A Mixed Girl Weighs in on the Fetishizing of Mixed Girls

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“Í want to have mixed babies.” “My child cannot have dark skin.” “Mixed girls have that good hair.” It’s statements like these that plaster our Tumblr dashboards, are retweeted by thousands and thought about by millions. The spectrum of what “mixed girls” can look like is rather wide because let’s face it – everyone doesn’t look like their race. Personally I don’t believe characteristics determine ones race but when you think about it people rely on appearance to classify others based on their race, sex, religion, etc. When I say mixed, I don’t just mean of Black and White decent. There are many other races that can classify someone as being of mixed races but for the sake of speaking about the dehumanization of darker features and colorism I will be focusing my angles on the glamorizing of girls with lighter features.

I must say that in no way is this post downplaying the looks of one because that would defeat the purpose of this post. What I want to do is shine a light on colorism and the effects it has on the one being fetishist and the one being dehumanized. Tauri, a biracial girl who is in fact Black and White said, “Having light skin is a privilege in the Black community so although we experience discomfort and fetishization, darker skinned-people/girls are the ones who are most negatively affected by it.” She goes on to say, "Now, as a fair skinned, biracial person, I would say the impacts of colorism are a major challenge in my life. But at the end of the day it is nothing in comparison of the degradation of darker skinned women. My skin, hair, and other features are glorified while they continue to be threatened and dehumanized for theirs. When jokes are made about my skin, the punchline is that I don't text back. I can deal with that. What I won't tolerate however are jokes in which dark skinned women are compared to animals and made a mockery of." Being biracial goes beyond having bouncy curls and cream-colored skin. Many people suffer backlash for not being 100% one race. Many even face identity confusion. As Tauri puts it, "Growing up I was constantly going back and forth between cultures trying to figure out which side I was supposed to be on. It wasn't until way later in my life that I realized I don't have to be one or the other. I am an imperfect combination of both and that's okay."

It’s one thing for people to have a type (Read This:The Difference Between Racism & Preference) and be more attracted to certain features but I find it creepy and weird when I see people reposting photos of little children with curly hair and tan skin with captions like, “ She’s lucky she’s a child.” “If my baby doesn’t look like this – I’m killing myself.” Bruh, you sound like a pedophile – It’s freaking weird. Fact of the matter is, colorism is discrimination and if you are already part of a marginalized group you should understand that holding mixed people to a higher standard because of their physical appearance goes back to the days of slavery. The children of slaves who were raped by their owners received better treatment – working in the house and even receiving things that were illegal for Blacks like education. This twisted systematic belief gives everyone else the power but us and the simple fact that some of you carry it on says a lot about how you think about yourself and others. 

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