Unless you live under a rock, or in an incredibly whitewashed world, you have probably noticed the popular trend on social media focusing on “black girl magic.” Basically, #blackgirlmagic is celebrating the everyday awesomeness of being a black girl in 2016. Everything and anything can be considered black girl magic: from the wonderful beauty of our various textures of curls, to our daily achievements, to the overall magic of our melanin. #Blackgirlmagic can be used when uploading a picture of the stunning results of your twist out or posting about your stellar GPA from last semester. Anything that celebrates how amazing and inspiring it is to be a black girl is black girl magic.
According to Julee Wilson’s article on The Huffington Post, black girl magic “was created by CaShawn Thompson to celebrate the beauty, power, and resilience of black women.” This movement is a reaction to a lack of appreciation in society for our particular type of beauty. Many people would argue the use of it, saying that we have come so far in society in terms of accepting all types of beauty, but most black women are not feeling the love. A perfect example of this is when The New York Times published an article describing Viola Davis as woman who is “less classically beautiful.” Picking this phrase when describing Davis’ beauty exemplifies that we still live in a Eurocentric world where Aryan features are the standard for beauty.
Contrary to the opinions of some uninformed Internet trolls, the goal of black girl magic is NOT to belittle the beauty of white women. ALL women of ALL races are beautiful for so many reasons that it is impossible to list them all here. But that is not the problem. The problem is that from the beginning of time, white beauty was the only beauty that was accepted by the masses. The effect this has had on generations of black women is just astonishing. The idea that black women are “less classically beautiful” than white women has been internalized in millions of women for centuries. Because of this, we as a society have been programmed to believe that white features are the normal beauty standard. Things like black women getting perms, wearing weaves, rejecting their natural hair and believing that lighter skin equates to being more desirable are all issues that stem from a lack of appreciation for black beauty.
On top of a lack of appreciation for black beauty, there is also the issue of a lack of realistic representation. Black women have often been confined to being classified as the sassy black friend, the ghetto stereotype, “the help," or the rags to riches story. Black women are so much more than that. Celebrities like Amandla Stenberg, and her video on cultural appropriation, and Jada Pinkett Smith and her boycott of the Oscars have done a wonderful job of bringing awareness to the fact that there is a lack of positive coverage of black women in the media. Even Mattel has recognized the need for more positive representation of women of all colors and sizes by upgrading the famous Barbie doll. The black girl magic movement is changing the way we as black women see ourselves. The movement is a way to break the glass ceiling of society; no longer do black women feel the need to dull their shine for fear of being underappreciated and unnoticed.
For the majority of my life, I have been looked at as an exception. From the time I started kindergarten, I have been praised for being different from the rest of “them." I was usually one of the only black girls in my honors and AP classes, and believe me, it was hard not to feel ostracized. During high school, and even today, I have been told I speak “white” or that my intelligence is surprising because of my appearance. I can count on two hands the amount of times I have been told I am pretty … for a black girl. Just a few weeks ago, I met a guy at the bar who said to my friend, “I don’t usually go for black girls, but I want her.” Unfortunately, this has taken a toll on my self-esteem. It’s hard to believe you’re beautiful when the whole world reminds you that you can only be so much because of the color of your skin.
#Blackgirlmagic was just what I needed. By seeing other women celebrate how dope it is to be black, I realized that everything that society was telling me was an “exception” was in reality just a part of my specific blackness. This is a difficult concept to grasp, because black women have been a stereotype for so long it’s hard to remember we are all individuals who have our own special magic. There are black girls with thick lips, big butts, and even bigger Afros. There are black women who aren’t curvy and love wearing their hair straight. There are black women who are dancers, doctors, actresses, teachers and astronauts. There are black women how love to dance; there are some who admit to lacking rhythm. There are black women who are loud and proud; there are some who are shy and quiet. There is unlimited uniqueness in every back woman on the planet. Black women are a part of an incredible breed of diversity, but we all have one thing in common: We are magical and I’ll be damned if anyone tells us otherwise.
