feature: azealia banks justifies her decision to bleach her skin, fans are concerned

Banks has a point, to an extent, about the possible underlying motivations for women of color modifying their appearances to conform to a Euro-centric standard of beauty. Contouring your nose or getting actual nose jobs to make it appear smaller—i.e. classically European, certainly seems like a symptom of what happens when you’re bombarded with white-centric imagery in the face of your ow painful invisibility. And, to be fair and honest, that’s undeniably something I’ve been guilty, too. As a former weave-wearer, I’ll be the first to admit that my weave represented assimilation and an attempt to cover the shame of my kinky, type 4 hair. However, this isn’t the case for all black women—switching up your look is hella fun and a creative outlet for self-expression.

Where is the line? I can’t really say. But attempting to permanently erase or lessen the appearance of literal blackness is a far cry from temporary hair extensions. It’s not only extremely dangerous to the body, but to one’s emotional health as well, I would imagine.

Watch the rapper’s lengthy explanation down below.

By Erin White*, AFROPUNK contributor