Over the past week, I went to an event, ‘The Melanin Mixer’. The event was overflowing with different shades of stunning dark-skinned beauties and the energy disseminated throughout the room was incredible. The premise of the mixer was to speak of the experiences of the black female in Vancouver and how we can incorporate self-care in the process and the discussion raised there was particularly impactful. The ladies spoke of the ‘double consciousness’ that they constantly find themselves wrestling with while traversing through Vancouver. The term, ‘Double Consciousness’ was coined by W.E.B. Du Bois, a civil rights activist and sociologist; which was used to explain the tension between conflicting selves and ideals faced within the minds of black individuals. This term is intended to explain the perplexity faced by black individuals and by extension, black women that live in this ‘white-man’ world and how that causes difficulty in self–identification.
As I further explored this ideology throughout this week, I became bothered by what it represents. I grappled more and more with how this term can be weakening the true representation of the black female. This term shows to be particularly troublesome as it perpetuates this idea that black women have an internalized lack due to the systematic oppression which they face daily. The detrimental effects of an ideology of this nature on our women is inestimable as when I think of black women, weakness is not a character trait which I attribute to them.
The feminist in me urges that I quote the words of the renown Bell Hooks, however I’ll leave my radical feminist viewpoint for another time. Nonetheless, this double consciousness ideology shouldn’t be used to explain weaknesses of who the black woman is but to strengthen everything that she represents. I remember I had a teacher back home, who told us in class, ‘You are three-times defeated in the game of life, you’re Young, Female and Black.’ Startling right? However, this is the ugly truth. His intention was not to burden us with this reality, it was to showcase how though the odds aren’t in our favour; this is an opportunity to showcase resilience not uncertainty and self-doubt.
The beauty of the Black Female is that she is not static. She is not one thing, she can never be labelled. No one word can be used to describe her essence and depth. The world will never take away the sway of her hips, kinkiness of her hair and her plumped lips. Though, her body is demeaned and gentrified daily by the media and society, she still overcomes. In a world where our passion is mistaken for anger and our expression of self is ghettoized; It is to important to remember that though the world has attempted to reminded us daily that black isn’t beautiful. It is my hope that you remember that the world is flawed, and it can’t stop your greatness or quail your spirit.
Keep on loving yourself!
Stay Black and Protect your Magic!
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