#featurism

[sleepynegress]

*sigh* Featurism...

So, I woke up to this shit on the Twit app and I've only hit on this issue before, but today I'm digging in. Colorism is something that is not addressed often enough, but intersected within that and even more rarely spoken about, is the issue of featurism. The young actress above just got cast as Juliet in the latest big staged prestige production of Romeo and Juliet, opposite Tom Holland. And as usual the blue-checks, everybody else including "black", and even Black regulars are all-in on the cruelty.

...But I want to breakdown a nuance that is too often skipped over when this happens. The two people named with her, give away the featurism game, here; a particularly nasty form of often internalized racism. I guarantee if the young actress looked like this?

She'd definitely still get racist attacks, but the particularly nasty shit I'm seeing attacking her looks wouldn't come. In fact, I could see some people thinking they are defending her with "but she's pretty!" or more specific... "obviously she's mixed" comments. -Something pretty much every Black woman with features that don't align with a narrow perception of blackness hear often (and we'll get to why I specified women in a minute). And don't get it twisted...

These aren't exclusively nor standard white features either (see: the many ethnic features w/in white ethnic groups that also get hit to a lesser and non-racialized degree such as large "hook" and/or Romanesque noses for example, which is definitely about anti-semitism, anti-Romani sentiment, and other disparaged/discriminated against ethnic minorities in Europe) and yes, blue eyes are naturally occurring within non-mixed and dark-skinned Black people due to a mutation called Waardenburg syndrome. But there is a REASON why fetishizing even certain ethnic features within the African continental diaspora has been a thing for a long time...i.e. "the dopest Ethiopian" from the Tribe Called Quest lyric is pictured as this:

and this:

and not this:

...despite them all being Ethiopians of various tribal ethnicities.

A wide-nose, a tighter curl, coil, or zig-zag pattern of hair, fuller lips and often, but not always (because I've given examples above where features "mitigate" skin color) darker skin. Zendaya is grouped with Tracey and Francesca Amewudah-Rivers, despite being both lighter in skin color and having a Black parent and a white parent because her nose isn't what has become the standard surgical look...that too many celebs have. This includes the ones who got so-called "ethnic" work or just a slight 'refinement'. No, her nose is born w/it, made for that good African air, as I call it. Nostrils prominent, nose bridge wide:

I went make-up free as well, because even make-up practices these days, go for that narrowing highlight technique i.e. just below it's subtle.

Sza is a an example of it taken to extremes, even with the Hollywood standard "ethnic" refinement she did get.

The thing is... I don't blame or attack her for that. Because you see above that is just a taste of what happens. Lil' Kim was relentlessly bullied by the men in her life for her ethnic features for her whole life...and that is why she is off-limits to this day for me when it comes to all the work she's had done.

...And this is where I explain why I specified men being mostly exempt. It's because "Blackness" including all the physical features associated with it, is by default masculinized. ...Which is why Idris Elba is considered one of the most handsome men in the world, w/o the caveats that even Lupita Nyong'o often gets. Nobody calls Samuel L. Jackson ugly. He is even idolized and fetishized by a specifically white male gaze for how culturally "Black" he is perceived to be for all the wrong reasons, his signature "motherfucka" for example (and I could go off on a whole other tangent here, but digressing). All this to say... Featurism sucks. It's not talked about enough. Blackness in all variations is Beautiful. Tracy Chapman looking as young she does?? Hell, mark it down to both her dark skin (a natural UV protector) and not messing with her given features (and being a lesbian, men will age you. lol -I got jokes-):

P.S. THANK GOODNESS for Tems and her rising prominence as a beauty as well:

P.P.S. Even Jay-Z the billionaire rapper has had the comments over the years about his lips and nose, hence that lyric in Beyonce's Formation.

#featurism #I only just scratched the surface #but man this shit needed to be scratched #colorism #racism #meta #tom holland #romeo and juliet #tracy chapman #lil kim #tems #jay z #sza #zendaya #francesca amewudah-rivers #francesca amewudah rivers

[classycookiexo]

THIS

#megan thee stallion #melania trump #michelle obama #iggy azalea #featurism

[kouhaiofcolor]

Yeeeeah so, non blacks are just underdeveloped & ass at drawing Black characters & Black Ppl cus when I find Black art posted by actual Black People — that shit slap. they just be making excuses for being antiblack & having such limited art style. I’ve never heard of a Black artist being like, “well non black characters/ocs are just harder to draw w/o colorist/texturist/featurist adaptations of my own.”

S’ok tho😉. Leave it to Black People. They draw Black characters w faaaaaaaar more artistic quality, substance & perspective. Stick to y’all colorist, whitewashed, euro-featured & one dimensional remakes of ethnic characters. Cus that’s what y’all are best at & have always been “creatively limited” to. By choice. We got us.

#black tumblr #black twitter #blm #black art #black representation #antiblackness #misogynoir #colorism #featurism #texturism #fanart #colorism in fanart #antiblackness in fanart #fandom #anime #art style #mine.txt #double standards

[bookishfeylin]

IDK what black girl needs to hear this but yes, you can overcome internalized colorism, featurism, and texturism and learn to truly love your features

#bookish rambles #colorism #featurism #texturism #misogynoir

[sanyu-thewitch05]

I’m just about sick and tired of peoples first response to beautiful darkskinned woman being posted online is to say they’re “EuROCenTric!”

Even when they’re Africans or monoracial black people. But the same people are awfully quick to call European features Black when they’re on a biracial’s face.

Be serious people please!

#colorism #darkskin black women #black girls of tumblr #protect black girls #featurism #it’s always Eurocentric when it’s a darkskinned black woman #some of y’all just can’t accept darkskinned black women and girls can be beautiful #so you throw whatever excuse you can pronounce to deny their beauty

[shyjusticewarrior]

I hope the YouTube commenter who said "finally the penguin is not a fat, long nosed bird-man" about Gotham Oswald is having a terrible day.

#gotham #tv #oswald cobblepot #the penguin #nygmobblepot #riddlebird #dc #youtube #cw fatphobia #featurism #fandom #comics #hugo strange #professor strange #gotham season 2 #2x12 #rogues gallery #fat character #canon queer characters #canon disabled character #fandom critical #vent

[survivalove]

are you going to call katara's actress 'whitewash' too because she isn't as dark as the cartoon? get real you self important ass 🙄 you're just going to have to suffer through looking at fan art that looks like real life indigenous actresses ig

so i guess every single indigenous person ever is lightskin? i must have imagined all the darker indigenous people i’ve ever seen on the internet and real life. thanks for enlightening me! 😃

the art is still whitewashed. good day

#no indigenous woman has ever been darker than a paper bag! #this is brand new information to me you guys #you learn something new every day #lol #saying art with lighter skin tones and EUROCENTRIC features are what real indigenous people looks like…. #being colorist on anon is definitely a choice #my asks #colorism #featurism #anti whitewashing #and before someone starts talking about me saying eurocentric #i’m talking about the art not the person #cuz the fanart in question looks nothing like her like anon claims #other than being lightskin

[the-magic-mirror]

Beautiful - EROS

Eros is what I call this series of red and blue ink drawings which critiques American culture.

Beautiful is about featurism and self acceptance. Beauty is subjective, we don’t have to let the dominant culture tell us that hooded eyes, natural dark circles, and downturned eyes aren’t beautiful.

For me, this sketch is intertwined with racialization of Jewish people and “Jewish” features. I’m also disabled, and dark circles and other signs of chronic fatigue are subject to ableism.

#mine #eros draws #jumblr #featurism #chronic fatigue #disabled art #art

[positively--speculative]

Back on this bullshit lmao...

For context, this dude opened the conversation with asking me what my ethnicity is which I told him was weird to ask someone in a first message and I asked him why he wanted to know that and he said it's important because he wants to know what his kids will be. I then asked him why his kids' DNA breakdown was important to him. He has been giving me non-answers. He also proceeded to call me "exotic."

The dude is obviously has a bad case of colorism and featurism (and self-hate). I'm just curious if he will come right out and admit that he could not care less about who I am as a person as long as he can fetishize me and fantasize about having mixed kids he can use as trophies lol.

#Dating app fails #Colorism #Featurism #Racism #Misogynoir

[batmanbeyondrocks]

Every Black child needs to see this Malcolm X clip…

Credit: MrCrim3@MrCrim3

#YouTube #MrCrim3@MrCrim3 #Malcolm X #Self-Hate #Colorism #Racism #Featurism #Texturism #Eurocentric Beauty Standards #Afrocentric Features #Anti-Blackness #Anti-Black Propaganda

[thisismisogynoir]

i don't think poc realize how internalized colorism is. like honestly my lightskin friends will always be considered more beautiful/desirable/smarter and honestly just BETTER than me because i'm darkskinned and they're not. even in my family my mom will complain that i look too dark in pictures and i need to lighten my skin a bit. she was happy when i got more fair during boarding school. and i know she doesn't mean it maliciously but it's really sad yk?

Yeah, that’s so sad. I’m so sorry you have to deal with that. My mother also faced colorism for being darkskin and it’s really upsetting especially since she’s clearly a very beautiful woman but people in Jamaica and America alike refused to realize that because she’s…well…dark. And some were happy when she got with my dad BECAUSE he’s lightskin. 😡 😡 😡

Just know that no matter what anybody says, you are beautiful through and through, both inside and out. The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice. Don’t let anyone dull your shine!

#love ya #black women #misogynoir #colorism #texturism #featurism #black is beautiful #black women are beautiful #double standards #racial double standards #eurocentric beauty standards #jamaica #america #deyjahvu

[felucians]

"darker colours are harder to differentiate" have y'all tried differentiating between the pale colors in wallpaint shades? because I am still tryna find the difference between pale yellow and cream and off-white to this date.

with 20/20 vision too.

#you just want excuses to justify racism bffr!!! #and the fact they claim to be poc too? like did they choose you yet?? did the yts pick you as their token friend?? #like a blk woman got death threats over that and you want to pander to yt blondies threatening poc? #woc #woc experience #racism #white supremacy #featurism #texturism #whiteness

[kouhaiofcolor]

Dunno who needs to hear this (nah who am I kidding? I know exactly who I’m talking to & about, & y’all do too 😉),

but if your “Black friend(s)” are only Black males who are indifferent, entertained by or silent in the face of misogynoir, Black fetishism, colorism, antiblackness in general, & esp you using the n word as a non black — you do not have Black friends. I’m sorry. You’re simply friends with Black enablers who pander to & exceptionalize your ignorance bc they either hate themselves, their people or their culture (If not all of the above; & usually, it’s all if not most of the above). That’s what that is. At its core & in depth. The “Black People” you conveniently bring up to defend yourself when your humanity is brought into question or criticized online or irl, are just enabling your shitty behavior. And that is the purpose & function you comfortably reduce them to — whether either of you realize it or not.

They’re there for your convenience as apologists. I notice a lot of the time when y’all say or act on something antiblack, y’all reach vehemently for the minimal amount of Black “People” you actually know personally just to validate or excuse antiblack behavior, opinions or notions. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that these Black “friends” are always always totally fine w y’all mishandling them or things unique to our culture, either. It’s more birds of a desperate ass feather than anything else. Stop looking to these friends to protect, back and validate your prejudice, bc trust & believe actual Black People w self & cultural respect don’t & wouldn’t fw them anyhow. Y’all could be like, “BlAcK pEoPLe DoNt Go To CoLLeGe,” — and reference the all of 0.3 Black People you interact w on an even semi-regular basis as a representative for the entire diaspora just bc they coon ass agrees to save face in front of you. 😂 Be ffr.

Y’all are never acquainted w Black People who even have the balls to put you in your place “friend to friend” for the ways in which y’all make them look stupid. Please stop it. Also, not that it’s a secret at all, but Black men are pretty notorious for mistreating their own ppl the same way non blacks do so. 👀While it’s not all of them, they’re certainly not the most ideal group to testify for y’all, just saying. Them be y’all picks tho. Consistently. Y’all ain’t never friends w/ Black Women who don’t play that shit. Or even just a healthy mix of Black men and Black Women who even agree w y’all. 😂 Odd af. Y’all definitely cherry pick y’all dancing monkeys for testimony and line of defense — and they never fail to perform, I’ll give you that. You do not have Black friends tho. Tell your enablers to shut up since they’re so comfortable being silenced anyhow until you need ‘em.

Thank you for coming to my TED. ✌🏽😊

#black tumblr #black twitter #blm #black friends #thats a tag fr? #antiblackness #misogynoir #colorism #featurism #black men #black women #antiblackness apologists #double standards #coonery #performative activism #self hate #mine.txt #tw: n word #cultural fetishism #cultural appropriation #protect black women #protect black girls #signal boost #psa

[bookishfeylin]

I felt this article in my soul. Essentially: featurism glorifies Eurocentric standards of beauty (that is, the obsession with light hair and light eyes and thin noses) and it's something we still need to work on.

#racim #colorism #featurism #when i was little kida from atlantis was my Black princess because tiana was not a thing #and she helped me love my dark skin. but I HATED my dark eyes and hair I used to wish I could have blue eyes and white hair like kida #because i thought it the only way black women could be beautiful was having those eurocentric features #and although now ive overcome my own internalized antiblackness i 100% agree with the author #and im very tired of the dark skin+light eyes and hair trope #antiblackness #misogynoir #eurocentric beauty standards #on media

[moonfirebrides]

Black women, you know that awkward moment when a Black man sees you and has that thinly veiled look of disgust on their face. You know that look, glazed over with a vague polite smile, it’s conclusive, you can feel it loud and clear, you know for sure that they don’t like Black women. Infact, they would not piddle on you if you were on fire.

- Yes, My Sister by Honey Williams ig: @thehoneyeffect

#misogynoir #internalised racism #colourism #black manosphere #manosphere #black women #black woman #black beauty #dark skin #racism #black men #white supremacy #colorism #beauty ideal #featurism #african american #black British #african diaspora #black french #superiority complex #fatphobia

[colorism-project]

Featurism and Texturism: The Dreadful Cousins of Colorism

Join Dr. Shannan Moore for a Deep Dive Discussion titled “Featurism and Texturism: The Dreadful Cousins of Colorism” at the virtual Ronald  E. Hall Conference on Colorism on August 17, 2023 and August 18, 2023. Register today:  Ronald E. Hall Conference on Colorism     Deep Dive Discussion Session 3A Date: Friday, August 18, 2023 Time: 3:20 p.m. – 4:50 p.m. Dr. Shannan Moore Deep Dive Discussion…

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#Black community #Colorism #Dr. Shannan Moore #Featurism #Hair #Texturism