“Is She Even Black?”
Zoe Saldana, Amber Rose, Sessilee Lopez. These are women who identify themselves as Black, but, for many of us, the question that follows them in the context of Black culture, fashion, and beauty is, “Is she even Black?” The tenor of an accent, and the textures of their hair, often propels questions regarding whether these women belong in the context of Black cultural commentary.
It is, moreover, because some of these women are not African American that we are moved to question the validity of their Blackness. Is there no room in Black conversation for Zoe Saldana from New York/Dominican Republic?
Why does the mention of Amber Rose or Rosario Dawson get under our skin? Why do these women fall short on our Black authenticity measuring stick?
We are quick to call a White person to task when they stereotype or make sweeping generalizations about Black people, but why does it seem to be okay for some Black people to impose rigid definitions of Blackness upon ourselves?
Last week, we featured Amber Rose as the “Look of the Day” on our new fashion and beauty site Coco and Crème. Let’s just say our recognition of Amber’s salmon colored sweater dress received more than its share of abomination. One reader said, “I don’t understand why she’s celebrated at all, especially by Black women.” Another reader agreed, commenting, “I just don’t understand why sites like this (Coco and Crème) are obsessed with a woman who doesn’t project anything positive and doesn’t have anything to do with Black culture other than sleeping with Black men.”
Whoa. I guess we didn’t get the memo that acknowledging someone’s style choices makes them the woman of the year. We liked her look, plain and simple.
Amber Rose has become one of the most contentious and ambiguous female bodies in America. Aside from her alleged gold-digging rise to the top thanks to Kanye West, there is an undercurrent (or not so below the surface) query around Amber’s racial makeup.
According to the model’s Wikipedia page, her father is from Barbados and is of Italian descent, and her mother is of Cape Verdean descent. Cape Verde is a formerly colonized island off the coast of West Africa whose population generally consists of creoles mixed with Black African, and European descent. Amber was born in America and reps her city hard. I think it’s safe to assume Amber Rose is a mixed American girl from Philly. If we’re not questioning Halle Berry’s Blackness, why question Amber Rose?
There’s something to be said about our racial placement of Zoe Saldana outside of her largely Black female film roles. Many of us get a kick out of keeping her in an exclusive, no exit, Latina territory. “Is she even Black?” one reader slammed, even though the rising actress has repeatedly laid claim to her Afro-Latina background. The “Avatar ” star has been vocal about the difficulties faced by actresses of color in Hollywood, and she was the cover of the April issue of Essence magazine. Yet somehow, there’s this odd expectation for Saldana to choose. “Does she want to be Latina or Black?” one reader wrote. Zoe Saldana was born to a Dominican father and a Puerto Rican mother. Her cocoa skin looks like yours and mine, why is that not enough?
La La Vazquez spoke out about America’s ignorance of dark-skin Latinos. La La wrote an essay for Latina magazine asking, “Since when does being Black and being Latina have to be mutually exclusive?” The popular VJ continued, “For me, not looking like some people’s idea of a typical Latina has been challenging and often painful. I constantly find myself trying to justify who I am, and why should I?”
Our rampant cultural categorizations can distance the very women we claim to embrace—while we can often exclude some of these women from “pure uninterrupted Blackness” just because we don’t agree with their behavior.
In a so-called “post-racial America,” why are we still caught up in the often insignificant nuances of Blackness?
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Lol so b/c these women are too “black”/”dark” to be stars in their own cultures…they are the starts of our media now. The questions we need to be asking are who are casting these black films nowadays with non “black” leads? Not us, its the white who own the studios. This only further causes confusion for young black girls. Why can’t we even star in our own films?
***Waiting on Akia to hijack this thread with wiki links and page long rants….
Partially agree. I loved Zoe Saldana when she played the Latin “Eva” in Center Stage. But I don’t get why she repeatedly gets African-American roles. Are there no talented African American actresses? It’s the same with mixed actors. I get that there aren’t enough roles for biracial actresses but they are disproportionately featured in “black” roles. There are more blacks than biracials in this country, but not on screen? Doesn’t make sense.
Chillchic, are you serious?
Zoe Saladana is a Black girl from Brooklyn that’s why she gets cast as an African American.
My goodness.
Is it fair that these women are being robbed of their complex racial identities by ignorant people unaware of the versatility in blackness?? — YES!!
Is it annoying that representations of black femininity seem to be monolithic and are typically black women that fit into Eurocentric standards of beauty– HELL YES!!!
Ok we get it Black Latinas are beautiful and sexy and some are light-skinned so they benefit from colorism, but the resentment you are sensing in some black women is a loss in the representation of women of our own hue. Even on websites such as these ! THe question isn’t “Is she Black” It’s “Why are they the only Black women we see represented as Beautiful ?”
I agree most with secretaddy.
People like to pigeon-hole blacks into African or African-American boxes and deny the diversity within our Diasporic community as if it is impossible for someone to be of mixed heritage. It’s purely ignorance.
It truly is the lack of diverse representations of Blackness displayed that gets under black women’s skin.
Also, people have to understand how race is viewed in other countries. Most times it’s less about ethnicity and more about nationality. (i.e. Afro-cuban versus Cuban)
Well said!
btw it was meant to be is it UNFAIR* that they are robbed
For me, it’s not Amber Rose’s lack of blackness, but her lack of class and “value” that turns me off.
And when I look at this photo of Zoe Saldana I see a black woman.
If these women identify as black, then who are we to take that from them? My grandmother is so fair her nickname growing up was snowball… yet in still, she’s a black woman.
Has Amber ever stated she was Black? I think part of this problem is with some black people and this ‘one drop rule’ they choose to stick to. Stop trying to make everyone “black”.
Zoe, Mariah, Halle, Lala are a different story. All of these women stated that they identify as Black. Some people say otherwise, but you cant argue with what people consider themselves. That is their right.
If they all wanted to consider themselves something other than Black, same thing. I think it would still receive the same response, just the other way around.
But I think the light/dark thing that affects some black people is probably a factor in the responses.
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Article: “…get a kick out of keeping her in an exclusive, no exit Latina territory. …there’s this odd expectation for Saldana to choose.”
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Overall, I doubt any of these women give a flip or are waiting for any group approval from AAs (if any such thing even exists). They’ve done just fine and become hugely successful without it and there is absolutely no gain or value in ‘choosing’, identifying to another individual’s liking to make them feel better, or appeasing their racial hang-ups and demands.
A lot of people are too ignorant to understand the fact that Latino/Hispanic is an ethnicity (not a race) and can be mestizo, AmerInd, mixed, Asian, black etc. and I so dig this article. It was unexpected and one of the scant few times I’ve read any author at Clutch be truthful yet open about the subject and, for the longest, I’ve questioned exactly how it is that a member of a group of merely 40 million even remotely figures they’ve the right to define, dictate, include or exclude.
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Article: “the mention of Amber Rose or Zoe Saldana…”
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Amber, Zoë and Selissee are drop-dead gorgeous, successful and have their pick of men (of all ‘races) and that is why they get under *some* female’s skin. People can attempt to apply some psycho-babble about this, that or the other but it all boils down to plain ol’ garden variety bitterness, insecurity, anger and jealousy IMO.
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Article: “…propels questions around whether these women belong in the context…”
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Very true!!
Something I’ve also noticed is a bit of flip-flopping and hypocrisy. For example, when individuals like those listed (as well as biracials like Obama, Halle Berry, Mariah Carey) do something spectacular and/or make history…many of the same individuals that had previously snubbed, hated on them, distanced, stuck that knife in the back or stated how they weren’t ‘authentic’ or X, Y or Z enough…suddenly jump up to claim them (and their accomplishments) as ‘black’ or as theirs.
I don’t think that the issue with Amber is related to her race. It’s due to how her fame was achieved and how she maintains it. What she represents isn’t exactly proud womanhood, regardless of what race or ethnic group she identifies with.
I agree that most people don’t realize the difference between race and ethnicty. Latina isn’t a race. It’s a culture and an ethnic group. Zoe and Sessilee are as black as Serena and Venus. So, one can be a proud black and a proud latina woman. The same way you can be a proud black and a proud American, African, Canadian, Brit or Hatian.
I think the more interesting questions here are “what really constitutes blackness?” and “how are labor practices influencing the changing definition of race?”.
While ethnicity may be biologically determined, race is not. Race is a social construct defined by dominant social groups and imposed upon others to indicate a difference in status that either creates or disables power.
Historically, definitions of race are directly connected to labor, immigration and class. At one point in American History Irish, Italian and Jewish populations in American were seen as people of color. It was only after new immigrant groups emerged to take their place in terms of labor that they are now they are seen as nearly fully acclimated into mainstream white culture.
It seems the hostility demonstrated towards women like Zoe and Amber arises not from a need to define their heritage, but from frustrations with an industry that offers so little diversity and opportunity for women of color. janQUA got it right when she asked “who is casting these women”? Look at who is in power when it comes to labor and you’ll see who is actually defining race.
Kudos to Geneva Thomas for writing such a timely, insightful and authentic article. As a woman is of latin and african descent, I have been victimized by the ignorance of not just African Americans, but Latinos as well. I consider Zoe Saldana, Amber Rose, Roasario Dawson Sesilee Lopez sistahs and why should we not? Do you not think that these women of color have not faced some form of racism in their lives at one point of another because of their complexion by others? If you think not….you are erroneous in your thinking. Get the memo Clucthettes….we are living in a globally hybrid world, where “other” is going to be the rule rather than the exception. I do understand the pain and annoyance when you see the LaLa’s and Zoe’s get the props for the standard of beauty, but it’s really time for us to embrace ourselves and stop waiting for whoever the heck to see our beauty. See in yourself and for yourself. No one questions Paula Patton who has made it clear that she is a black woman nor Halle Berry for that matter. Why give these chocalate,caramel latina sisters a hard row to tow? Come on now…..give up the ghost on this one and move on!
fyi sessilee lopez is dominican and portuguese not brazilian
http://www.latina.com/fashion/celebrity/sessilee-lopez-fashions-next-it-girl
And she was like born and raised in Philly.
Lets keep it real, if Sessilee were from Brazil, she probably wouldn’t have gotten this far in the modeling game unless she was scouted while on vacation in New York. The only remotely black top model from Brazil that I can think of is Emanuela de Paula, oh, and Adrianna Lima ( I think you get the point).
I don’t think it’s Amber Rose’s blackness that was call into question, I think it was he relevance. She adds no value to society and if you want to feature her I would like to submit a look of the day of myself and my friends. Thats about how relevant she is.
On to Zoe Saldana. I have never heard anyone question her blackness and I don’t understand where this is coming from. I really like her and her style. She seems like a genuine person who doesn’t want to be famous for sleeping around, but for her craft.
I am disgusted that Amber is getting this type of coverage and recognition, based on what?
I love Zoe and Sessilee, I don’t care (and I’m not even aware) of how they self identify racially. They’re beautiful women with Mocha complexions. They should not be in the same category with the aforementioned for an article.
why do people need to be a certain race because the colour of their skin?i know people that are half black and half white but look completely white with brown straight hair and blue eyes does this mean their white just because they look it?Zoe Saldana maybe classed as latin but does that mean she cant represent all people/women of colour?
I wish people would read or have paid attention in history class. There is a little something called the African Diaspora. The slave ships that brought our ancestors from Africa stopped in Central and South America as well. Thus there are people with African roots deeper and less watered down than most African Americans.
I am wondering of all the hate toward Zoe Saldana and Amber Rose has something to do with people being jealous of their success. While I don’t know much about Amber Rose or pay much attention to her, I know that Zoe is a talented and successful actress – period.
My people perish for a lack of knowledge.
Yes! I totally agree!!
I never heard anyone question Sessliee or Zoe’s blackness. Amber’s, yes. She is ambiguous so people don’t know where to put her. And she’s not like Mariah, who’s always pointing out her “blackness” (love you, Mimi), so folks question. I think it’s best to just let people speak for themselves. If she says she’s mixed, then she’s mixed. I know many blacks like to include mixed people in the “black” group (and mixed people seem to like it as well) so her presence here shouldn’t be a problem. Further more, I don’t get why it bothers people so much when a non-black is featured on a black site anyway. If you go to a “white” website, you got your token blacks (ie. Beyonce, Rihanna). Why can’t our sites do the same?
Moon girl … THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for your intelligent and insightful comment. My family and I have had these discussions at length so often especially after we had DNA testing done by DNA Tribes to see just exactly what was in out blood line. I would love to see many of those who have such harsh commentary about the “blackness” of the women discussed to test their background and exactly what you find. The truth is many of us would not fit so well into this carefully crafted box of black that we hold in such esteem as to rip apart anyone who falls outside of the perimeter of said box. Just amongst my siblings we range in hues so drastically different and complex that we grew up with people questioning not only if we had the same parents but my mothers back ground as well. My family has found that instead of the Native American we were so sure was in our blood line there was actually a lot of European, Native Australian, and African. Does this make me less black or my Grandmother who had an astonishing low amount of African in her…? Where does culture come into play and how did we stop looking beyond the surface? I don’t have to prove who I am to anyone yet I think of my niece’s who will get the same questions and of my Mom and Aunts who grew up self conscious because they didn’t fit the mold and my heart hurts and tear well up because WE are doing this to each other not the “man” it’s us and it’s ignorant and It’s hurtful. I don’t think a lot of us Black and Latino embrace or fully understand what Afro Latino means. For me the bottom line of all of this is that we need to dig a lot deeper and stop questioning each others heritage, lineage or so called blackness. And as Moongirl & janQua both said take a look at who is casting for these roles on t.v and the big screen.
One of the things I have learned is that there are other black experiences in America and all over the world besides the “African-American experience” and sometimes I believe a lot of African-Americans (and Americans in general) forget that. The African Diaspora brought Africans through out parts of the Caribbean, Latin-America, South America and Europe…not only America.
I think this sort of rejection of the Zoe Saldana’s, Amber Roses and Siselee Lopez’s in the AA community comes from:
1. How American culture and the media have conditioned all Americans (including AA’s) to believe that all black-American’s look, talk, speak, dress and act in a certain way. If they don’t adhere to certain stereotypes I have noticed that AA’s as well as Americans of all races question the “validity” of their “blackness” in subtle and not so subtle ways due to this conditioning.
2. The “brown paper bag test” still exists among the AA community, however now it comes in the form of a “So, what are you?” question. As a light skinned AA I cannot tell you how many guys and some women have approached me with this question. It seems to be a sort of fetish among some black men in particular. If you appear to have some physical features (hair texture, skin tone, facial features etc.) that are not stereotypically “black” you are more desirable to some black men which is really, really sad. It seems like the Saldana’s, Lopez’s and Rose’s are often times put up on a pedestal by our own men (in music videos, movies, everyday experiences) that black women with identifiably black features are not.
Demitiria @ the blog A Belle in Brooklyn recounted a very interesting experience she had with this recently here:
I’m Black and Puetro Rican. As a child I always had to defend myself on both sides. I realize ignorant black and latina women, are hurt. Hurt people hurt people. Blackness doesn’t mean African American. My mother is African American and she has long reddish brown hair and light skinned. My aunties on my Puerto Rican side are dark skinned and beautiful.
To the white society we are all BLACK! They would call all of us n*ggas.
Some of us black women are bitter in every aspect of life, and find no good with the world. I don’t understand why African Americans and Latinoswon’t rise together to conquer the real problems with the majority.
I fully accept these women within the sisterhood, but I guess the media needs more issues to create controversy so they choose this one and then try to represent their ideas across the broad spectrum of black womanhood. Please STOP!
Black folks are a generous and accepting as well as diverse people. If you embrace the community the community will embrace you–if you don’t then the hell with you , who cares.
Co sign Jason.
Act like an outsider you will be one.
Wow, I first started visiting Clutch because I thought it was a magazine that was uplifting and positive for Black women. However, as I’ve only been visiting here for about 4 months now, it seems the tone of the magazine is race bating i.e. IR dating/marriage, light skinned vs.dark skinned, other race women with big booties, Black men who don’t want Black women and so on and so on. Why put so much focus on these topics, really? I am on a journey for self improvement, to be all that the Almighty has called me to be and reading these types of articles and the blogs laced with anger, cynicism and hurt that follow will not contribute to my growth. I’m sorry Clutch, you just lost a reader.
I can understand where you are coming from, whereby you expected this online magazine to be more “positive”. However from what I can tell, Clutch magazine is that and much more. There are many messages out there that rather then talking about the issue in an open matter we put it under the rug. Clutch magazine is a place where we can release and express how we feel about different topics. In addition, it is a way for people to reconstruct a previous notion about whatever the topic is.
Clutch is positive, by motiving it’s audience and it is also bringing out discussions that we should have. I loved the “booty” discussion. I was happy to know that I was not the only one with a small butt who felt they did not fit the “black criteria”.