Saturday 13 June 2015

Pretending to be Black?... #transracial

I ignored this story when it first appeared
Then it was all over the news.. and I could ignore it no more


'Black' NAACP leader outed as White' screamed the headlines
#transracial .. was being touted as the new 'trans' thing

Geesh


[Article]

Well... 'pretending' to be black doesn't seemed to have harmed her career
Seems like a nice lady
She's white, but has been pretending to be a black fair skinned women. ( Well.. she certainly understands .. the issue of colourism in Black lives that's for sure :)
After all, lighter skinned black women are often preferred.. ( It's a slavery & colonial thing)


I know women who have selected light skin men to have children with because they didn't want thier children to be dark, and I know men who have chosen white or light skin women to have children with for the same reason.. plus more
Good luck with that.. whatever makes you happiest

I guess they felt and saw the occasional pain of 'blackness' and wanted to spare their children the agony... who knows...

Personally speaking .. I quite like a man who appreciates a strong dose of Melanin.. just as I do. I wonder why :)

So.. cultural appreciation, or cultural appropriation

Seems to me that the only people who don't 'pretend' to be black .. are those who are black
or is that true?
There are those among us, who will 'tun up' thier 'blackness' when it suits.. or at least. try and find it.

Ironically perhaps, I also know many black people who are 'not black'.. or at least, refuse to be called black , or are seemingly unwilling or unable to reconcile thier blackness in a white world
'Call me a man'.. they say.. or just call me 'John'
Funnily enough.. the majority of the worlds population is non white
But white privilege still reigns supreme... and If we're honest..we know this

It seems to me that the individuals who benefit least from being black .. are those who are clearly.. and visibly .. black .. or African shall I say.
Don't believe me?
Watch the news.. or...
Look at the music industry
Black artists have historically been passed over for white artists who... 'sound black'
Are you following this?!

So...can someone be transracial?
It's a good question
If someone can be transsexual then it begs reason that they can be transracial no?
In a word... no
Understanding the issues and prejudices faced by people of visible African decent.. black Africans across the diaspora.. is still very different from actually being black and living a life of one whose skin is dark.

Even the life of one who is mixed race ( one black parent and one white for example) will differ considerably to one who has two black parents..
Right?
well.. yes and no..
Being black and being dark is different to being black and being fair
Michael Jackson was wrong.. It does matter.. whether it should or not is a different matter, but in this world.. right now.. it still does.
It's a slavery colonial thing
Trust me
I got this

Besides..skin bleaching creams are not popular for no reason

6 comments:

  1. Whatever someone says they are, I'm happy to go along with that and believe them. As a transman who often doesn't pass, I wish other people would feel that way about me too.

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  2. I hear you.
    But if I walked round saying I was white.. people would seriously question my mental state. Besides, I wouldn't want to, why should I, unless I felt I had something to gain..
    Black and trapped' in a white body.. White and trapped in a black.
    Anything's possible.. the mind reigns supreme
    What I wonder is.. why lie?
    Or is this simply a case of white privilege.e.g I do what I want, be who I want go where I want, say what I want, take what I want - from you, despite you - regardless of you , and often to the cost of you..

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  3. I dunno, I can't help but feel a lot of us are trapped in the wrong bodies too, not just gender but everything. I think there are white people who feel black and black people who feel they are white. As I'm adopted I often wondered if one of my birth parents was black. Everyone laughs at me, but I know nothing about my background at all, but, and please don't take offence at this, because I know in many ways I feel black. I've never felt very white. But I know that may sound really rude to you.

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  4. That doesn't sound rude to me at all Joe. I feel black too.. so we share that in common :)
    I've had white friends who feel black, and have said so to me in the past.
    Ok - here's my oddity.. I used to think I was born at the wrong time, or was a reincarnation of some earlier spirit that left with unfinished business. I didn't feel I fit in anywhere. Somedays , sure, I still feel that way.
    That's my 'thing'
    Simply put, there is much we don't know
    .
    With regards to the lady in question though.. did she really not know she was white?.
    I took the conversation somewhere else for awhile deliberately but I will say this. It proves just how meaningless the notion of race can be .. under scrutiny
    Anatomically speaking, under the banner 'black or rather African' pretty much every shade springs forth.
    So a person can look white.. yet be black.. and have two parents.. of my dark hue.
    Such is the beauty.. of it all.

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  5. I knew a lady here in Canada who was passing as a Native Indian. It actually pissed me off because her job required her to be NI as she helped with issues directly pertaining the the NI community. She as taking a job from someone who was actually qualified to do it. That is wrong.

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  6. I know Mariah Carey calls herself a black woman, but then one of her parents is black, but where do draw the line on all of this? Just like gender.

    I've been reading more into the lady above and I couldn't help that wonder of she says she identifies as black because her adopted siblings are black. Maybe she felt her parents gave them more love? Maybe they seemed special and she didn't? I think it was a bit cruel of her parents to "shop" her, if one on my daughters did this, I wouldn't go to the press and show photos of her as a child etc.

    ReplyDelete