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Why do some black people think black is not beautiful?
by Stephen Hagan 10 March 2014
T
he paradox of selfloathing for some of our mob of their blackness, when that single redeeming feature accentuates their beauty, remains an anomaly for me today, even with the passing of five decades of observing and partaking in this frivolous debate. During the 60s and 70s it was common knowledge that many Indigenous Australians chose to identify as Indian, Maori or of some other exotic race to deflect their obvious Aboriginal lineage from their newfound white acquaintances. Significant numbers of those with an identity crisis chose to marry white people, predominantly black women marrying white men, as a means of moving the public gaze away from their patently Aboriginal features. Over time, with the
Samantha Harris has been named a David Jones young women’s fashion ambassador. Picture: Armstrong Source: The Sunday Mail (Qld)
relocation to another town and of a strict adherence of inferring or denying their Aboriginality, many succeeded to create a false racial identity. Part of the charade of confirming a new racial personality was the audible convincing laughter of racist jokes directed at Aborigines by their new redneck friends around back yard barbeques, over dinner or at work. The louder the laughter of racist jokes the more the absurd pretence reinforced the newfound racial identity of those seeking to fraudulently deceive. It’s common knowledge on the political front that many Indigenous Australians who hold influential positions in the public sector and in Indigenous organisations once lived a convenient life in denial of their Aboriginality. Many of these ‘Johnny come lately’ blacks conveniently flaunt
their exotic looks and/or fine European features in Indigenous job interviews conscious that their non-threatening appearance is an advantage. As ostentatious as this may sound, have a look around your office or in your neighbourhood, at those ‘Johnny come lately’ blacks and you’ll know what I mean. This topic came about for me soon after I read 12 Years A Slave star Lupita Nyong’o sharing her lifelong struggles with low selfesteem days before her Oscar win for best supporting actress last week. “I remember a time when I too felt unbeautiful. I got teased and taunted about my night-shaded skin. My one prayer to God, the miracle worker, was that I would wake up lighter skinned,” Nyong’o said when accepting an award for Best Breakthrough Performance at
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the seventh annual Black Women in Hollywood Luncheon hosted by Essence magazine. “When I was a teenager, my self-hate grew worse. And then, Alek Wek came on the international scene — a celebrated model. She was dark as night. Even Oprah called her beautiful, and that made it a fact! “My mother would say to me, ‘You can’t eat beauty. It doesn’t feed you.’ Those words bothered me; I didn’t really understand them until finally I realised that beauty was not something I could acquire or consume. It was something that I just had to be.” Mother knows best and I’m glad in Nyong’o’s case she heeded her mother’s advice and reconciled her self-loathing of her blackness. “What actually sustains us — what is fundamentally beautiful — is compassion, for yourself and for those around you. That kind of beauty inflames the heart and enchants the soul.” The issue of questioning the beauty of one’s god given racial genes will continue to torment the insecurities of black women and black men for as long as there is a disproportionate representation of our race in the pubic domain. Obsessing on how white people might judge a black person’s worth based on a superficial cursory glance of their physical appearance will remain problematic until that imbalance is corrected. We all know what mainstream society values as a good look by watching print and electronic advertisements. All I see on the TV and local newspapers are tall thin white models, male and female. Try checking out the social pages in your local newspaper and see how many black faces are in those special events, nightclub or restaurant poses. Lupita Nyong’o won an Oscar last week, but even her obvious appealing and noticeably pleasing black looks weren’t enough to
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Oscar winner for best supporting actress Lupita Nyong’o, who suffered from racial selfloathing said “My mother would say to me, ‘You can’t eat beauty. It doesn’t feed you.’”
convince her to refrain from the dangerous depths of racial selfloathing. Choking back tears at the seventh annual Black Women in Hollywood Luncheon Nyong’o finished her inspiring speech with a message for young girls. “I hope that my presence on your screens and in magazines will lead you, young girl, on a similar journey. That you will feel the validation of your external beauty, but also get to the deeper business of being beautiful inside. There is no shade in that beauty.” Indigenous women and men who have a problem with their Aboriginality should begin
embracing the fact that they’re BLACK AND BEAUTIFUL and desist with the nonsense of wanting to look less Aboriginal in order to succeed in whatever vocation they wish to pursue. If they need validation of their beauty they should seek positive role models as viewed on a myriad of Indigenous sites on the Internet. Better still, stop looking for the negatives on Indigenous Australians as sold to you by mainstream print and electronic media and focus instead of the positives of your mob through Indigenous media and through other Indigenous social media outlets.