Instagram blackfishing hit the news last year, after Swedish influencer Emma Hallberg admitted to not being black. Take a look at her Instagram handle @emmahallberg, and you’ll realise why this made international headlines. A side-by-side photo of Emma, shows her natural fairer skin and straight hair, contrastingly different to her Instagram images.
The Cut published an article which showcases women seemingly darkening their faces in social-media photos. Briefly working on the Harrods Mac counter, I often applied foundation lighter or darker than a person’s correct shade. Since tanned skin and self-tanning became trendy, many women regardless of colour, have considered it a beauty treatment to radiate a holiday tan year-round. Me and my sister (arguably much darker than me), use to sunbathe in the garden with a splash of olive oil.
Racial Fetishism
Instagram blackfishing by definition, is white women posing as biracial, supposedly to gain followers and likes. The question is why, and the answer is exoticism. Though commenters argue girls like Emma are appropriating black culture, I would say they’re marketing themselves as racially ambiguous. The idea of being racially unique and different vastly appeals to Instagram users. One way to question where your identity is from, is to mask yourself as mixed race.
Argued in my one of my most popular posts Racial Fetishism: Mixed Race Problems, accounts such as @mixedracebabiesig, promote themselves as celebrating mixed-race children. But the Instagram page is filled with tanned kids honing predominantly white features. Olive skin with blonde hair and green eyes for example. The darker a child is, with the associated white features, the more likes and adoration. Jasmine Sanders who goes by the name Golden Barbie, is a model who found influencer fame partly from her tanned skin and curly blonde hair mix.
Self-tanning is widely acceptable. What is now questionable, is the darkening of skin beyond a summer glow. Cultural appropriation means adopting something from a different culture. According to Everyday Feminism, the term refers to “members of a dominant culture” taking “elements from a culture of people who have been systematically oppressed by that dominant group.”
Fetish Vs. Racism
In Hollywood, many black women are mixed – Halle Berry for instance. Western society still disgustingly lingers an overpowering air of racism. Speaking to my sister, I was shocked to learn how she was once called a monkey at school. Me and my few shades lighter skin, was presumed Spanish or mixed European. I’m repeatedly told by men that my aesthetic is attractive. More accurately, my biracial colour.
Some people believe the increase of mixed-race babies will cancel out racism. The world celebrated a mixed Meghan Markle joining the Royal Family. I think mixed race is used to cover dark skin discrimination. Black women are grossly under represented in the media, as womenandhollywood.com figures prove.
Are the Kardashians to blame?
Any skin colour can receive fetishism; people who link an ethnic group to a particular fantasy. Instagram blackfishing encourages this idea. Some may reason that girls are simply attempting to recreate the Kardashians. Kim and Kylie faced backlash when photographed with braids. Their hips have widened further than a shopaholic clothing expense. Due to their marketing success, women who emulate them, also receive a slice of their attention.
Missguided and Boohoo select models with tanned complexions, mirroring the Kardashian’s. Problematically, they are often not biracial. The models are mainly white women who have purchased a spray tan. The millennial generation is growing up with ideals that are not even human. Picking and choosing facial and body parts that typically combine multiple nationalities.
In 2016, Mac posted an Instagram picture of Aamito Lagum’s full lips – black lips wearing the lipstick Royal Romance. Comments flooded in comparing the lips to Jay-z’s in addition to racial remarks. Yet big lips are all the range in society. Angelina Jolie has endlessly been praised for her naturally full pout. As has Kylie Jenner for her fake one.
The difficulty in Instagram blackfishing
Where is the lined crossed between makeup experimentation and racial offence? If all colours were celebrated equally, would it matter so much if another was to change their colour? Emma Hallberg has claimed she isn’t trying to make herself look black, yet she is wearing wigs targeted at black women. She has transformed herself enough to no longer appear Swedish.
Influencers will do whatever makes money and fame. It’s easy to target them and be mad for what they are doing, but the real problem lies in Western culture. Until we stop racial fetishism, until we accept black and biracial people as equally attractive as white, cultural appropriation will continue. Michael Jackson said it doesn’t matter if you’re black or white, but it does.
Your skin colour, a normal trait people are born with, affects income, judgement and career prospects. Colourism and race can affect how others perceive you in bed. When I was dating a guy from Zambia, I couldn’t believe how many jokes were made about his size. To me, Instagram blackfishing is a part of racial fetishism, and I can’t see it going away anytime soon.
What are your views on Instagram blackfishing? Do you think it’s a racial issue?
I definitely think it’s racial fetishism. The fact that PoC (like me) have to deal with biases based on colour and race is absolutely horrible in itself, but the fact that these people use these characteristics at their whim and fancy without really thinking about it is sad.
The colour of my skin makes me a target for ‘poor’ and ‘curry’ jokes. The colour of my skin makes me a target for violence in countries like the US and UK. The colour of my skin isn’t a tool for you to increase your engagement via likes and comments.
I’m so glad you wrote about this, and as always, this is a wonderfully written post. Thank you, Laura!
Khanak x
Thank you Khanak for reading! I was so shocked coming across the term blackfishing and what it meant.
There has to be something said about those playing with race for their own advantage, ignoring those who deal with discrimination.
It’s quite saddening to know racial issues are becoming worse in many ways, instead of better. x
I’ve never heard the term blackfishing before, but I’ve defenitely seen the photos.
People always think I exaggerate or make things up when I say it’s almost a crime to be pale in Sweden, but it’s the truth! My mum is about as pale as I am, and we constantly get looks. People will stare on the bus, shake their heads… We’re constantly told to go out in the sun, to get a tan (we actually can’t!), or at least to cover ourselves so others “doesn’t have to see that”. I’m ALWAYS asked to take the photo of everyone else, because my “pale skin will just ruin the photo”. Not even joking.
I’ve been told to kill myself, I’ve had to run away fearing for my life when a man told me he was going to murder me and “cut me up” because I was so pale and that made me ugly… He was on drugs, that made things more scary! Every summer I’m called horrible things, one man sat in the grass screaming how he should come with me to the beach and drown me because that’s what you do to vermin. If you don’t have a tan in Sweden, you’re basically not worth anything (or they pity you thinking you have cancer…).
Once in Copenhagen, a large party of tourists from (I think) China were amazed by my pale skins and asked to touch my arms, I let them, it was kind attention so =)
And abroad I’m always asked if I’m scottish =)
Many Chinese women I use to put makeup on, would ask me to apply the lightest shade of foundation, though it rarely matched their skintone. One women even wanted me to find a colour that matched this white loose powder.
It’s such a culture thing. There is beauty in every single shade, and I can’t believe people can be so casually racist or abusive regarding colour. I wrote this piece from the perspective of being mixed race because much of it is based on my own experience, but a couple of people did message me to say that they have had issues for being too pale or looking a certain way.
I think you have beautiful skin and I’m glad you haven’t felt the need to go out and buy self tan etc, because people think that’s what you should do. There is not enough written about this.
It’s so different from country to country, looking at the explore page on instagram there are so many showing how they make themselves lighter or darker.
I mean, I know poc has it a lot worse than me, I didn’t mean to make it a thing about pale ones having problems too, I hope it didn’t come off like that. I’m really sorry if it did!
Since it was a swedish instagramer, it just came to mind how things are here. But the thing is, everyone HAS to be tanned/dark in Sweden, but then they go out and are racists because those that are actually darker “doesn’t count”. I’m always expected to agree with racists (according to them) because I’m the stereotypical white, blonde, blue eyes, tall… Like really? Now I’m good enough all of a sudden? No thanks…
All those pages that talk about how mixed babies are the cutest are so creepy. I’ve seen so many sexual comments about infants…
I tried a self tan once years and years ago, I looked very, very yellow…. never again!!
Your comment didn’t come across like that at all! Everyone has their own experiences and I think it’s important to share everything and talk openly, otherwise you’re not fully addressing the problem. So I’m glad you spoke about it. Someone can easily say to me, oh you haven’t experienced what I have, who are you to talk about this?
The mixed race baby thing is so irritating! People have said to me, oh your kids will so be pretty because they’ll be mixed. And they say it as if I’m suppose to be flattered and say thank you! And people have said, imagine how pretty you’d be if you had green or blue eyes like your dad, with your tanned skin.
I literally want to slap those people lol. Okay, I never slap, but I could scream at them for a good 5 minutes or so. 😀
Oh good =)
It’s crazy how all those horrible comments people say doesn’t even surprise me anymore…
Itäs just so horrible to say those things, I can’t understand how they don’t see it themselves!! How can they think they’re being kind?
I don’t think they are being kind. Saying to someone how they could look prettier with better features, just sounds like hate. Or negativity. I just think they are oblivious and don’t realise what they are actually saying.
Absolutely not kind no, sorry, I may have written that weirdly. I mean THEY think they’re saying something kind, when it’s just nothing more than hate.
P.S You’re stunning xx
Thank you so much!! xx
Absolutely love this! Instagram blackfishing…love the concept. Most definitely happens all the time. The paradox is, in reality, women with pale complexions often use spray tans and solariums to achieve a more ‘tanned’ look, opt for darker hair/braids/African styles to promote exoticism yet there’s still huge societal values on eurocentric ideals of beauty. Everyone wants darker skin, yet no one wants the cultural stigmatism, racial discrimination and non-white physical characteristics that go along with it.
https://www.instagram.com/hannahwinifred is another example of extreme black facing.
Thank you Sophia! That’s exactly it. People just pick and choose what features they want. As long as someone looks or holds mostly white features, their big lips or wider hips etc are celebrated.
I wish people could accept and embrace every skin shade equally. I can’t see it happening for a very long time though.
And that Instagram is shocking!! It’s kind of sad she feels the need to change herself so drastically. x
Absolutely. Hopefully as we become more progressive as a society, and biracial children aren’t seen as exotic wildflowers, but a celebrated part of the world, it won’t be so bad. I laughed at work yesterday thinking about your article, because a European woman with already lovely olive skin came in to buy ‘Ultra dark tanning lotion.’ Sigh.
It’s becoming hard to find people who are just happy with their skin colour the way it is. I think a huge issue is it’s a particular kind of mixed race people are obsessed with. Biracial people come in all different colours, but people like the olive skinned children with the white looking features. Hopefully with time, more looks will be accepted. x