Women do not belong to men nor to god.

February 29, 2020 2:18 PM

FUCK YOUR WESTERN BEAUTY STANDARDS: Loving yourself as a brown woman is radical. I grew up hating who I was. I was raised on anti-blackness, colorism, classism, and sexism. I grew up looking in the mirror prying my eyes open because I thought they looked too “beaner.” I hated my hair color, my skin color, my poverty, my language, and my mother for her broken English. ' I grew up and began changing my body and performance to be more “white.”

(The image in the article seems to sometimes load something different than the one described by the author. A direct link to her work of art.)

posted by Anonymous (10 comments total)

I fucking loved this. Thanks for sharing it. And for sharing a link to the picture! I tried opening the article in a few different browsers and it didn’t show up for me. Definitely not necessary for enjoyment of the article but I loved the drawing too, it’s really beautifully done.

The feeling of distancing and disdaining a part of yourself to try to appease your oppressors and realizing that you can never escape their judgment is familiar to me but, at the same time to me as a white person, it’s easy to be blind to how common beauty standards stem from white supremacy and privilege me in that way. It was helpful for me when I started recognizing this to see how complicit I can be in upholding white supremacy by how I define beauty.
posted by the thorn bushes have roses at 3:52 PM on February 29, 2020 [7 favorites]

That self-portrait is phenomenal, I especially love the side panels and the use of color.
posted by sallybrown at 4:33 PM on February 29, 2020 [3 favorites]

This is great, both the essay and the art. (And yes, thank you for the direct link.)
posted by Dip Flash at 5:08 PM on February 29, 2020 [1 favorite]

I dated only white men for years, and adopted their identity. I listened to their music, watched their shows, dressed in their clothes, all while shitting on everything I had known all my life.

Whooooooof, this hit like a freight train.
posted by corb at 5:44 PM on February 29, 2020 [4 favorites]

"And I didn’t draw feet or hands because they’re hard to draw and I don’t owe anyone anything."

Politics affects what would seem to be a non-political issue.
posted by Nancy Lebovitz at 6:02 PM on February 29, 2020 [3 favorites]

It's a never ceasing truth that all it takes is one shitty unthinking comment to tumble down the whole house of cards you've built to get away from yourself.

I think this universe can only be served by more recognition of our humble awesomeness. (and for those of us in power - a recognition of our humility and flaws as well)
posted by drewbage1847 at 8:43 PM on February 29, 2020 [3 favorites]

I love that self portrait. Thanks for linking it. It didn't open for me in the article either.
posted by lollusc at 8:51 PM on February 29, 2020 [1 favorite]

"I learned that my self loathing was a result of centuries of European and American colonization on my people: the indigenous woman, the Chicana."

I found this line to be particularly powerful.
posted by not_that_epiphanius at 9:12 AM on March 1, 2020 [1 favorite]

Politics affects what would seem to be a non-political issue.

It's true, but also true that if worrying about the hands and feet was stopping her from drawing this and making her statement then she's better off making the statement without the hands and feet.
posted by subdee at 9:34 AM on March 1, 2020 [1 favorite]

Thank you for sharing this!
posted by stripesandplaid at 8:44 PM on March 1, 2020