The cookie-cutter dark girl with the blue-contacts may not look upon the woman above for beauty advice. Coloured contact lenses are indicative of a yearning to change and be part of the ‘other’. Are dark eyes the opposite of what is beautiful for this dark girl who is on a quest to destroy her black-ness? Colourism manifests itself with the gateways to our souls as they are known because people want to stand out and be ‘seen’. Slavery and its’ shackles ensured that the dark people should be not only seen but ‘looked down on’. In a world we live in now where our ancestors have made considerable gain for us, we can finally be ‘seen’, judging by the success of singers and rapperws. Now that we can be ‘seen’ and not struck down by this, can anyone really blame the dark girl with the fake contacts if all she wants is a bit of attention?
According to dictionary.com, exotic can mean “strikingly unusual or strange in effect or appearance: an exotic hairstyle.” Is this definition laced with eurocentrism or can it be adapted to afrocentrism? It is safe to say that women of colour (black, Asian, Indian) are bound to this definition involuntarily in the Occident. Does a broad nose make a black woman exotic? Or does her naturally curly hair make her ‘different’? Exotic as a label is purely repugnance. It promotes the subtext that women of colour are spokeswomen for fetishism. This adjective puts us on a pedestal to be examined and gawked at. Saartjie Baartman who was ‘given’ a label that I will abbreviate as VH is a key example of how exoticism manifested itself to make women of colour stand on pedestals and be examples of difference in a negative light. Then again, is there really much of a difference of what happened to Ms Baartman’s to the video “models” of today’s 21st century?
What makes a woman pretty? That question could form the part of a doctoral thesis. I like to think that associations and symbols can create an image or aura of a pretty person, as opposed to just physical features. For example, Nas’ ridiculous, almost pathetic attempts to legitimise calling the N word for the name of his album lessen his appeal to me because he is associating himself and de facto trying to promote a word that was meant to crush black people worldwide. Someone who is conscious of their blackness becomes pretty to me because I share that ethnicity/race/heritage. Good looks are not all about slick hair and a banging body. I wish the girls who got excessive plastic surgery would realise that. The ‘good looks’ that we give our own people instead of cutting them down is what will transform us into timeless beauties. Angela Davis campaigned relentessly for what she believed in. Her Afro does not symbolise all of who she is but it is a symbol of a black woman coming to terms with who she is. That is what makes her beautiful to me because she embraced the curly roots of who she is.
I think that wearing an afro does not mean to embrace your blackness. I think it is a style, as is dreads, braids, wavy, and straight. However, it is what one does, their actions, that determines their yearning to embrace their culture. I don’t think the battle is so much over how people wear their hair, i think it is not relative however because what they do with themselves in this supposed post-racial country will ultimately be the determinant of which such insecurities they have. Love ur observation about the video….”models”!
The term “exotic” annoys me. Why am I exotic? Is it because of my colour?
Have a great day!
@ByrdParker-My apology for the misunderstnading!
@Aulelia-Your post really keep us talking and communicating I love it.
aulelia,
chester himes bookroll:
my life of absurdity
quality of hurt
there is also a anthology of short stories.
In regards to movies , i like to watch any movie dealing with black people , anything , and that is a shame , because there is less choice . Doc’s are great , and i agree with your comment !!!!
The realness of subject matter which is revealed is inspirational on a emotional level .
As always a pleasure to to read your posts!
have a great day !!!
great post princess…loved reading it…i wish we could all get to the point where we recognize that we are all human and all beautiful in our own unique ways…its too bad that a few people’s insecurities have infiltrated the world and left us in this crazy state…
Well look what I stumbled across…
Since I stopped putting heat inmy hair and embraced its natural roots it has been nothing but self-exploration.
1) The looks: good and bad.
2) People wanting to touch it, grr…
3) The discusions with my boyfriend who hasn’t quite accepted that this is the way I’m wearing my hair.
It’s an uphill battle but it’s one of the best decisions I’ve made this year.
@rawdawgbuffalo — thank you!! come by again
byrdparker — i agree with you that there is no true representation of black diaspora but i must say i think the future is in documentaries as opposed to movies. afro-punk, still havent seen it though, made so much noise and people seemed excited cos it was finally about black people & rock made by a black person.
i will check out chester himes. what has he written?
esayn
i think u missunderstood me , i personally do not think u should read langston hughes over welsing . that comment was taken from an anon poster who wrote a review of the welsing papers.
on amazon , .
I have read both . One of my favorite writers is chester himes , i like his straightforward approach to his being a black man in a white world .
web dubois , is interesting BUT just one take of the multifaceted black diaspora . There is much disscussion going on recently on his contributions .
The sad thing is we are always only allowed a few , and then we critique them to death …
I mean lets be real , even now more so ( due to technology ) , everything is geared towards whites…. I only rent movies , because i can stop , and fast fwd . Going to the movies and watching tv , is disheartening there is no true representation for the black diaspora.
i love your prose
W.E.B DuBois, I want read some of his stuff. I have searched HIGH and LOW for that seminal wallace thurman book ”blacker the berry”. need to keep looking!
I think the Harlem Renaissance was the first time in black history black people had “hope” through art. Art was a form of empowerment. Jean Toomer wrote “Cane” a very tough read but interesting book. W.E.B. Du Bois emerged he created the NAACP. Of course Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes I think were the two most successful black writers from that era to emerge as literary international superstars. There were other important black artists though that encouraged young black writers such as Countee Cullen, Wallace Truman, ect. the professor Alain Locke and of course W.E.B. Du Bois again he was encouraging as well in his own way.
@ ByrdParker>I haven’t seen the Princess Tam Tam movie, I would be interested in seeking it out. As for reading Langston Hughes over Dr. Welsing, I am not sure one over the other is a correct way to deal with it. I am feeling we should read Langston Hughes to get a feeling for the experience of Black people of the time and Dr. Welsing for a psycological analysis for how the European thinks and reacts via how they interprete certain symbols. We should more than likely read both and much more.
Thank you for all your insightful and passionate responses. I am glad that we can all discuss this issue!
@Mes Deux Cents > I wholly agree, it is dehumanising. It puts the person who utters in the word in a position of superiority.
@Ensayn > Miss Josephine Baker of course was another Baartman-esque woman who was paraded. Can you imagine people legitately wearing the banana skirt today to go to school? Thanks for mentioning her.
@byrdparker > was the harlem renaissance fully charged by white people? i heard rumours like that and it makes you wonder, do we as black people have anything that is fully our own? As for Nas, he is cooning big time!!
@Naturally Sophia > when they called you exotic, did you find it to be a compliment or not? I’d love to hear your thoughts on that.
@Ana > I am glad you like the website and thanks for stopping by. I completely agree when you say “I do not give ten coconuts how white folks view me”. You put it so well. I don’t care either but I wrote this post so I can try and understand why that word bothers me so much. Me as an afro-wearing girl isn’t exotic, it is normal LOL!
@Orville > Exactly, I completely agree when you said “Language is also can be used as empowerment but also a system of domination as well. Language can be used to exploit people and treat people as inferior.”.
–Language is crippling in this respect and what is worse is some black people (NAS) don’t even fucking realise what they are doing! I think we as black people worldwide need to re-examine that.
Aulelia / Orville …
I am really dissapointed in Nas …/ but i digress I must be too old cause I am still trying to figure out how lil weezy is a great lyricist , and how a seven time felon , who isn’t afraid of the law , is now desperately searching to find a get out of jail free card .
Nas is just trying to jumpstart his career. Nas isn’t selling like Kanye West. I’m actually sadden by Nas because he was always such an intelligent and articulate guy he was different then the 50 CENTS of the world. I think Nas is doing this for free publicity, but he also I believe is just trying to SELL RECORDS. At the end of the day it seems to me the marketing teams at record labels are tyring more and more “creative” ways to “shock” the public. Look at the 50 CENT Vs Kanye West battle last month. Both West and 50 CENT were in on it and it worked for about a week. People aren’t buying CDs like they used to record sales are going down. So artists like Nas are trying anything they can to ‘SHOCK” the public and sell records.
Your website Aulelia is amazing because its refreshing to read someone write so passionately about issues that usually get ignored. Its just cool the way you really think about these kinds of things that sometimes I admit even I gloss over.
You really got me thinking when you used the word “exotic.” Your website gets people to think critically about issues such as race, culture but also language. I like how you challenge the use of the word “exoitc”. I remember when I was in Women’s Studies we talked a lot about language and the power of language. Language can be used to treat people as the “other” and outside the boundaries of the “mainstream.” Language is also can be used as empowerment but also a system of domination as well. Language can be used to exploit people and treat people as inferior.
Aulelia my sister, I love your website. I am Afro Panamanian and I live in New York City.Black people worry too much about how white people see us.If we are exotic to them,they are also exotic to us. Until we are able to get these people out of heads and stop always believing that they have to vaidify us, we will never have freedom. I do not give ten coconuts how white folks view me. We must begin to think independently apart from all the foolishness that we have been taught. Who died and made white folks, beautiful, good, and intelligent? If we do not believe that, then we are ok.Once again, I love your site, and God bless you.
Ana
Great Post!
I have had black women and men describe me as exotic. I am also black and not more “exotic” than them I don’t think.
Thoughts?
Esayn
Joesphine Baker , was very interesting , i have done a lot of research on her … She had a lot of darkness around her … Did u ever see princess tam tam movie?
re isis papers , never read it , but am familiar with her theories … the best comment on amazon , comes from a guy who saids we should read langston hughes over welsing to understand the black experience ,….. But the harlem renaisance happened because the whites wanted it to be …. The biggest patrons of the hr were whites , especially Charlotte Osgood Mason, who had to be shown manuscripts of work b/4 publishing , she also made changes .
when my granny got to old , she had to be put in a home , as my nana had to much to take care of , we visited her all the time … She had a white suite mate , they would talk and get along , but then my granny would go back in time in her mind , and practically try to kill her suite mate … She would rattle on about not making no pies , not ironing the shirts , she called her white devils and told much more about her life … I never forgot this , i was young and it made a big impression on me .
Hey Aulelia
Great post !
My thoughts are that slavery was a double edged sword for a lot involved. Slavery was instituted and controlled by men , there for the shackles ensured the dark man would not only be seen but looked down upon … The white man found the black woman , attractive , so much so that he had many rendevous’s at night with her , he and her created the half caste , she perhaps to ensure her children a better life from her perspective during that time . He did not understand what he created and in turn tried to brand the half caste with shackles of ignorance, superficial self importance , which only held true in said particular house hold .
exotic , is a term used to describe something different . something unusual in that place or time … So as poster above stated it is a dehumanizing term .
Our idea of beauty , is hard to shake … Most of us have preconcieved inventory drilled in our heads, and most of it is based in european features
Saartjie Baartman , his her bottom still in the louvre ??? I have been to paris several times for business , and have never been to the louvre . My only purpose to go is to have acess to saartjie ‘s remains . Did you read the Barbara Chase-Riboud book ? It took me over 6 months , very painful to absorb !!!!!
Josephine Baker the famed dancer from St. Louis, MO., while living and performing in Paris France in the early part of the last century said “white folk imaginations are really something when it comes to the Negro.” They are really something else when it comes to us. It is them that discribes us as “exotic”, the must really hate themselves. Read the Isis Papers by Dr. Frances Cress Wellsing!
Hi ,
Exotic can describe a car or a fruit, but should never be used to describe a person. It is I think an insult to call a person exotic, it’s really dehumanizing the person, equating them to an inanimate object.
The story of Saartjie Baartman is a true tragic story. Every Black woman should know her story to understand the history of what we deal with today.
Thanks