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Had a conversation with the boys about race & class & women and why I am eternally grateful to the #Goth/ #Indie music scene.
People are losing their minds that racism “exists” in the UK now when it’s always been here - sometimes subtle but still here.
I am no “English Rose”
1/?
People are losing their minds that racism “exists” in the UK now when it’s always been here - sometimes subtle but still here.
I am no “English Rose”
1/?
That idealised version of a form of beauty persists which is fine.
Except when it is exalted above all others as your baseline of what beauty means to the exclusion of all others.
This is a thread about a subtle form of bias & micro aggression.
Except when it is exalted above all others as your baseline of what beauty means to the exclusion of all others.
This is a thread about a subtle form of bias & micro aggression.
As a mixed race teenager growing up in the 80s in a v white & middle class home county town, I felt my difference keenly.
My hair was wild (still is), my skin tone yellow/tan, my eyes brown & my hips and lips luxuriant.
Then there was my nose. It was not European. Plainly so.
My hair was wild (still is), my skin tone yellow/tan, my eyes brown & my hips and lips luxuriant.
Then there was my nose. It was not European. Plainly so.
I was desperate for a pixie nose to make me fit in. I put close pegs on it like in Little Women to change its shape. Dreamed of getting it “fixed” when I was older.
Just to fit in.
Because the idealised type then had fine features, blonde hair and blue eyes.
Just to fit in.
Because the idealised type then had fine features, blonde hair and blue eyes.
The amount of times then and now I have been asked “ where are you from ?” should tell you what you need to know. The subtext is the same: “You don’t look English or English enough “ English = white. And not any old white at that.
These weren’t uneducated folks or people who hadn’t travelled - these were straight up middle class people. Some Privately educated. The other moniker that would come is “exotic “.
Then in my late teens I found #goths and #indie kids. Because the very point of Goth existence is to have black hair if at all possible. I didn’t have to try and my hair was incredibly unremarkable compared to birds nests some had...
Both musical tribes back then actively rejected “normal” concepts of beauty.
Now know there is still a issue of being more inclusive to #BAME in those scenes.
But nationalism & jingoistic tendencies were largely not there. But it did put me outside the “nice” girls circles.
Now know there is still a issue of being more inclusive to #BAME in those scenes.
But nationalism & jingoistic tendencies were largely not there. But it did put me outside the “nice” girls circles.
Middle class Nice girls are still English roses. Who don’t wear makeup (“so common“)& think dressing up is a “fuss”. Everything is artfully “natural” & low key.
But this is still the gold standard of whiteness & womanhood.
But this is still the gold standard of whiteness & womanhood.
You only have to see the comments about Meghan vs Kate to know.
I’ve seen/heard it in my professional daily life too - you have to wear the right sort of make up. The snide comments about fake lashes/brows in the robing room. All because it doesn’t fit the baseline.
I’ve seen/heard it in my professional daily life too - you have to wear the right sort of make up. The snide comments about fake lashes/brows in the robing room. All because it doesn’t fit the baseline.
So don’t come on here and say racism dressed in classicism clothes doesn’t exist.
Ps I like my nose now
Ps I like my nose now
Side comment: contouring in makeup is a micro aggression - make your nose European..
