On Sunday, April 24,2016 rapper Lil' Kim posted a collage of selfies onto her Instagram account:
Within minutes after posting, fans began to speculate if it was her or not. It is no secret that Lil' Kim has changed dramatically since when she was first introduced in the 90s as a prodigy of Notorious B.I.G.
Since the 90s, Lil' Kim has undergone corrective surgery and has partaken in skin bleaching.
"All my life, men told me I wasn't pretty enough–even the men I was dating. And I'd be like, 'Well, why are you with me, then?' It's always been men putting me down just like my dad. To this day, when someone says I'm cute, I can't see it. I don't see it no matter what anybody says."
"I have low self-esteem and I always have. Guys have cheated on me with women who were European-looking. You know, the long hair type. Really beautiful women that left me thinking 'How I can compete with that?' Being a regular black girl wasn't good enough."
- Lil' Kim (interview with Newsweek)
The issue of Lil' Kim not seeing herself as a worthy individual is deeper than self-hate. Lil' Kim was enough just the way she was before skin-bleaching and plastic surgery, but society told her otherwise. The African-American community subconsciously contributes to the ideology that lighter is better. In our own communities, we tease and make fun of skin color, but we only contribute to systematic oppression.
Due to this, a significant amount of African-Americans remain in mental slavery, accepting the idea that dark skin is a crime.
What do I mean by mental slavery? This ideology predates back to the cardboard test during the 1700s. The cardboard test was a system white slave owners used to keep division among the African-American communities. If your skin was the same color as a piece of cardboard/paper bag or lighter, you were considered light-skinned. If not, you were classified as dark-skinned. Light-skinned slaves were treated somewhat better because of the color of their skin.
Blame society all you want for Lil' Kim being a lost cause, but we are society. We are the fans that comment nasty things below Instagram pictures. We are the media that only highlights one standard of beauty. We are the African-American community that puts a higher value on lighter skin. We are the society that promotes degrading women. Society is us, and we are society.
In order to change the harsh realities of the world, we have to be ready and willing to be that change. Lil' Kim is one example of what conforming to the world's standards looks like.
Don't wait on society to change–go out and fix it yourself.
It all starts with you!
