One way in which racists try and shut down women of colour - particularly leftwing ones - is to try and diminish and degrade our femininity.

The idea is that because we're not white, we don't fulfil norms associated with womanhood (i.e. beauty, or being worthy of protection). https://twitter.com/newjonnyberlin/status/1362061597561225219

Whether consciously or not, what people like this are trying to do is trap women of colour in a hall of mirrors.

It's not fundamentally about changing how other people think of you, but assembling a chorus of jeering voices to warp and distort how you see yourself.

That's why this stuff is often accompanied by close up photos.

The point isn't to establish whether or not it's true I have a moustache, or whatever else is being highlighted, it's to make me look at myself through the eyes of people who hate me and think that's reality.

I'm talking about this is because I'm not the only person this happens to. It happens to Diane Abbott, it happens to Ilhan Omar, it happens to women outside of politics like FKA Twigs.

Our femininity is disparaged, so there's an excuse not to recognise our humanity.

Believe me, it takes w o r k not to internalise this stuff. And even then it does effect you. Like, I'm really bad at accepting compliments from my boyfriend about how I look, because my coping mechanism is to try and block out anything anyone says about my appearance.

It's not as easy as saying "ignore it, take no notice." And I think sometimes that expectation for women of colour to always be strong, and cut themselves off from parts of themselves which are capable of feeling hurt is itself quite damaging.

Thinking you have to be hard and tough all the time is yet another way in which racism and misogyny impedes us from expressing and recognising ourselves as fully human.

Increasingly these days, I think what real resilience requires is finding ways to keep yourself open.