The #KylieJennerChallenge is doing more than fucking up white girls’ faces; it is also severely damaging the self-image of black youth, according to Senay Kenfe.
Like many of us, the Los Angeles-based writer was exposed to the horrific trend that involves sucking on a bottle until the lips are swollen beyond recognition. So he decided to put in his 2 cents and jokingly posted a comment "on how a generation ago, the #kyliejennerchallenge would have been called 'n***** lips.'" Not too long after, he discovered that Facebook had blocked him from his personal account.
Once he acknowledged that some of his social media friends were offended by his words, he decided to pen an incredible essay explaining his thoughts behind the post. As seen on The Hundreds’ website, Kenfe brilliantly schools everyone who thought his words were inconsiderate and merely for shock factor. He says that this lip-plumping fad is just one of many trends in which white society is "monetizing" black figures for consumption. Full lips, dark skin, big butts were all features that were once deemed as "ugly" due to their association with the black race, but in recent years, many people have attempted to achieve this look because it's considered the "in" thing—just as long as it isn’t on an actual black person.
"We’ve been forced to experience hundreds of years of body shaming and degradation in this country due simply to our genetic makeup inherited from ancestors in Mother Africa," he writes. "To be told that our naturally wide noses and big lips were ugly, our natural hair was disgusting and kept, our big asses being akin to apes and gorillas, it’s very interesting – actually I should say outright bewildering – to see how society over the years has now made these features desirable in the eyes of millions. For once in our lives, our physical features are being recognized begrudgingly by Western standards of beauty as attractive! – just not when affixed on our frames, however. It’s so stylish and in – just don’t let it be on a black woman’s body."
It’s a powerful and thought-provoking essay that looks at the deeper issues of such trends. Yes, it’s sad that many girls are so dissatisfied with their appearances that they resort to painful measures, but that is just one of many layers to this issue.
Go to The Hundreds’ website to read Kenfe’s essay in its entirety.
