When Swedish company Emmaatan released a line of tanning products that enabled women of lighter skin tones to mimic black women, they faced an extreme backlash but that did not stop the products from selling out.
An “opportunity to look black without facing the racial consequences?” Yes please! The only way black culture can be appreciated is if it’s not portrayed by black people of course. For centuries black people’s natural hair has been mocked as ‘nasty’, full lips as disgusting and black skin as dirty, yet when the all-white Kardashian family walks out with cornrows, extensions representing natural hair, silicone injected lips, and tans beyond their skin tones, the world eats it all up.
The tanning products are named ‘Dark Ash Onyx’, ‘Violet Black’ and ‘Caramel’, turning the same colors which have gotten an entire race discriminated against, exiled and killed, into a savvy fashion statement.
Maybe it is the fact that black people have finally started to take pride in their culture, skin and natural features which now attracts companies such as Emmaatan to exploit them. Well, to be fair that would not be the first time a certain race took and demoralized something that belonged to someone else.
Tanning is supposed to be a process of going a shade or two darker so your body appears more sun-kissed and toned, which the owner of Emmaatan admitted, as according to her Instagram post she “never wants [her] customers to look unnatural or too dark, since [they] usually have a lighter skin tone”. However the results produced using her products are nowhere near natural but at nearly opposite ends of the skin spectrum.
These products are essentially a guide to committing blackface inside a spray bottle. Blackface has been around for decades, dating back to the mid-1900’s when BBC aired The Black and White Minstrel Show, which consisted of an all-white cast who painted over their skin with black paint. The show eventually got cancelled on the accounts of racism, but had already aired for 20 years and achieved an 8 digit viewing figure.
After nearly half a century, one would have thought that black face would be a thing of the past, but even in recent days, Hollywood stars can’t seem to leave it behind. Actress Julianne Hough darkened her skin significantly while trying to cosplay a black character from the famous TV show Orange is the New Black.
Company Emmaatan just took this a step forward and went from Blackface to a complete Blackbody. Instead of a golden hue and dewy finish, the user is left with a completely dark, brown body that looks surprisingly unnatural.
However, that’s not it. Not only are white people being encouraged to pursue black features, black people are being put down for the exact same reason. Recently famous cosmetics brand MAC posted a picture of a beautiful side profile of a black model wearing a deep plum shade of lipstick.
Users responded with a pour of negative comments including, “Them fish lips tho” and “N**gga lips”, followed by a laughing emoji, as if it is completely fine to use a horrific racial slur and taunt someone for something that is out their control. This is also the same audience that aspires to have “Kylie Jenner lips” and uses bottle caps as lip plumpers.
Welcome to the 21st Century dear readers, where black girls with full lips are taunted and white girls with lip fillers are praised. Where natural black hair will decrease the likelihood of a black woman succeeding in her career, yet extensions representing the same texture will be applauded on white girls. Where dark skin will still get you a longer sentence in jail, and white skin a free ‘Get out of Jail’ card.
Do not forget that full lips, natural black hair, and dark skin are beautiful, as long as they’re not on black people of course.
Works Cited
“The Black and White Minstrel Show.” Wikipedia. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Wikipedia. Web. 30 Mar. 2016. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_and_White_Minstrel_Show>.
“Want to Look Black? There’s a Spray Tan for That.” Madame Noir. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2016. <http://madamenoire.com/619009/emmaatan-spray-tan-blackface/>.
By Noveen Fatima
IFFI 