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Not To Pretty

Artist: JACK J MCGILL

Country: United States

Description: Dominique, the racial saying "you are pretty for a Black girl" Digital Image enhanced in Lightroom

As Black women in America, we constantly have to deal with European beauty standards being imposed on us. For centuries we have been mocked and told that our features are inferior compared to that of our white counterparts.

Because of how normalized such behavior and ideology is, people feel comfortable enough to add a qualifier to their supposed compliment. Not only is it actually insulting when someone says “You’re pretty for a black girl,” but it’s racist, hurtful, and perpetuates the stigma surrounding darker skin and features that many Black people possess. I, like many others, have experienced this prejudice behavior from oblivious people who correlate beauty with race.

From the album
Justice for all - inspired by black lives matter