Black Booty Body Politics at Racialicious

Hey Athenites,

Check out this insightful article by Latoya Peterson over at Racialicious. Peterson, as a woman of colour herself, discusses the affect that beauty standards have on women of colour. White women are taught that skinniness is crucial to beauty, but Peterson talks about how women of colour (specifically black women) are given dozens upon dozens of mixed messages. WoC are told they must be slender and toned and skinny, but they are also told to be curvy and have the so-called "black booty," a stereotype which Peterson references in the title of the post.

Peterson also touches on the fine line between exploitation and presenting diversity in media, saying that while some mainstream (predominantly white) feminist blogs may see images of WoC in media as being "empowering" because they show a diversity of people, to WoC they are just as objectifying as ever.

Check out Black Booty Body Politics at Racialicious to see the full article.

-Steph :)