Beyoncé's 'Brown Skin Girl' is controversial because of its

Majority culture in America tends to portray skin color as a binary: You either have light skin or you have dark skin. IE11isnotsupported.Foranoptimalexperiencevisitoursiteonanotherbrowser.SKIPTOCONTENTNewsNBCNewsNOWNightlyNewsMeetthePressDatelineMSNBCTODAYSearchThinkOpinion,Analysis,EssaysPolitics&PolicyHealth&TechnologyCulture&LifestyleMaverickswithAriMelberSharethis —SearchSearchFacebookTwitterEmailSMSPrintWhatsappRedditPocketFlipboardPinterestLinkedinBeyonceandherdaughter,BlueIvyCarter,arriveforthepremiereof"TheLionKing"inLosAngelesonJuly9,2019.ChrisPizzello/Invision/APfileJuly25,2019,8:22PMUTCByMikkiKendall,author,“HoodFeminism”and"Amazons,Abolitionists,andActivists"MajoritycultureinAmericatendstoportrayskincolorasabinary:Youeitherhavelightskinoryouhavedarkskin.Thereality,though,isthatskincolorisaspectrum.Andfrankly,mostpeopleoftheAfricandiasporafallsomewhereintherangeofcolorsthat,inthepost-Rihannamakeup-lineera,wecanonicallyrefertoasfromFenty340toFenty498.So,whydomediadepictionstendtohighlightthosewithlighterskinandloosercurlpatternintheirhair?It’snotuncommontohearsonglyrics—"Lightskin"byTyga,"BetterThings"byA$APRocky,or"PARTYNEXTDOOR"byRecognizefeaturingDrake—aboutthebeautyofBlackgirlswhofallsomewhereintheFenty200to330range.https://www.instagram.com/p/BsGwUa1APHcThatiswhy,perhaps,it’snotsurprisingthatBeyoncé’snewsong,“BrownSkinGirl,”hasstruckanerve.AlthoughBeyoncéhasnevershiedawayfromclaimingherBlackness,herlastseveralprojectshavealsoexplicitlyembracedBlackculture.Beyonce’slyricsin“Formation”—“MydaddyAlabama,mommaLouisiana.YoumixthatnegrowiththatCreole,makeaTexasbama”—speakspecificallytoherexperienceasamemberoftheAfricandiasporainAmerica.In“Lemonade,”shenotonlyincorporatedthepoetryofSomali-BritishpoetWarsanShire,butalsoworkedwithimageryfromYorubafolktales,utilizedtheworkofNigerianartistLaoluSanbanjoandmakesreferencestoNefertiti,MalcolmXandKenyantraditions.With“Homecoming,”shepaidhomagetothehistoricallyBlackcollegeexperiencethatshedidn’thavebutclearlyvalues.Now,with“BrownSkinGirl,”shehasgoneastepfurther,specificallyhighlightingthebeautyofthosewomen,likeherdaughterBlueIvy,whocouldneverpassapaperbagtest.RelatedOpinionOpinionBeyoncé's'Homecoming'isacrashcourseinblackexcellenceThepaperbagtestwasapracticeinsomeAmericanclubs,churchesandothercommunityorganizations—includingsomeAfricanAmericansones—ofholdingabrownpaperbagagainsttheskinofawould-beentrant.Ifyouwerelighterthanthepaperbag,youpassedthetestandwerewelcomed;ifyouweredarkerthanit,youneededtostayout.Itwassometimesimposedbywhitegatekeepers,aswasthecaseofthewhitegangstersinchargeofNewYork’sProhibition-erajazzclubs;butcolorismexistedinandwasenforcedbyAfricanAmericancommunitiesaswell.Thoughthetestisnolongerexplicitlyhappeninginpublic,theimpactofcolorismpersists:Studiesshowthattheprivilegesassociatedwithhavingalighterskintonerangefromgreatersuccessinschoolandtheworkplacetoalowerlikelihoodofbeingarrested,andshorterjailsentences.Tosomeextent,Beyoncéhasbenefitedfromlight-skinnedprivilege,thoughsheisstillvisiblyofAfricandescentinamajoritywhitesociety.Butwhatmakes“BrownSkinGirl”someaningfultodarkskinnedBlackwomeninparticularisthatitcelebratesnotjustbrownskiningeneralbutdarkbrownskininparticular,whenantiBlacknesshasnormallymeantthat,evenincommunitiesthatareostensiblybattlingthesameissuesaroundskincolor,thereisaclearbiasspecificallyagainstthemostvisibleBlackness.Thissongspecificallyhighlightsthebeautyofthosewhofallintothatshaderangeknownas“deep”insomanymakeupbrands,citingBeyoncé’sformerDestiny’sChildbandmateKellyRowland,supermodelNaomiCampbellandOscar-winningactressLupitaN’yongoasexamplesofdark-skinned“BrownSkinGirls”todirectlychallengetheideathatdarkbrownskinislessbeautifulthanlighterskintones.And,inthelasttwoverses,Beyoncéspecificallyaddressesherowndaughter,BlueIvy(whosingstheintroandoutroofthesong):“Yourskinisnotonlydark,itshinesandittellsyourstory,”shesings,“Ifeveryouareindoubt,rememberwhatmamatoldyou.”Yetwhenyoulookatthereactionstothissong,it’sclearthatmanydon’twanttoengageinanycriticalthinkingaroundcolorismanditsimpactongirlslikeBlueIvyandthewomentheygrowinto,muchlessanti-Blacknessintheircommunities.Whenthehashtags#BrownSkinGirland#BrownSkinGirlChallengehitTwitter,tagslike#WhiteSkinGirlChallengepoppedup—whethercreatedbytrollsornot,theyspeaktotheideathatcelebratingonekindofbeautyinherentlymeansdenigratinganother.Evensomewithinthediasporahadaknee-jerkreactionbecausethesongspecificallynamedwomendarkerthanthem.Butthere’snoinsultincelebratingthemostdisenfranchisedmembersofacommunity,noharminnotcenteringthosewiththemostpowerandprivilege—andnothingwrongwithteachingyourbeautifuldaughtertoseeherbeautyinaworldthatyouknowmightnotcelebrateitasvociferouslyasithasyourown.RelatedOpinionOpinionWewanttohearwhatyouTHINK.Pleasesubmitalettertotheeditor.Weknowthatrepresentationmatters,thatitisimportantforyounggirlsandwomentonotonlyseepeoplethatlooklikethemsucceed,butalsotohearthattheyhaveworthandvalue.Butit’seasytoclaimthatbeautystandardsareshallowandthatnooneshouldcareaboutlookswhenyou’renottheoneconsistentlybeingtoldbysocietythatyourskincolormakesyouugly.I’maFenty410or420(dependingonthetimeoftheyear),butevenIknowthatIbenefitfromsomecolorism—notasmuchassomeonewhoislighterthanme,butjustasskintonescomeinaspectrumsodoesprivilege.“BrownSkinGirl”carvesoutaplaceforBlackbeautyinaculturethatoftensituatesbeautyasbeingaboutproximitytowhiteness,anditdoessowithoutrelyingonanyfetishizingordemeaningoftherestofthediaspora.Foronce,apieceofmediacelebratingouruniquebeautyexists.Enjoyit.Itdoesn’tneedtobeaboutyou.Afterall,we’vebeensingingalongtosongsnotmeanttobeaboutusallthistime.MikkiKendallMikkiKendallistheauthorof"HoodFeminism"and"Amazons,Abolitionists,andActivists."HerworkhasbeenpublishedinTheWashingtonPost,TheNewYorkTimes,TheBostonGlobe,Time,Ebony,Essence,TeenVogueandmore.