When I first heard about Martina Big, I thought great, another Rachel Dolezal.
A knock off Rachel Dolezal because I highly doubt Big’s ass was working for somebody’s NAACP.
It seems it was only yesterday when Dolezal was called out for fraudulently living her life as a Black woman.
Thanks to a recent Maury Povich's Episode: Can You Change Your Race? we’ve arrived again in a position where a White woman wants to be Black.
What’s new? I mean Black women set trends. From the darkest of darks to the lightest of lights we are some of the most beautiful people to walk this earth. Painstakingly, we are also the most oppressed. You can choose to debate me at another time.
Big’s story is quite simple, through body modification and chemical objections she has transformed herself into a “Black” woman. If you haven’t had the chance to catch the Maury segment you can peep the clip below.
When she was younger she wanted to be Pamela Anderson. Then one day she decided she wanted “to become the proud owner of Black skin”.
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| Media: GIPHY |
She now identifies as a Black woman and I like many people am not here for it. Her kinky weave, uncomfortable Black Girls Rock chain, and her “80% Blackness” as she likes to call it is nothing more than an obsessive, psychological and ignorant call for help.
In 2015, I wrote a piece titled: The Complex Identity of Rachel Dolezal. It contained a brief but honest opinion of my thoughts surrounding Rachel’s “Black” identity. To be honest, the most critical thing I could have said in regards to Rachel Dolezal was surrounding her ability to pass into Black spaces as she pleases and leave behind oppression.
….Whether this means adopting a curly hair texture or getting a tan, she can come and go into Black spaces as she pleases.
While leaving behind her "Blackness" she can leave any systematic hardships, prejudices, statistics, social, political and economic burdens that are associated with being Black in America. A political hierarchy hinders opportunities for those permanently Black to up and leave their identity. Furthermore, the Black community has every right to be upset because being Black is a blessing just as much as is it a death sentence. And these are two things that should not be taken lightly, especially for a person whose perpetuating a modern form of Blackface.
In reference to Big, these same sentiments apply. However, they are more so intriguing especially in the current climate of our time where we assessing race, racism, White supremacy, and the privileges of skin tones.
The conversations surrounding Big, are nothing short of interesting and problematic as many people are comparing Big to the number of Blacks who have undergone skin bleaching to appease to White Eurocentric beauty standards and the privileges that come with them.
Just read the captions below:
Aww, so here we are again with another debate. To be quite frank, I don’t care to hear it. All I know are these 9 facts.
- The reason why some Black folks bleach their skin, has much to do with White Supremacy as much as it does to those who’ve been taught to hate themselves. Colorism is a derivative of this struggle Jay-Z said it best: “Light n*gga, dark n*gga, faux n*gga, real n*gga. Rich n*gga, poor n*gga, house n*gga, field n*gga. Still n*gga….”
- One of the biggest problems associated with this modern day Black face is the idea of loving to be Black, loving the features of Black women, our beautiful bodies, hair and culture but wanting nothing to do with the struggle and oppressive nature that comes with our Black identity.
- On the case of gender and sexuality we know one thing: Being Black and LGBTQIA+ and being White and LGBTQIA+ are two different things. That is because a privilege of Whiteness and White supremacy lives even within this community. So please, miss me with the can’t pick and choose. Until, our society no longer chooses to depends on White Supremacy just know racism lives here too.
- My Blackness is not a trend. Yes. We Black people are trendsetters and nothing is better than being BLACKASF but, it is not a trend you can love, embrace, and appropriate then when you so choose take your mask off. My Blackness is not subjective to hair extensions, Black skin or big boobs.
- Big physiological needs help. There’s something wrong with her mentally and I fundamentally believe, she may still unsatisfied with her looks. #ITSTHESOULTHATNEEDSTHESURGERY
- No matter what Big is trying to look like, she still has White Privilege. This is because she will always be known as a White woman who darkened her skin, and altered her features but had the privilege, money, and did I say privilege to do so. #IDONTHAVETHEENERRGYLORDT
- When situations like this occur, am I the only one to think about the amount of research out on people “changing their race”?
- Does #BLACKLIVESMATTER to Big?...... Because it doesn’t even matter to some…. Let me not….
- Race never was and never will be just skin deep. For those of you who think that sorry you’re wrong. “It’s just my skin color, I don’t get the divide…” No. I’m going to need you to get it, receive it and learn that “race is everything, literature, science, art- in a word, civilization depends on it.” I discovered this quote while reading the intriguing novel Race and Manifest Destiny by Reginald Horsman. This novel overviews the history of Anglo-Saxon and White Superiority in America. This quote inparticular screamed to me because it was made by Robert Knox the author of the 1850 novel Races of Men. Today, it is 2017 and In our world, this quote is no different.
And with that said I drop the mic.
