Colorism Needs To Cease And Desist In The Black Trans Community

Just as race and class are issues the Black trans community will have to grapple with as we close ranks to become part of the greater community, so is the malignant cousin of race in colorism (or hueism).

African-Americans come in 23 identified skin tone shades from light, bright and damned near white vanilla creme to deepest darkest ebony.  

When we come out of the birth canal we have no control over what combination of characteristics we are going to get from our parents that are the building blocks of us. 

But you can bet that if you're on the lighter, middle or darker end of that 23 color skin tone palette the ways you experience being Black in America are undeniably going to be different based on that and what part of the country you grew up in.

If you came to the States from different parts of the African Diaspora like the Caribbean, the African continent or different North, Central and South American nations, that throws another variable into the mix.

Because we are a subset of the greater African-American community, the ills of colorism and hueism are also embedded in and contaminate our ranks. 

Just as the 'Are you Black' question comes up repeatedly for the people on the light, bright and damned near white vanilla creme end of the scale,  the reality is far different for the darker skinned Black trans folks among us because they get far more negativity unleashed upon them.  

The bottom line is that we are all Black and we are ALL hated for it, no matter whether we are light, bright and damned near white vanilla creme or deepest darkest ebony.

We have far more serious issues to tackle in terms of our crushing unemployment/underemployment, off the charts anti-trans violence aimed at our Black transwomen, lack of media visibility, a fundamental misunderstanding of what trans is in the cis and SGL African-American communities and a six decade old trans narrative in the parent culture that is overwhelmingly stacked toward telling the stories of our white trans counterparts.  

We don't need the distraction of who has 'good vs kinky hair', 'light skin vs dark skin' colorism battles taking root in our Black trans ranks and diverting our attention from the work that must be done to make trans life better for the kids behind us and ourselves. 

It is going to take all of our collective talents to help us trans African-Americans lift ourselves up as we close ranks and become part of the greater society.  We don't have much room for error in that regard and we cannot afford to have in chocolate trans world colorism dividing us and sowing seeds of trouble in our African descended trans ranks. 

All of us are beautiful and handsome no matter what our skin tone, body shapes or the way we choose to wear our hair.  We are all proud trans African-Americans, and we experience and express our cultural heritage in different ways.

Let's focus on the community building in our trans ranks that needs to expeditiously happen, the education in our African-American community that must be done, and the bigger civil rights prizes we need to fight to achieve together whether we are light skinned or dark skinned or have good, curly, natural, braided or kinky hair.

'The Face' Model Devyn, Is Apparently So Light Skinned, She's International and Not Black

The latest guest post from Renee of Womanist Musings

Women of colour have always had a hard time in the modelling industry.  There have always been a few who have managed to have a successful career like Alec Wek, Naomi Campbell and Iman but by enlarge, despite their obvious beauty, their race has been a stumbling block rather than an asset.  The fact that population demographics are clearly changing, has not effected the fashion industries commitment to ensuring that White women, continue to be representative of womanhood.  This is not only racist but damaging to young women of colour.  Some cope with this racist treatment by internalizing negative concepts about their race.  The following is a clip from The Face, a reality show which appears on Oxygen.




transcript is below the fold

Wendy Williams: So, let's just get right into it, you guys are competing to the face of Alta. Devyn what do you have that Ebony doesn't have?

Devyn: I feel like I have the international look and I have a story that can relate to everyone.

Judge: She did good. She answered well

Wendy Wiliams: Ebony, you're only 21

Ebony: Yes Maam

Wendy Williams: And you have two children.

Ebony: yes

Wendy Williams: A 2 year old and a 4 year old and two babies fathers.

Ebony: Yes, I do. My children's fathers are the best dads ever.  They love their kids so much and they support me.

Wendy Williams: Are you still with either one of the babies fathers?

Ebony: I am not, but we're very close friends. It didn't work I was young

Wendy Williams: (laughs) Mercy

Ebony: and I am so glad that I went through it, because I know better now.

Judge: She's stirring it up

Judge 2: Wendy?

Judge: Yeah

Judge 3: Of course, that's her job.

Wendy Williams: Devyn, what's it like to be a black girl model?

Devyn: I don't really consider myself as a Black girl model. I know what my ethnicity is but I'm fair skinned and I feel like I have an international look.

Wendy Williams: You don't feel Black?

Devyn: No, that's not what I said whatsoever.

Naomi Campbell: What the fuck does she mean? That's a disgrace; she's a Black girl

Devyn: As soon as I finish answering my question, all I hear is Naomi bug out.  I'm scared out of my pants. I feel like I could have screwed it up for team Carolina.

Despite knowing her ethnicity, Devyn does not feel Black because she is light skinned.  Devyn is well aware that for the most part, light skin has a long history of providing opportunities for Black women which have long been denied darker skinned women.  This is not to say that light skinned women don't suffer from racism but that light skin functions as a privilege, thereby reducing the amount of racism that a Black woman has to face.  To be clear, this is not a case of someone who is bi-racial choosing to identify as both sets of her identity but a Black woman actively choosing to deny her Blackness because she thinks it will help her get ahead. It's misguided and clearly evidences the degree that she has internalized negative ideas about Blackness.

It clearly did not escape Devyn's notice that she was up against the dark skinned Ebony and this why she sought to engage in colorism to press an advantage.  Colorism has divided entire families, with darker skinned child made to feel less valued and loved. Colorism is a bane upon communities of colour and is a direct result of White supremacy.  Whiteness has falsely created a so-called elite definition of Blackness to encourage Blacks to fight for the scraps from it's table, even as it ensures that true equality is always out of reach.  Though Campbell is obviously a success in her chosen career, her reaction speaks volumes.  It was absolutely clear that through her comments, Devyn sought to place herself above her, despite Campbell's success and obvious achievement by nature of her lighter skin. She may have only intentionally meant her comments as an attack on Ebony, but the speak to a revulsion of all darker skinned women.  Just as White people can throw a slur to quickly change the dynamics of a conversation and assert power, light skinned people can do the same, though obviously with less personal profit because of a shared identity of Blackness.

The other matter I would like to address in this video, is the obvious slut shaming of Devyn by Wendy (you can't pay me enough to support a fellow Black woman) Williams.  Wendy of course shied away from using the word slut but by working hard to ensure that Ebony had to justify her reproductive choices, Williams might as well have.  In a world in which women's reproductive choices are always questioned (note: especially true when it comes to women of colour) Wendy sought to construct her as a hyper sexualized Jezebel.  At the end of the day, why does it matter how many children Ebony has, or who the father is?  Wendy's questions were not just "stirring things up", as the judge said, but directly designed to shame.  I can completely understand the shock and even disgust regarding Devyn's comments, but why are so few people speaking out about the inappropriate nature of Williams' questions?
 
The truth of the matter is that until Devyn defined herself as international and not Black, her light skinned body bought her an unspoken privilege.  It's not an accident that these to women were seated next to each other in competition.  It is also no accident that Devyn was given the clearly softball question and Williams sought to go for the jugular when she questioned Ebony.  The very nature of Williams' choice of questions reveals that she also has internalized patriarchal values of what constitutes a so-called good woman, as well as colourism.  Even in an interaction of all Black women, race and sexism are always omnipresent

Black In America-Who Is Black In America?

I know many people in the African-American community have had lukewarm reactions (myself included) about the CNN 'Black In America' series hosted by Soledad O'Brien.

After having a chat with Niece (AKA Dr. Kaila A. Story) I'm going to give it another chance in this episode that features the research of Dr. Yaba Blay.  In its latest incarnation that debuts on December 9, they will tackle the topic of colorism in our community.


What makes someone Black in America?   Is it skin color? History? Culture? All of the above? 

It's also an issue that Soledad has personal expecience with because she has a Black Cuban mother and claims both her Black and Latina heritage.

The latest episode of the Black In America series will tackle that topic starting at 8 PM ET/7 PM CT.

Hueism Blocks The Path To Unity

Guest Post from Renee of Womanist Musings, who is all that and four bags of ketchup flavored potato chips.

To advocate passionately as a womanist means confronting issues in the black community that we have long been resistant to speak publicly about.  Hueism continues to be an ongoing issue and it affects both light skinned and dark skinned women differently.

Often our light skinned sisters will receive undeserved privilege by whiteness, simply because of the color of their skin.  One need look no further than at the models that are promoted by the fashion industry to discern that to even have the smallest chance of being considered beautiful, if one is of color, it is necessary to be born with light skin.  There are rare exceptions like the stunning Alek Wek however, beauty is still measured by how closely one manages to match the ideal femininity that has been constructed for white women.

To be a dark skinned black woman in a world that values whiteness, is to be daily “othered” and otherwise ignored. From a very early age the dark skin girl learns  that she is not beautiful regardless of how supportive her family may be and in a world where beauty is one of the few ways in which women express and or wield power, this can lead to feelings of anger and resentment.  To actually rise above the anger that is created by discovering that through an accident of birth one is deemed socially irrelevant, is work that for some women takes a lifetime.

This anger often manifests itself by challenging the worth and or the blackness of lighter skinned women.   Light skinned women may find more acceptability around whiteness but when they must relate to members of the African American community, issues of undeserved privilege will arise.  They will be asked to prove their allegiance to POC and black men will actively seek them out as trophy wives.

I cannot imagine how difficult it is to identify as a WOC, only to have that identity challenged repeatedly.  Some will become extremely militant as a way to counter act the exclusion that they face.

As we do battle amongst ourselves to maintain a sense of self worth, the issues that plague us most deeply are not of our creation.   It is whiteness that began this divide and whiteness that continues it with the aid of our collusion in the form of internalized racism.   We know that light skinned blacks were often treated better during slavery.   The very first blacks that were able to achieve higher education were also light skinned.  To look at images from the first black sororities, is to see a historical record of those that would become the first blacks to achieve social mobility and a degree of prestige.  Some families so valued the lightness of their skin, they purposefully denied their children the right to marry a darker skinned person.

In places like New Orleans blood quotient was studiously counted.  Blacks would announce whether they were octoroons or quadroons, loudly proclaiming their proximity to whiteness.  Some families worked diligently to ensure that each generation they became lighter, until they were barely recognizable as black.  The ability to pass as white meant that one would not have to deal with the ugliness of racism. The darker skinned amongst us watched as light skinned blacks either were granted privileges or disappeared into white society never to be heard from again.

Today though we have had a civil rights movement and have elected the first black president hue continues to divide us.   One of the reasons openly stated for loving Michelle Obama is the darkness of her skin.  Not only is she embraced for being black but for being visibly black.

As I read the commentary of praise, I cannot help but wonder how it makes our lighter skinned sisters feel. Yes, some have become accustomed to privilege due to the lightness of their skin however, bringing balance to the community cannot be achieved by falsely praising darker skin.  

We need to move beyond gradations in color and finally acknowledge that whether dark or light skinned, black is black. We only see difference because we have been taught to do so by whiteness.  When we continue to argue amongst ourselves over who is legitimately black or who is worthy to advance based in hue,  we are distracted from battling the racism that we all face.

Whiteness does not want us to actively assert our humanity and therefore; any method that they can employ to ensure that our focus is not on the systemic ways in which racism hurts us will be encouraged.   This is not a new tactic, simply looking at the Tutsi’s and Hutu’s is a perfect example of what happens when we allow whiteness to decide what constitutes value amongst black people. 

Divide and conquer is a game that whiteness plays well and when we foolishly consent to engage as though we are powerless to resist the grading of color, we cede what little power we have.  There are many situations in life in which we are presented with options that lead to negative consequences however, deciding to  love all of the manifestations of blackness is asserting a power that whiteness would love us to abdicate.   In the 60’s we rallied around the phrase that black is beautiful and the time has finally come for us to live it.