“I would have never thought you were Mexican. You look so white.” “We all know where you’re from. You’re from Orange County. You’re not a true Chicana.” This is for all the women of color who have been denied their identities because of their colorful personalities, their skin color, their interests, their backgrounds, and their experiences. Never forget the times we have been stared at funny for speaking our native tongues. Never forget all the people who have used our appearances, and their skewed understanding of brownness, to deny us our identities. We demand and deserve respect. This is for you. Con mucho amor, Apryl y Alex
LAS AUTORAS
Abryl/20/SF Editor & Co-Founder of Shade Magazine , Bay area artist, Glitter Enthusiast & Collage Queen. Abryl is originally from Orange County. pink-nopal.tumblr.com instagram @princessaaguacate
Alex
Adult baby from Los Angeles studying art in San Francisco. Flea market queen who lives a color coded life and doesn’t take anyone’s shit. tomb-stoned.tumblr.com instagram @confettibrains
*Xican@: Mexicana/o persons of various backgrounds dedicated to the betterment and liberation of our community. Xicanisma/Chicanismo, an ever evolving call to action, is a means of acknowledging our intersecting identities and ties to race, gender, sex, & sexuality. It is an all-inclusive embrace of intersectional feminism and equality. The “x” is homage to one’s indigenous roots while the “@” is inclusive of all genders.
*This is my opinion & understanding of my identity.
All photos taken by Cofounder & editor of Shademag Azha Luckman. instagram:azhaayanna bambooearring.tumblr.com
Mi Nombre es Abryl Español es mi primera lenguaje.
Spanish is my first language. Soy la primera Chicana de mi familia de graduarse de la Universidad.
I am the first Chicana in my family to graduate college. Estoy orgullosa de mi cultura y soy una persona segura de mi misma.
I am very confident in myself and proud of my culture. Cuando me escuchan hablar piensan “pobrecita porque habla de esa manera?”
They listen and think to themselves, why does she speak like that? Poor girl. La mayoria de las veces hablan mal de mi, no saben que les entiendo.
Most of the time they talk bad about me. They don’t know that I know. Pero mi Español imperfecto no cambia mi identidad.
But I know that my broken Spanish doesn’t invalidate my identity.
Apryl Fuentes
Colorism: discrimination based on skin color. Across cultures, lighter skin is valued and dark skin is degraded. This is based on Euro centrism and colonial ideologies. “No one ever quite told me this (that light was right), but I knew that being light was something valued in my family (who were all Chicano, with the exception of my father). In fact, everything about my upbringing (at least what occurred on a conscious level) attempted to bleach me of what color I did have. Although my mother was fluent in it, I was never taught much Spanish at home.” –Cherrie Moraga, La Guera
My mom has always had a lighter skin tone than me. I remember being 15 in high school I would sneak my mom’s concealer in the morning right before running out the door. I thought somehow putting a lighter concealer on would make me look more attractive or whiter. I used it as a sort of mask to hide from myself and looking back I did look a little funny with a lighter face than my body. When I was 15 I did not consciously know why I was making myself appear lighter but it makes me sick to know that from the media I was given, what I took from it was to look less like myself. Now 18 years old, only three years older I can acknowledge my shame and I refuse to feel that anymore. I refuse to deny myself and I feel so much better without a mask on my face. Alex Cervantes
“Wow light hair colors actually look good on you for being darker.” - - white girls who think that this is a compliment
It makes me so happy to get messages from brown girls via tumblr thanking me for inspiring them to dye their hair different colors because they see pictures of my hair and me. I get asked if it matters what kind of skin tone is “okay� to have your hair a pastel color and I have always been taken aback a little because I never once though of my skin as having an effect of what hair colors I choose and the answer to that question is: NO, it does not matter what kind of skin tone you have to have pastel hair! The stigma of brown girls having unnatural colored hair was something made up by white people who are intimidated by us. Alex Cervantes
Cómo Nos Afecta Colorist attitudes in society perpetuate underrepresentation of people of color in media and everyday life. Brownness is (and has historically been) seen as synonymous with “bad” and “undesirable”. Thus whiteness is glorified as “pure”. People of color are often criticized for liking and doing certain things that are seen as only “white” qualities. We are deemed “white washed” for being ourselves, for being successful, and for liking things only white people are supposed to like. This term is problematic because it assumes whiteness is synonymous with certain values that POC cannot identify with. It also makes the assumption that POC are supposed to look and act a certain, stereotypical way. Take for example being called “white washed” because you grew up in a suburb, because you like a certain type of music or because you speak a certain way. You’re allowed to like the things you like and be who you are. Don’t ever let anyone question your brownness/Xican@ identity based on your appearance or your personality. Con mucho amor, Abryl y Alex
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