Credit: Getty
Opinion
Cultural appropriation took a sinister turn with reverse Blackfishing, and it’s taking an emotional toll on Black women
3 years ago
4 min read
Reverse Blackfishing sees white women distance themselves from the Black traits they had previously adopted for personal gain – and, once again, Black women are left to pick up the pieces.
Black skin, Black braids, Black waves, Black days, Black baes, Black things… these are Black-owned things… Black faith still can’t be washed away,” Solange Knowles sings in one of my favourite songs, Almeda.
It pays homage to Solange’s hometown and celebrates the multifaceted traits of Black people: the rich colour of our skin, our versatile hairstyles, our historic resilience and our ability to maintain faith amid adversity and imitation.
The song hit me particularly hard in 2018 when Blackfishing – the act of non-Black people altering their appearance with hair, make-up, filters or surgery to appear Black or racially ambiguous – materialised in a big way.
While conversations around cultural appropriation came to a head in the 2010s, it took a more sinister turn through Blackfishing.
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