Kylie Jenner Challenge: Why I Hate The Internet As A Woman Of Color

I blame her (lol j/k cuz y'all sensitive).

It always seems like the dumbest shit pops up on your instagram feed when your minding your own business...like honestly.

Thats how it happens,  your mindlessly scrolling enjoying the plethora of eye candy from Man Crush Monday...then BAM the #KylieJennerChallenge is dead center in front of you. I could blame myself and the people that I follow but no...not me...I blame the internet.

If you are soooooo lucky to be unhip and not know what I'm talking about, unfortunately for the purpose of this post I'm going to fill you in.

So the #Kyliejennerchallenge is another one of these idiotic internet challenges like the cinnamon challenge or the ice bucket challenge (yes i know that one was supposed to be for charity). This challenge however involves (more often than not) teen's and young children putting their lips inside of a shot glass, cup or jar and sucking to create a air vacuum for what is clearly an ungodly amount of time to make their lips double in size and eventually look like Kylie Jenner.

*pause for side eye*

I know...I know they're teens...they don't realize the damage they could be doing...liiiiiiiike bursting blood vessels, permanently deforming their face, creating bruising around their mouths, loosing feeling to their lips and so on. Kids are already reportedly having issues with the effects lasting way longer than expected, beyond minuets and hours and even lasting into the next day which becomes a problem when its time to go to school. 

What started out as all fun is now highly embarrassing and leaving children with facial bruises in the days to come.  There is even one "report" of the glass bottle exploding and slicing a guys mouth open (yes guys are doing it too)

Like....come on son LOL I CANT....how does this even sound like a good idea?

But of course aside from the sheer stupidity of this challenge the overwhelming hypocrisy and race related issues come to mind. Now I must admit very rarely do I pull the race card...if ever (because undoubtably thats what I will be blamed for doing...and being an overly sensitive black women by those who may no understand how deep this ish is), I MEAN COME ON!!!

Wasn't it not too long ago that THESE big lipped images were being thrown in the faces of people of color? That our features were being made a mockery of? Our hips, thighs, lips, curves and don't even get me started on the hair! Features that we can't help but to inherit from our ancestors, were shamed and we began to try so hard to make ourselves..."less black". Weaves, skin bleaching, tribes in Africa who once saw their curvy bodies as beautiful, getting on diets to be slim and its not just black women....because this is not just a "black thing". Many women of color from spanish, brazillian, arab and indian cultures take part in the self hate too. There are india and arab women who regard "lighter" skin tones in their culture as "better".

Google racist black cartoons and any of these over drawn big lipped images are sure to come up

And now...along comes Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian and those same features that we were taught to hate, be ashamed of, try to hide are somehow...stylish, on trend and coveted. 

As long as its NOT on a woman of color right?

I know our features are beautiful...our skin tones in all their hue's are beautiful but it pains me to think of how many little girls stare in the mirror each day thinking that they are anything less that an image of beauty because the media tell them their not. Or that their features look good...just not on them.

Its amazing to me, simply amazing that over the years...even as I have grown up I've seen tan skin, big butts, big hips and big lips to become "in style" but on white women and to know the history of how we as women of color were objectified, laughed at and tormented for our curves and "dick sucking lips" (popular phrase when I was in school) all the way back to slave days....the drawings and pictures are there do your research kids.

Lol...its almost funny and sadly I can't help but laugh, but it's really a valuable lesson. Not only for women of color, but all young girls. 

The same things that they try to make you hate about yourself are the exact things that they envy now or will want later. No matter if its your intelligence, your looks, your style, your personality whatever. 9 times out of 10 if someone is putting you down about something its because you are a threat to them, they want to break you down, they want to make you feel insignificant they don't want you to know your power. 

Because if for one second you loved and believed in yourself...you would already have them beat.

So if its you big ol brain or your big ol lips lol, embrace it, define your own beautiful because if you wait for society and the media to praise and adore your features on you as they come...you may die waiting and don't worry what anyone has to say...your a pretty girl regardless.


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Until Next Time,

XO Deanna