Last week, I discovered the blog My Name Is JuJuBe. I contacted the blogger (Joanna) and asked if she'd be interested in writing a guest post for Diversity Ink. She is in the process of working on ideas for an original post for DI. In the meantime, she gave me the OK to use any of her previously written blog posts.
The following, A Girl Like Me (Video), was posted by Joanna on her blog on June 18, 2010:
This is a video that was made in 2007 by a teenage girl named Kiri Davis. It discusses the standards of beauty than young Black women feel like they need to conform to in order to "fit in." It angers me to see that these young women are made to feel less attractive because of the color of their skin, or the texture of their hair. It shows the power of the white supremacist system upon the way Black children view themselves
Black children are constantly bombarded by images of Black people as being somehow inferior, of being less. They are told consciously AND subliminally that looking more white makes a person more beautiful physically, mentally and emotionally. This is such a disturbing message for children to receive. Every child deserves to feel beautiful. Every child needs to hear positive reinforcement, to be told that they are smart, and that they are good people. And, unfortunately, the message being given to Black children is the exact opposite.
Is it fair to a Black child that nearly all of the people they see on television are white? That the images they see of Black people in the media are overwhelmingly negative? Absolutely not!
I remember a few years back, I worked at the Pomonok neighborhood center in the after school program. Nearly all of the children who attended the program were Black children. Yet the books they were given to read featured overwhelmingly white characters, and the dolls they were given to play with with were usually blond haired and blue eyed.
(White) people seem to think that this does not have an effect on children, that is doesn't matter WHAT race a doll or a character in a book has. Yet, when new toys and books for the children were brought in featuring darker skin tones, the kids were overjoyed. They LOVED having characters to relate to who looked like them. They enjoyed playing with dolls that shared their skin tones. For the first time, the little girls and boys were engrossed in books about characters that they could relate to. They no longer looked at reading and learning as a chore. They looked forward to reading about historical Black figures. They enjoyed stories about Black children, and absorbed the messages the books were relating more readily. They began to express more pride in themselves.
It sickens me to think about the overwhelmingly negative messages we are transmitting to young children about Blackness as it relates to beauty, intelligence and morality. I believe that we have a responsibility as a society to promote positive images of Black people, not only to Black children, but to all children. Children learn VERY early on about racism and the society hierarchy that skin color places individuals on. We need to counter that programming. We need to show children that beauty comes in all shades, that morality is universal, and that intelligence has nothing to do with skin color.
A while back, a friend and I had a discussion about children's television programming. We thought it would be a great idea to start a network for children of color, a network that would show Black children in a positive light. He has a 3 year old Black daughter, and he wants her to grow up feeling beautiful and special. He does not want her to get the idea that she is somehow less because she is Black. He believes that children's programming that shows more Black children would really enhance the learning experience of Black children. We considered actually attempting to do something related to this idea, but we had no idea how to go about it. But, it is would definitely be a step in the right direction towards erasing the programming children receive early on regarding race.
5 comments:
First off, thanks for allowing me to use this post here at Diversity Ink.
A channel aimed at children of color is a marvelous idea! If that never comes to fruition, channels like BET and TV One could put together blocks of children's programming to help improve the self-images of black kids.
Also, I hope that Kiri Davis is able to do an expanded version of "A Girl Like Me".
This is a great commentary and a conversation that needs to be ongoing although in the 21st century it would seem that we would not such a need to address issues of race and ethnicity, at least not in this way. African Americans will never be able to meet the European standard of what is considered beautiful. It is up to us (those of African descent) to create and maintain our own standards even when we are reminding through the media, that blond straigh hair and blue eyes are the barometer for what is asthetically pleasing.
I remember last year Malcolm did a post on the SIS (So In Style) Barbie Dolls, so I actually ordered the dolls and had a look at them to see if they measured up and could be something that would instill pride in our young girls. I found that although they were a step in the right direction there was still something missing. Mattel has since created a line called Barbie Basics and one doll (Model#4) is a sure sign that Mattel gets it.
I have worn my hair naturally for many years and unfortunately I get more flack from within my race than from those outside of my race. No matter how many times I tell my own people they are not "DREADS" they are "locks", they mostly refuse to be educated. One of my missions in working with children is to teach them positive affirmations and encourage their intelligence and abilities. Thanks for spreading your message on "Diversity Ink".
Malcolm -
We actually considered approaching BET with a basic plan for a programming block for Black children, but since Viacom is the owner of BET now, we did not know if creative positive programming for Black children would be the outcome, or if they would find a way to reinforce the same old stereotypes (as they have in much of BET's adult programming)
Pjazzypar- I do remember reading a while back that "dread" actually was a derogatory term assigned to Rastafarians who wore their hair locked, but I had forgotten about that, and I have still persisted in calling them dreads. Thank you for pointing out that popular inaccuracy.
I remember last year I answered a Christmas wish for a child who asked for an African American "Fashion Doll" I bought her a Barbie that actually looked more like a real Black woman instead of a white Barbie with a little tan. Then I realized there was a line actuallu called "Fashion Dolls" by another company... when I saw the "African-American" doll I was so dissapointed... she did not look like a Black girl at all!
I'm not how sure the picture of beauty's buck stops at just "white."
Society's accepted beauty is a problem that crosses racial lines entirely. Rail thin skeletons with skin seem to be the in.
To that end, millions upon millions of white girls in America don't qualify as industry standard beautiful and certainly do not feel it, as evidenced by plastic surgery procedures, psychological disorders and worse.
I guess part of the difference is that they can't claim oppressive society.
A white girl unaccepted railing against "white beauty" standards sounds quite ridiculous.
Not that I'm disagreeing with the content of the post. But it's certainly not so cut-and-dry "white."
There are many instances in America where a white majority is going to come across as supremacist in nature, I'm sure.
200 million white people out of 300 million people - I suspect most Barbie-like dolls will always be marketed to white children first, and beauty lines will--do--target susceptible white girls. The market is exponentially larger.
Beef with the social responsibility? That's a debate in itself that should cover the whole if one's goal is to effect actual change and not branch off.
But 66% of the population, a lot of which has a generations-long head start, identifies with itself and promotes identifiable image in the same respects African-Americans claim the need to identify with one another and promote identifiable image.
(For this topic specifically, it seems the stereotyped images need to be reversed across the board.)
That's all equality can be. And in that respect, it can never be split, lest it's not equality because then the minority trumps majority.
This is when innovation needs to come more into play, so I think you should push your idea and not take no for an answer.
Because, realistically, marketing is a business in every respect and 66% or so will always trump 15% or so.
The entire beauty industry is a crock.
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