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It’s been about a year since I posted on one of the numerous blog carnivals taking place in the blogosphere, as it seems like they have lost their popularity with all of the election coverage and other news that has been grabbing our attention. Either that or I am simply not paying too much attention..... However, this is a great time for this Carnival. Here’s a brief description:
There have been many recent discussions about beauty standards and how they affect women of color. Recently I wrote on my blog about a comment on a message board that had bothered me. It probably wasn’t meant to have the impact it had, but it did. It made me think about how black women are still, in this day an age, still regarded as less-than…well…women with Eurocentric physical attributes.
White women North American society, Europe, Africa, India……….Well, damn, all over the world (and I’m bracing myself for attacks) are generally regarded as the epitome of beauty. A non-white woman’s attractiveness is measured against whether she has any of the characteristics that biologically, white women have: Skin color, physical attributes (nose, lips, hips, weight) hair texture and in some cases, hair color (blond is a preference).
Many young girls, most often teenagers of color feel that if they do not have one or more of the desired traits, than not only are they unattractive, but others will find them unattractive. While many of us are rational adults and generally perceive that this is bullshit, it still is disturbing when that hidden fear is brought out into the open by some asshat (new favorite word) whose ignorance validates that little voice inside of you that is always question how attractive you are to the outside world, who resents being judged by standards that are unrealistic and simply just not that relevant as to deciphering the value of someone’s worth. But unfortunately it is relevant in terms of media images and accessing opportunities – professional, personal and / or educational.
Recently there was hubalboo on the web about pictures of Beyonce on a L’Oreal ad where her skin had been lightened and her nose had been thinned. Interracial relationships and the exoticfication of women of color within these relationships cause a great deal of consternation.
Within the posts for this Carnival, there is a lot of pain. Pain because though the issues, which because of the Carnival do correlate in some way, many of them tie back to the feelings that come out of how women of color feel about societially imposed beauty standards and how they affect us. And pain because at least for me, a number of the issues really resonate with my own internal struggles for self-acceptance. Black Amazon, one of my favorite bloggers, writes about finding validation outside of aesthetics:
You see when we talk about pretty , I'm not sure we're talking about the same thing, not to mention to cling to pretty even in CHALLENGING the concept ( I WILL REJECT ALL THINGS THAT I SEE AS PRETTY CAUSE EVERYTHING MEANS THE SAME TO EVERYONE) makes me nauseous.
You see in my life as WOC, pretty has had fuck all to do with attractiveness, vibrancy, or sexuality, it has had everything with a
