TEA && LEMONADE

photography: sheyna reece

model: Ayesha Mc Mahon

Oh My God.

In honor of a slightly ill-advised decision I made today, I created this image. Now someone make me an actual 8-ball with this response, lol.

The fact that there are BLACK people coming to her defense is too much for me. I know that not everyone is well versed in racial issues, historical implications, and how stuff like this is harmful to black people now, but damn. It’s so frustrating seeing a white person being able to use features that Black people are constantly criticized for to look trendy and cute. Not only that, but she had thousands of followers on Instagram (something like 25k) for basically being in blackface. She has since deleted her account, which I’m assuming is because of the backlash she’s currently getting. 

This is too all white girls + non-black girls in general, please stop using “Black features” for aesthetics. It’s not cute and it’s annoying. Black women have historically been scrutinized and oppressed for these features you think are now trendy. Also, even though they’re currently trendy, Black women are STILL laughed at for these features, while they are often celebrated when featured on women who are not Black. Stop this nonsense, it’s 2016. This strange phenomenon of others capitalizing and appropriating Blackness needs to stop. As they say, “people love Black culture but not Black people.”

This was her:

This is her now:

Remember the Swedish Tanning Salon scandal too? 

THIS IS TANNING ON WHITE SKIN:

THIS IS NOT:

They sold dark skin in a can and called it ‘’Tanning”. No, that’s called Blackface. No you don’t have to be making fun of Black people for it to be Blackface either. Dark skinned people are ridiculed and you want to paint yourself darker and call it “tanning” or “appreciation”. You want to show appreciation? UPLIFT AND SUPPORT REAL LIFE, ACTUALLY DARK SKINNED PEOPLE.