Yesterday the eclectic and controversial MC Azealia Banks took to Twitter and vented her frustrations on Colorism, stating that she feels men hate dark-skinned Black women. Unlike others I will not dismiss her anger and pain outright. For too long the experiences of dark-skinned African-American women have been erased. When we speak of how we […]
Category Archives: Beauty
Keep Walking
posted by diminutivediva
Over the past few days comedian Kevin Hart has been in the news again regarding jokes he made about dark-skinned Black women years ago. Hart doubled down on his disrespect while making sure to point out that joking about certain groups is off-limits. Apparently women who share his skin tone don’t fall into a protected […]
Whitewashed
posted by diminutivediva
Today brought the news of yet another Black celebrity using bleaching cream to exchange their natural brown skin in favor of an extremely pale tone. Nigerian-Cameroonian singer Dencia debuted her look and her fittingly named skincare line Whitenicius. As I looked at Dencia ‘s ghost-like skin a phrase came to mind: another one bites the […]
Whose Hair Is It Anyway
posted by diminutivediva
Over the past six months I’ve become increasingly agitated with the badgering and critique that black women who wear straight hair and/or weaves receive, mostly from “conscious black men”. This focus on dictating black women’s beauty choices truly perplexes me. A direct question to my brothers who are engaging in this behavior: why are our […]
Can I Live: A Rant on Natural Hair
posted by diminutivediva
It can be hard out here for Black women who do not straighten their hair and/or wear weaves. Over the past year a number of stories regarding the treatment little black girls receive from other children and school administrators have come to light. In the latest incident 12 year-old Vanessa VanDyke was threatened with expulsion […]
Shades of Blackness: The Aftermath
posted by diminutivediva
I stepped up onto bus route #48, heading to the CD to visit my friend Agnes. I’d met Agnes in May 1997. Though I was two years older than her we clicked from the beginning and became close. Like my friendship with Tisha my connection to Agnes grew from our common ground as outcasts. I […]
Shades of Blackness: My Revolution Part I
posted by diminutivediva
“WOW…this is all…me”, I said as I stared at my reflection in the mirror. I beheld something that I had not seen since I was seven years old: myself with a full head of natural hair. It was October 1996, the beginning of my junior year in high school. Tisha had continued to press her […]
Black is Beautiful?
posted by diminutivediva
“It saddens me that my family will simultaneously say “Black and proud” and embrace weaves and relaxers, but I’ve also learned to embrace their choices and the insecurities that led to those choices.” The quote listed above is from a comment that my friend Emelyne left on yesterday’s post. I felt that her words were […]
