A very unpopular opinion: Authenticity kills and black women just can't thrive
First I would like to start by thanking God for everything and second, thank all of you who are enjoying my blog! Today will be a really heavy topic to talk about, as it's been holding a lot of weight in my mind. I've never really been bothered by much but something about this topic doesn't feel right.
I recently started to gain some buzz on TikTok and I've also been posting on my Instagram. For this, I am truly Grateful for the support, but we must realize this also comes with hate. Around June 20th, I posted a video of me dancing to a new trend that revolved around a dance Trisha Paytas had performed in Eminem's music video "We Made You". With the many supportive comments I've gotten, I also got quite a few hate comments leading to me having to block some people. People have told me I look like "Trisha Paytas in the shade 450.", I'm disgusting because I made a video to a Trisha Paytas audio, That my dance wasn't as good as others because Trisha Paytas didn't comment like on the other peoples post (And she did comment on mine fyi), And people were comfortable with referring to black people as "these people" to get their point across about "supporting Trisha Paytas".
This is inevitable, And I didn't expect people not comment hateful things, but I didn't expect so many people to be comfortable coming at me when I'm not the only one that has done the trend. To clarify I know of the controversies that Trisha Paytas has had, But I never said I supported her or her actions, I simply just made a video. Now I will take responsibility and say I shouldn't have put the caption " I ❤️ Trisha Paytas" if this is how I feel, But I was honestly just trying to find a caption and that's that.
I do not argue with anyone in the comments because my block game is stronger. So for anyone who is looking to have an online presence, especially as a black woman, please learn to handle things efficiently and maturely.
NOW TO GET DOWN TO THE REAL TEA: AUTHENTICITY KILLS!!!
If you know me, you know I like to partake in many fashion cultures, from Gyaru all the way to Trad Goth. I'm just extra like that. But recently my experiences have been very dulled by some of the people who are very much either true to their fashion communities or know much of nothing.
A while back I made another dance post where I had many hashtags pertaining to Gyaru and Gyaru culture. At the time, I did claim Gyaru as one of my main styles because I believed (still do) what the culture stood for and I liked doing the makeup. When my post blew up someone commented "So gyaru is anything now", and in my mind, I was like "What does that mean?". The person was basically stating that I looked nothing compared to other gyaru's and then came out and said "Well I know because my partner is a gyaru NOT ME"..... Now what kind of sense does that make.... If you, yourself are not a part of this community or don't know what you're talking about, why are commenting??
If you refer back to my page I did make a video addressing this comment nicely and I left it like that.
strike one.
The next post that finally did it for me was my Trad Goth or should I say "Trad Goth" quotations look. Again this was something I enjoyed and also something I am kind of "new" to. In this post my definition of "new" is something I've always had my foot in, But I just haven't gotten into it fully yet because I was focusing on another style. Kind of like how I do with music.
Of course, when you scroll mainly on TikTok the first thing you will see related to Trad Goth is white face paint. I loved the look because of how ghostly it was, And yes I knew you didn't need the paint to be goth, But I personally just enjoyed the look. Well after scrolling on Instagram for a while I decided to look at the stories of the people I follow. One story kind of struck me because it stated that people need to stop wearing white face paint and calling it Trad Goth if it is not their natural skin color, they then proceeded to say that goths in the 80s didn't wear white face paint and there is such a thing as POC goths.
This was my final strike.
A Hit Dog Will Holler
disclaimer: for context, I'm only directing this statement towards appearance, not ideologies!
I wasn't angered by the statement the person made, I was just a little agitated by the way the message was relayed, Which isn't their problem at all, as the saying goes a hit dog will holler and I can admit to that!
When it comes to the fashion I wear, it has to be something I not only like but also stand for, Because as we know fashion is political whether you believe it or not (For example Juggalo makeup)! I stand for the values and beliefs of Goth And that's why I decided to attempt the style or what I thought was the style.
when it comes to being a new dweller of an "archaic" fashion culture it's very hard at first trying to fit in, especially when you have so many styles or ideas. Moreover, people are trying so hard to be authentic, that it stifles the concept of individuality and doesn't allow the culture to evolve.
And it's not just the Goth/ALT community, it's the Gyaru, Y2k, and other communities as well. I think many people in the alternative community fear a lack of authenticity because they think it will cultivate more people like Caroline Carr, but it is actually the opposite.
I'm not trying to tell people to change the scene's history or forget about what makes the culture unique, I just think we should allow people to be creative and introduce something new, Therefore, it remains influential, and strong and balances authenticity with innovation while still breaking societal norms.
Thank you all for reading my ted talk I know its not the best writing, But I believe it will improve! I'll catch you later! XOXO (feel free to comment what you think!)
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