WOMEN: What Color Is Black?

BN Bytes: Beyoncé’s Fela Kuti inspired “African Queen” cover for L’Officiel Paris’ 90th Anniversary Issue stirs debate

Posted on Sunday, February 20th, 2011 at 12:43 AM

By BellaNaija.com



The 90th anniversary issue of iconic French luxury and fashion Magazine, L’Officiel Paris features international superstar Beyoncé on the cover.
According to the preview released by L’Officiel,

The fashion magazine is about to celebrate its 90th birthday. To celebrate this anniversary, the festivities start with the March issue, with Beyoncé on the cover. The star agreed to pose for an incredible fashion shoot, with the theme of African Queen, paying a tribute to the legendary Fela Kuti (Nigerian political singer who died in 1997). Far from the glamorous Sasha Fierce, the beauty posed for the magazine in amazing fashion designer clothes, but also in a dress created by her mother. A return to her African roots, as you can see on the picture, on which her face was voluntarily darkened. All the pictures will be available in the collector edition, on sale at the end of this month.

While many are looking forward to seeing the complete fashion spread, the preview is already stirring up controversy due to the use of “black face”. Black Face (painting of a person’s face black to depict a black person) has historically negative connotations and is perceived negatively especially in the United States.

So what do you think? Was it necessary for Beyoncé’s face to be darkened to depict an African Queen or are people overreacting over the stylist’s creative license?

Photo Credit: iLuLuOnline

via bellanaija.com

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Lighter Skin Equals Self-Hate, Of Course?

FRIDAY FEB 18, 2011 – BY LESLIE PITTERSON

This week, when pictures of Beyonce in Los Angeles for the Grammy’s hit the web, people seemed to have many questions. If they weren’t asking where Jay was or why Gwyneth Paltrow was her date instead of her hubby, the onlookers had one other thing on their minds: her skin.

Why is she so light?

Did she bleach her skin?

One article, though, seems to stick out.  Today in theDaily Mail, Yasmin Alibhai-Brown wonders if Bey is setting a bad example. In “Why I believe Beyonce is Betraying All Black and Asian Women,” she writes,

“Her complexion and limbs were translucently pallid, her locks long, straight and blonde.

Now, racial mixing since the days of slavery means ‘Black’ Americans come in a whole range of skin hues, but in recent years Beyonce’s tone seems miraculously to be changing from dusky to peachy.

In truth, it is hard now to tell she is the daughter of an African-American father and Creole mother. It was three years ago that L’Oreal was accused of whitening Beyonce’s face in a magazine advert, a charge denied by the company. But now there she is, looking like a willowy Caucasian.”

Okay, let’s back up.  While it’s one thing to note your preference for a bronzy hued Beyonce, it is quite another to imply that she is purposely seeking to lighten her skin.  It seems like the oldest trick in the book of Black women’s criticisms to attribute paler skin to self-hatred.

Do African-American women continually see celeb examples of bleached skin?  Sure.  Our range of celebrities has certainly gone through it.  But for Beyonce (who has always been of fair complexion to begin with) to be blamed for having less of a tan than usual seems a bit harsh.  The snap judgment seems to speak more about our underlying beliefs more than we’re willing to admit.

Could the answer to this mystery be simply that Honey B has a case of the winter blues or must there be more to it?