Today starts another month-long series titled “Black Diamonds and Pearls” which examines Black girls in the Lolita fashion, a street fashion from Japan. A good quick overview would be to click the “Lolita Fashion” link in my “Links of Interest”, which describes the fashion essentially.
I chose Lolita fashion to look into because it is the fashion style that I am involved with and looking at the racial dynamics are very interesting here. As any Alt-Culture Black person knows, there is a lot more to participating in any Alt-Culture that meets the eyes or is at all acknowledged. It is commonly disregarded that there is any bigotry or tokenization or any sense of minority reminders by those within Alt-Culture and in a way they are right. Alt-culture is more accepting than mainstream culture by some respects but not all. Just because someone likes their hair electric blue and with a deathhawk doesn’t mean they won’t say something incredibly stupid and very culturally wayward. There’s a reason why sites like Afro-Punk exist, after all. No matter how weird we all like to be or look, this is not a post racial society and won’t be for a few more decades if not centuries. Then there’s the acceptance by other Blacks, which make it exceedingly easy to develop self-hatred for the race.
Ah, I drifted some. Why I prefer to look at Lolita fashion besides the obvious listed above, it is because the face of the ideal Lolita is very doll-like, porcelain and overall, exceedingly White. Since the fashion stems from the Victorian Era particularly and other European fashion/cultural eras, it makes sense that the face of the perfect Lolita would be White – although some would disagree and say that the perfect Lolita is usually Asian because that’s where the fashion stems from but it is debatable since Japan does have a Western fixation that does shine through in its looks and even beauty ideals. Every magazine that is geared towards the Lolita styles such as Gosu Rori and the Gothic and Lolita Bible show countless makeup tutorials and hair tutorials suitable for the fashion but has nary a tutorial for Black hair. Granted, because the crowd pitched to in Japan are Asian hence it makes sense not to have a rainbow of girls, when the GLB finally made an Anglophone version of the exact same name, there were 0 Black hair tutorials and minorities were practically invisible throughout the whole series, with exception to the last edition. When the last English GLB came out, they actually had makeup and hair tutorials for White girls, Latinas, and Black Girls. The White girl’s tutorial was well done, the Latina was very well done and the Black girl’s was a disaster. Poorly written, the model clearly shabbily put together, no one knew how to work her tone, hair or complexion. It was a big disservice and quite the insult for any Black Lolita who wonders if their hair or skin has a place in the style. Instead of the people of GLB to find someone from a Black hair care magazine to ghostwrite or someone who actually knew Black hair and skincare, they trumped through it themselves, leaving the model to look like a wreck. It isn’t as if some Lolitas didn’t think Black girls should keep their “ghetto” ways out of the fashion anyways, the flub was just more fuel to the fire.
Constantly Black Lolitas new to the fashion ask should they wear wigs, how should they cover up their natural hair, is it okay to be a Lolita and have dreads, are they light enough and what clothes fit them. It is very disheartening that these girls think you have to be very close to the edge of buying bleaching cream and blond tracks just to participate in a fashion they like. There are very little clothes that can fit a Black girl’s body and there are just about no hair and makeup tips readily available for Black girls as just about every Western Lolita publication, even when they don’t mean to, practically assumes their readership is White, judging from the low representation of the Black voice in the fashion or how quickly it is mocked. Black newcomers to the fashion don’t know what to do and often take pretty racist comments disguised as constructive criticism. They internalize that what they already have isn’t beautiful enough, or maybe they’re fawned over like a doll because everyone romanticizes their background or race to the point it’s ridiculous.
Whenever a Western idol takes part in any part of Lolita fashion, the Lolita community is quick to bash that person or accept them – unless Black. For example, Lady Gaga wore shiro loli style, provided by Angelic Pretty. Even though Gaga turned out to be donning eye and face makeup that is so familiar with the Ganguro/Mamba style such as the super tanned skin and panda styled eyes, there was still some love for what she was doing. Yes, not everyone liked it but overall, reception is decent. When Katy Perry also donned a dark colored sweet Lolita dress also provided by Angelic Pretty and wore the neckties wrong (they were across her chest, not her collarbone), some lolitas gave her grief but still overall reception was decent. Both Gaga and Perry were simply considered non-lolitas but didn’t mess it up completely and it was more a work of their creativity (or lack thereof, according to some) than anything. Then came Lil’ Mama and Nicki Minaj. Lil’ Mama wore an apron skirt provided by Angelic Pretty (or Baby the Stars Shine Bright) to the BET awards with a red sports bra and low cut chucks. This was met with vicious reception and very little support. Lil’ Mama was called “Ghetto” and there were plenty subversive and not-so-hidden racial remarks about her wear, including someone saying that Lil’ Mama should have been lynched. Yep. Gaga walks in looking as if she fell into a cake, she’s unique. Lil’ Mama forgoes the traditional blouse and tea party shoes, she should become strange fruit. Lovely. Really. Nicki Minaj has also worn Lolita and donned it on the cover of Word Up magazine. The petticoat was incorrect, the gloves didn’t match and she was without a blouse for such a low cut jumperskirt that was provided by I believe Innocent World. Again, she’s called “ghetto” and racial remarks abound. Lady Gaga has never been called ghetto. No one has ever piped up and said we need to string Katy Perry from a tree. Lady Gaga has been in outfits just as outrageous as Nicki Minaj if not more (Minaj has never worn a dress made of meat) and Katy Perry has also her fair share of unusual wear, just like Lil’ Mama. The difference is race. Already a lot of the girls on the international forum EGL does not know truly know Black culture beyond what they have learned from media, which holds such a massively warped view of Black culture that is deeply racist and very backwards. As I have said before, Lady Gaga is seen as unique, Nicki Minaj is seen as a freak yet the former has done more outrageous things than the later. Lady Gaga can be seen as very favorable in the Lolita community, it would take Nicki Minaj a very long time (and a few tubs of bleaching cream later) to get to Lady Gaga’s status of fashion respect. If ever.
In comparison to other forms of alternative fashion or even Western takes of Eastern street fashion, Lolita is pretty accepting of people and their differences as there are girls who are the minority but refuse to be shut up by those with very supremacist ideals. However, it is not always enough for Black girls who are still afraid to be Black. That’s why there are groups for Black Lolitas such as LaLolitas on Livejournal and Afro-Punk Lolitas on Afro-Punk, to provide as a safe place for Lolitas to talk about their hair issues, skin issues and racial identity issues which constantly impact the lives in these girls to the point that they don’t want to be Black or assume that the BET-styled Black monolith is all Black culture has to offer them. It is already enough to have to worry of acceptance from others within a group these Black Lolitas want to be in but to be a minority within a minority is wrenching since people call them “White” or other wack names implying that Black is not cultured, diverse and definitely not accepting.
This month will provide guest blogs from various Black Lolitas in the fashion sharing their perspectives of being Black and being a Lolita and what it all means to them. At the end of the month there will be a The Arts that shows where one can get clothes from the Lolita fashion, Black Lolita blogs and more. If you would like to ask any questions about the Lolita fashion or of the girls (and guys) within it, use the normal “Ask Black Witch” form or email.
Black Witch 
I never heard of this Lolita fashion before but it sounds interesting and fun. Its a shame that many black women are having trouble fitting in with a style that`s supposed to be open.
Oh, it’s very pretty, I love it. But you have jerks that wanna be very loser-like about it when it comes to race. Alt-culture is supposed to be more open but even under those Tripp pants and spike bracelets is still a person that may not be open in all aspects, especially where it counts.
Hello there!!
First and foremost, I just want to say that I absolutely love your website. I discovered a while back when listening to a webcast when you were interviewed by the African American Wiccans website.
In regards to your article, you are so right: racism yet abounds, even in alternative culture. Many times, we as Black people, simply turn to alternative culture because we find it interesting. We are a creative people, and we need not be kept in a little box of what has been defined as Black by other people! Other Black people yell at us and say that we are not Black, then other nationalities attempt to mock us! Saying that someone should be lynched for clothes that they are wearing is beyond uncalled for.
Bottom line, I love you site and what you are saying!
T’anks! It is very much a shame that people will say they’re all accepting and such but once the elephant in the room comes up in the form of race, that’s when the real problems show. It isn’t fair at all that Blacks have to have an exceptionally hard time fitting in because someone took the tv for a teacher and get upset that someone who doesn’t look like them wants as much as an equal shot. I see it all the time on WeeabooStories, it’s pretty clear that racism is very much alive and rampant or else the NAACP would have long time disbanded, people would let Obama do his freaking job, my site wouldn’t need to exist and no one would care about who’s wearing the clothes so long they’re wearing them fine. People are concerned that if a Black person is around, crime will go up, problems will arise, ignorance will be abound, etc etc when that’s not true.
In short, I agree. Some people are total douchebags about race and may as well as come out of the closet with how they really feel.
First of all though, I do want to say that I agree with the complaints of the article. The examples could have been a little better. Anyway! I think there is racism abound when black people are interested in fashions from Asia. If you look at the udoli trend, Asians said that black girls “couldn’t do” ulzzang. Keep in mind, Ulzzaang is simply photo manipulated images from an angle shot that people from all over the world had been doing long before Koreans coined the term. This I think is a resound example of racism. The irony of course is that its okay when other groups (including Asians) take over our music (i.e. Hip hop which has a consumer base that is 70% white now, but most particularly Jazz), but its NOT okay when it comes to black people wearing fashion from other cultures.
However, at the same time, I feel Nicki Minaj is partly to blame for being called “ghetto.” All over the internet you can find images of this girl spreading her legs open in nothing but her bra and underwear licking a lolipop, or uses a champagne glass to cover her crotch. Lady Gaga doesn’t sell herself to THAT degree, even if her fashion sense is way more pronounced. I don’t think its the fact that she’s black and dressing lolita that she’s considered “ghetto”, its because of the image she presents herself on the regular. So while I’m not sure I connect with the Nicki Minaj example of double standards towards black lolitas, I do agree that there is racism.
I should mention that what’s hilariously ironic, is that a lot of gothic lolitas wear bustle skirts without knowing the history of the bustle. Europeans created the bustle skirt to imitate the buttocks of Sarah Bartman, a black member of the Khoi Khoi tribe from Africa. Now, it’s no secret about the African American women have big buttocks, but the Khoi Khoi have irregularly HUGE HUGE buttocks, even by African American standards (protip: type hottentot in google).So when the Khoi Khoi wore European dresses, the buttocks made the skirt end of the dress poof out…like the bustle! So if people don’t think people of color do not have a place in lolita, let them know they are mistaken.
I think there’s racism abound when Blacks simply don’t want to be fenced in with their stereotypes, whether it’s fashion, music or even the food you eat. It is an interesting dynamic with Asia because it’s not a White fashion culture that Black lolitas are contending with now, it’s Asian fashion culture. There can be created a double layer of racial WTF because there’s the Asian culture which is fairly insular and homogeneous but also the fact that they learned about the rest of the world particularly through the White perspective and it doesn’t even take history to let any Black person (or any other minority) to know how much bull and nonsense can come out of that and for it to all be taken as fact. So instead of Asians seeing the normal “other” (Whites), they see an entirely different “Other” that, as far as they’re told, comes with a package that will jack every bad stat from crime to amorality through the roof almost overnight. It’s annoying because they have a super slanted view of Blacks due to it, their own perception of how they see non-Asians and what White culture has told them about non-Asians, and it pens in Black girls unfairly because of the bad rap. They don’t mind taking our music and culture (so long they can plaster someone else’s face over it or get some stereotypical coon to represent) but they’re worried of us in their culture because of all the bad and scary things they’ve heard about the Black race (“Oh, they like to rape and pillage and kill and steal and have no manners and want to murder everyone, even their own! They’re just savages! Just simply uncivilized! I would know, I listened to ‘Watch the Throne” and went to a Jay-Z concert from tickets I won through 106 & Park. He even signed my DC hat, look!”) and judging from the stereotypes we have, they can scare anyone who didn’t know any better. Doesn’t make them any less of a dick, just makes them an incredibly ignorant dick that could have done a little more research.
I had to google “Udoli” (I don’t know every fashion in the world
) and it seems very pretty and African-inspired…because all I did was look at one Udoli focused tumblr and considered that full research, yup yup, so if I’m wrong, lemme know. I’m not surprised that Asian girls would say that Black girls couldn’t do ulzzang because they said the same about ganguro and that actually means “Black face”. I remember some ganguro girls saying Black girls were cheating because they didn’t have to tan because we already have the correct color for the fashion naturally. It’s stupid, I’m tellin you. I agree with your irony statement because it’s just stupid in itself. Actually the changed consumer base of hip hop is part of the reason hip hop has the minstrel face and incredibly wack sound that it does today. It’s become an Arabian Nights story for White kids in the suburbs and confusing Black kids everywhere in their own racial self-identity, regardless whether they are suburbs or hood.
Nicki Minaj is the modern rehash of the “jungle bunny/jezebel”, it’s an old face of the Black stereotypical woman. There’s the mammy (her modern rehash? “The Black best friend” seen waaaaay too often in White movies). Minaj sadly is going to be stuck with such a label and in an industry that’s internallized its own racism for as long as she’s signed with a major label. I’m pretty sure that while she has some say in how her image is to be portrayed, it’s not as strong a voice as you would think. She moreso represent an idea of a “wild Black woman with a waterfall libido”, which is the jungle bunny stereotype. She’s thoroughly dehumanized from a person to a doll and because of her skin, a savage one at that. She’s going to be portrayed to not have the same amount of “class” as even Lady Gaga is even given and since, as you said, the vast majority of the mainstream hip hop buyership is White, to be painted by pretty bigoted ideals in both the sex and race realm. Lady Gaga in “Telephone” had a crotch shot that had to be bleeped out. In “Born This Way”, it had to be heavily censored because of the incredible implied display of nudity and birth. These are a couple examples where Lady Gaga had on less fabric than to sew a kitchen towel with or even to make a showy dress for a Barbie. She’s been naked in “Alejandro” and pretty close to it several other times, using really ranchy symbols of both sex and gender. I think, personally, Lady Gaga blows Nicki Minaj out the water like Waterloo when it comes to images that are considerably NSFW. However, look at how Lady Gaga and Nicki Minaj are depicted in a racial sense. There’s already that layer that both women do not obey their gender roles at all, both show a dominant characteristic and unbridled sexuality. But Minaj has to deal with an extra layer, if not two, that Lady Gaga does not: Being Black and being in hip hop, two layers that can severely jack up the playing field like none other.
Already being Black, Nicki Minaj is automatically penned as a jungle bunny, there only to sell sex and to be more of an object than a person because as far as the White perspective goes, that’s all she ever was and will be. Nicki Minaj could even tone it down a billion and still that would follow her because, again, as far as the White perspective is concerned, she is just trying to hide her “true” nature, that she’s really a sex-crazed savage that has no sense of European/Christian decency – and they’re quite happy with that. Then you have hip hop, a genre that’s not really woman friendly and now has super absorbed the racism projected onto them. Actually, it’s pretty blatantly mysogynist to a T and every female emcee worth their salt will tell you. Just ask Missy Elliot and Da Brat. Already for the simple fact that Nicki Minaj owns a punami, that’s pretty much how all the guys see her and unless she can go above and super beyond that, she’s pretty screwed. So she has to. She has to be dominating in a way that will make men pay attention to her in the hip hop game because it’s not like they’re going to give her a fair and equal shot, oh no, they’re going to pull straight from the playbook of all the bigotry they complain keeps them down themselves. These are some stressors that Lady Gaga get to blissfully avoid.
Doing Lolita and being Black, people will think “Nicki Minaj” because as far as they’re concerned, she’s the only one who’s done it and she’s the weirdest dressed Black person they can think of to closely resemble. Now non-stereotypical dressed Black girls are aplenty but remember, mainstream. The mainstream only has room for a handful of Blacks in entertainment and thaaaaaaat’s it. Any more and people are gonna freak when they find out not all of us prefer Roca Wear and high violence rates. Both Whites, Black and even other races totally sold on the “Savage Negro” idea. So with that, Nicki Minaj is supposed to be the “Weirdo/Freaky Black Girl” placeholder for now.
There’s a lot of different pieces of clothing, words and other ideas that stem from Black culture from Africa to beyond so I’m seriously not surprised. A lot of minority cultures get jacked upon without any credit. That’s part of the humor whenever the immigrant debate comes up and you have someone White going on and on about how we should boot illegal alliens out, no matter how long they were here and shut down the borders when they are, in fact, a direct benefactor of both because last I checked, White doesn’t equal Native American. Quite lolworthy.
Black people lack reliable media outlets that support THEM. Whites, Asians, etc. have a LOT of media outlets with THEIR own best interests in mind.We do not have control of how we portray ourselves like a manga-ka does in Japan, and we settle for second rathers. We are so desperate to find something that looks like us, that we will settle for a music genre that no longer carries a black narrative (ex: hip hop).
White people have the cartoons, TV shows,etc. Any and every media outlet emphasizes that they have unique characteristics that diffuses the impact of stereotyping to some degree. There is a MIXTURE of influences that are socially pleasing and displeasing, and both of those are needed to portray an ethnicity as balanced and human. This is not to say that because they portray themselves as “individuals”, that white society never gets stereotyped, or lacks culture norms that they generally adhere to.
We cannot easily supplant a widespread media movement in a country where we are not the majority. The problem is that we cannot control our own media outlets like Asians, Latinos, etc. do in their respective countries.Even if they are minorities here, they have Latino and Asian channels portraying their people back home. We don’t have another country to turn to.
BET started as an endeavor to focus on news and black issues, but hip hop artists pressured the network to become the “Black MTV”. And since hip hop was 70% white, BET’s interests is not black dominated. And now that its owned by Viacom? It most certainly isn’t.
Now let’s go back to Lady Gaga and Nicki Minaj for a second. First of all, neither of these women are lolita. I don’t think there’s any confusion about that. HOWEVER. Lady Gaga is like a barbie doll with a plethora of gimmicks and dress styles that render her rather undefinable. She’s sexual, sure. Perhaps raunchy at times. But she’s not “ghetto sexy”, hence she isn’t called “ghetto”
Nicki Minaj presents herself as a video vixen. This is her “regular” image. She emphasizes how she is “hood” in her music videos, and frankly, being called “ghetto” comes with that package. Her regular gimmick is usually BLUNT “vide-ho” sex (unlike Gaga). Just because she wants to dress “different” every once in awhile, doesn’t change the fact that her “regular” image is that of a ghetto video vixen. There are burlesque dancers that emphasize sex, there are R&B artists that emphasize sex, but neither of them are “ghetto” simply because of that, and its because its a different way they present themselves.