a great example of this "magical patriarchal" society that AA men dream of. Colorism is rampant in their movies and media. The minds of blacks have been colonized. There will never be a time when black features (especially on women) will be heralded as best even if you all find a way to operate outside of the confines of white supremacy (we aren't exactly trending towards that solution anyway). It's ludicrous to assume that black males receiving power will help the plight of black women, and it's honestly disgusting and dismissive when we have black dominated societies now that suffer from the same problems. All of this is actually getting away from the original point of Amandla's writing anyway.

Nigerian women are richer, more educated, more prosperous than any African woman on the continent. It is no coincidence Nigerian women's rise has coincided with Nigerian men's wealth.

Suffice to say you are exaggerating the role "white supremacy" plays in Nigeria. Nigerians themselves are a little colorist, but generally Nollywood has helped them all and black women included (most of whom are brown to dark skin). Looking at things in general, Black males achieving power in Nigeria has done more for Nigerian women than anything in history ever has. Will there always be sexism? Yes. Colorism? Yes. But these things do not preclude or prevent black females from benefiting from, as well as the wealth, unity prosperity which has come from it. In th