Nicki Minaj and the White Beauty Myth Machine
From The Grio – Nicki Minaj has made it no secret that mega-pop stardom is her ultimate destination. So her leaked song “Marilyn Monroe” channeling one of American culture’s super beauty icons should come as no surprise. Because it is Black History Month, however, Minaj’s flaunting of her internalized white American standards of beauty stand out more.
While it is doubtful that the entertainer, who just shared the stage with Madonna for the Super Bowl half-time show, is mindful of her perpetuation of age-old American beauty standards that largely exclude black women, she has been rewarded plenty for celebrating them.
Last month, nail salons throughout the nation began officially selling the Nicki Minaj by OPIcollection featuring such hit single-inspired colors as “Did It On ‘Em” and “Superbass Shatter.” In December, Mattel created an official Nicki Minaj Barbie for a charity auction that sold for $5,605.
When her debut album Pink Friday was released in 2010, MAC successfully sold limited edition “Pink Friday” lipstick to commemorate the occasion. And this month the official MAC 2012 Viva Glam campaign featuring Minaj and Ricky Martin as spokespersons launched.
If that weren’t enough, she’s also been getting work as a fashion model. She was on the November 2011 covers of both W and Cosmopolitan as well as an alternate Elle May 2011 cover and there are talks that she might just cover Vogue in the not so distant future. Just last month, the coveted Sunday edition of the New York Times pondered “Nicki Minaj as a Rising Style Muse.”
All the mainstream attention Minaj’s self-proclaimed “Harajuku Barbie” image has attracted is extremely problematic. Her Barbie-like small waist coupled with her Venus Hottentot backside and almost-always Marilyn Monroe blonde hair certainly sends mixed messages regarding black beauty values. The fact that Minaj has generated so much success by merging the typical mainstream beauty standards of Barbie and Marilyn Monroe with the outlandish “ghetto booty” that so many black men celebrate speaks volumes.
In an age when black beauty continues to be questioned, with several polls and even once-reputable publications like Psychology Today proclaiming black women as less attractive, not to mention the consistent insults dished out over first lady Michelle Obama’s looks, Minaj’s success reiterates that, in the United States, even in 2012, black needs to step back.
Therefore the anointing of Nicki Minaj as an emerging fashion icon encourages young black girls especially to manipulate their looks. The more fake and outrageous one appears, the better. The less that look resembles more common black features the more acceptable one becomes in mainstream arenas.
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got to admit not bad for a woman with basically one official album a whole lot of borrowing.
I don’t see nicki as pushing white beauty because she not really succeeding in white beauty she still looks black. I think she’s just being eccentric because for every blonde win she wears there is a pink one a blue one or some other outlandish color wig she is wearing. I think she’s just being “creative” and Barbie is her gimmick. I suppose she could wear Afros and dashikis but that’s not the Minaj persona. It’s more about cartoonish things and fantasy doll like appearance. Kinda like harajuku itself
You pretty much summed up my thoughts on this post. I’m not a Nicki fan, but I think she’s just playing around and being creative.
Not every woman wants to be white because she puts on a blonde wig. Maybe she just wants to have blonde hair for a minute.
*shrug*
I am not sure how much I agree entirely. It’s interesting that she is being accused of perpetuating the European standards of beauty however in the same sentence her famous “ghetto booty” is acknowledged. I enjoyed reading this article. I love hearing different opinions. The points that were made were valid and for that reason, I certainly respect your argument. However, being a black woman myself and dealing with people telling me to my face that I don’t look black or talk black or even have a black girl’s body is troubling. This notion that being black is synonymous with one standard of beauty is a doctrine that I can not ascribe to. It lends it’s hand to the insecurity that I think is running rampant in our community. It is all rather contradictory. We pride ourselves on our ability to come in different shades and even different hair textures, but the more mainstream a woman gets, if it is not the proper black image, she is somehow made out to be a self- hating black woman or at least one who is pushing the European standard of beauty on our women.
I think beauty is subjective. I believe that our women should ascribe to a doctrine that says we have a right to look the way we want to, dress the way we want to and not be concerned with the opinion of others (even if they are in our own community.) I tend to dress like a hippie, which doesn’t help the accusations I have dealt with in the past of not being black enough. I think it is our right to have different standards of beauty to appreciate. And while I can admit the “Double D” “microscopic- waist” image is not the most healthy image, we still have many other beautiful women to admire who have natural hair, darker skin etc. True beauty has no real archetype and that is what women should take from all of this.
You like extensions? That is fine. There are just as many Caucasian women wearing extensions as there are black women. The argument that we as black women go to greater extremes to achieve European beauty doesn’t really work with me. When I know caucasian women who visit the doctor and are willing to pay anything for full lips- risk skin cancer for a beautiful tan and spend hundreds of dollars at beauty salons trying to obtain the perfect “body” for their hair. Insecurity exists in every community we should celebrate all women who are praised for their beauty and willing to be placed under a microscope for us to dissect and discuss. But I loved how this article made me think this morning. It was truly a great read. It’s why I read Clutch.
I am not sure how much I agree entirely. It’s interesting that she is being accused of perpetuating the European standards of beauty however in the same sentence her famous “ghetto booty” is acknowledged. I enjoyed reading this article. I love hearing different opinions. The points that were made were valid and for that reason, I certainly respect your argument. However, being a black woman myself and dealing with people telling me to my face that I don’t look black or talk black or even have a black girl’s body is troubling. This notion that being black is synonymous with one standard of beauty is a doctrine that I can not ascribe to. It lends it’s hand to the insecurity that I think is running rampant in our community. It is all rather contradictory. We pride ourselves on our ability to come in different shades and even different hair textures, but the more mainstream a woman gets, if it is not the proper black image, she is somehow made out to be a self- hating black woman or at least one who is pushing the European standard of beauty on our women.
I don’t follow Minaj enough to comment on the article, but I didn’t get what you got from it. IMO, the author never implied that there was one standard for black beauty, but called her out on merging the Marilyn Monroe version of beauty with one of the stereotypical black version of beautiful features: the large booty. I am sure someone will soon run up here declaring her mother is black and looks exactly like Marilyn Monroe, but black beauty does not encompass the blond hair/blue eyed ideal Marilyn Monroe represents.
I am going to be honest and say: I don’t think you were offended by the article at all. You just felt the need to let us all know you have been “complimented” on not looking/speaking/acting black. There is barely any connection between your rubbish rant and the article.
/I am done.
gosh, why cant you reply to a reply
anyway i agree with you TheBestAnonEver, Part 2
she just wanted to brag GTFOH
Im not even a Nicki Minaj fan but I don’t agree with this article. I never thought of Nicki Minaj as someone who we perpetuating white beauty. To me she is just eccentric and likes to play with fashion. She’s an entertainer and enjoys wearing outlandish costumes.
“Her Barbie-like small waist coupled with her Venus Hottentot backside and almost-always Marilyn Monroe blonde hair certainly sends mixed messages regarding black beauty values.”
I don’t see how a small waist and big butt are against black beauty. The blond wig thing isn’t a big deal to me because a lot of women like to have different hair colors. I don’t personally like the blond look but people who like to be different often do. Just because she’s black doesn’t mean she can only have hair colors that are variations of black and brown.
As far as Barbie goes, yes there is her friend Christie but most people don’t know Barbie’s friends names. If she called herself Christie nobody would know who she was talking about. Calling the black doll “Christie” is just a technicality anyway because she’s just Barbie with darker skin. It never crossed my mind that she was aspiring toward white beauty because she call herself black Barbie.
And the Marilyn Monroe thing? I don’t really care because we’re all human beings. It doesn’t always have to be white vs. black. There’s nothing wrong with her admiring Marilyn Monroe. It doesn’t mean she doesn’t have black role models.
I think the issue with organizations or pubs that cater to a certain minority group is that the only way to successfully maintain a level of momentum is to constantly seek out things to complain about and more often than not the issue is baseless. Nicki Minaj is an entertainer and I doubt highly that she is considering the consequences that come with her dressing in a manner that fits her personality. This article is utterly ridiculous. How in the world is Nicki Minaj perpetuating white beauty?? I fail to understand where The Grio got this impression. Nobody is here to cater to Black America. Not everything a black person in the public does has to be scrutinized and cross-examined for evidence of racial disloyalty. I can’t even believe that this article was deemed reasonable enough to publish. Its utter rubbish and thats why the black community is where it is today. GET A COLLEGE DEGREE! And stop pointing fingers and being accusatory.
could the same be said about beyonce?
Exactly.
Nope, I don’t think it can. If you look at Beyonce from when she was little to an adult. Her looks have not changes. Meaning, her nose is the same shape, when she was a teenager she was always hippy, she is still hippy. If you are one of those that think she brightens her skin (not saying that you are) she is a very pale black skinned woman & gets darker by tanning. And even what she does with her wigs, which go from blonde to black. to straight to curly don’t meet European standards to me. She is just one of many different kinds of Black women.
Now look at Nickis pictures from her past…she was/is a brown skinned woman. Her make up contradicts that. Her nose? “Fixed”. Her boobs? Enlarged. Her butt? Shot the hell up. Any woman that goes for plastic surgery is looking for the European standard of beauty. Europeans get butt shots as well. She has completly sold out & she is doing so without the talent to match. She is a straight up clown and the white mans puppet…Example: Song & video to “Stupid Hoe”. Nicki is a fraud.
I don’t think you can compare the two, though one does fit a stereotypical ideal of what a “real” woman should look like be it black or white.
@iluvrenae
I have to completely disagree with you
Beyonce has CLEARLY had work done on her face over the years.
Google some pictures
I believe that beyonce actually does MORE harm with respect to the White Beauty Myth machine than Nicki does.
First, people all over the world do not know who nicki minaj is, despite what stans believe.
She is a US artist. She has some presence overseas, but not like Beyonce, not by a long shot. With that being said, nicki is clearly a cartoon character. a grace jones if you will, while Beyonce wants you to believe that that straight blond yaki is growing from her scalp.
Next, beyonce has the ability and has allowed herself to be photographed looking next to white (*passing)
The only thing nicki has ever passed for is bisexual. Nicki, her brand, the stupid $hit she does, is clearly geared toward a particular audience.
Beyonce and her world wide appeal has her making bad decisions when it comes to whether or not she will feed the white beauty myth machine
@Apollo
Not “be it black or white”
That’s the point of the article so you cannot ignore it.
@iQgraphics I get the point of the article quite fine. I just think you miss understood me. You can’t compare Bey & Nicki, but one fits the stereotypical ideal of “white” and “black” standards.
*misunderstood
never thought it about it that way.. she’s a celeb and she dresses according to the many characters she plays and it sells.. this is what the girl wants.. she wants every culture to love her and it’s working..
if any artist was to be put on blast, i thought it would’ve been Beyonce for sure.. how many times have they said her pics are lightened, or that her weave is blonder, or that she wished she were latina, etc, etc, etc…
See my post above lol..
I agree with you and iQgraphics statements. Of all the celebs Nicki Minsk isn’t the poster child for this issue unlike other celebs…….I think this article is reaching
It’s interesting what people are saying on this post today. I am just wondering if they are the same people that were on the same post as her “Stupid Hoe” video. If so, you guys changed your tune. I haven’t. Really follow her career, which it seems that a lot of posters on here have not done. You will see that this girl is pushing standards of beauty that have nothing to do with Black women. Also having a ghetto booty is no longer associated with just black women. Have you seen what these white women are/have been doing to their backsides?? Ok then.
It doesn’t matter what she does. She can wear platinum wigs until the end of time; she’ll still be visibly of mixed minority descent, none of which is European.
White people know that. We know that. So there’s no confusion.
There’s two points I disagree with here. I don’t think Nicki has internalized the white beauty standard, she does her own thing. Her wigs are all different colors, she’s naturally petite, but her booty was admittedly purchased.
I would also disagree that she’s teaching black girls to abide by white standards of beauty. If we teach young black girls they are beautiful in their own right, they’ll be smart enough not to be sucked into societal pressures on how to be beautiful.
I would have to say that this is a case of art imitating life. I don’t think Nicki Minaj is doing anything new that Black women and celebrities for that matter haven’t already been doing for years. Now Lil Kim on the other hand….(sigh)
White ideal of beauty that she has internalized? Wow. I am surprised in this day and age that anyone can say something like that and get away with it. White ideal of beauty? Before there was the idea of the internalized white ideal of beauty African cultures were always fascinated with blond hair, fair skinned women that were thin and shapely….so has every other culture….and it was long before America or pop culture and Marilyn Monroe even existed. So the real question is why would anyone try to say this is the white ideal of beauty when every man wants the same thing be the black, white, brown, yellow etc….?
I personally think that Beyonce is portraying more of a European/White look than Nicki. Nicki just looks silly.
Beyonce on the other hand looks more and more european when I see her. Her complexion even seems to get lighter. Look at her 4 Album artwork…. In some photos I could barely recognize her. I think this is done so that she can continue to be a global icon… different races can relate to her.She even can pull off a hispanic look. But we all know that most black women are not born are not born with 20 inch honey blonde hair so is she at fault too?