February Blog Post

Kamari Howard 

Comm 160 

2 March 2017 

Blog Post #2

For this months post, I decided to focus on a quote from the reading Crooked Room by Harris-Perry. This reading particularly stood out to me because it talks about the struggles that black women go through, especially different stereotypes that we are bombarded with on a daily basis. Being a 20 year old black woman, there was a specific quote that was distinctive in my eyes. 

In the very beginning of the reading, Harris-Perry states: “When they confront race and gender stereotypes, black women are standing in a crooked room, and they have to figure out which way is up. Bombarded with warped images of their humanity, some black women tilt and bend themselves to fit the distortion” (Harris-Perry 29). Being a Black woman in America, we are usually expected to conform to the environment we are in. When Harris-Perry talked about “tilting and bending themselves to fit the distortion”, the first thing I thought about was the physical looks of Black women. An example of this would be Black public figures conforming to the society that we live in. An example that comes up a lot is Beyonce. Beyonce is a well known artist, that has been in the industry for a very long time. Something that people noticed was how her appearance started to change over the years, starting to look more “White”. She went from cornrows, which is typically a Black hairstyle, to blonde, straight hair. There was also conspiracy that she bleached her skin to fit the “norms” of the society that we live in. Beyonce is a very talented artist, dancer, and actor. However bending oneself to fit the distortion is sending a message that people overlook talent based on what they look like. Being a Black woman in America is specifically difficult because of these reasons. 

Colorism is a huge problem in our society today. Darker skin is usually looked at as “bad” or “ugly” while fair skin is usually looked at as “good” or “beautiful”. Personally, I love my dark complexion, but I did struggle with it growing up. Having long hair with fair skin was the norm in society growing up and I felt excluded or felt like I was standing in a crooked room. This article taught me to stand straight in a crooked room. Being a minority in America is very difficult, but I am glad I have the willpower to be comfortable with who I am, and not to conform to what society thinks is better.