I don’t have anyone to talk to about this. You may not see them as children, and that is understandable considering the majority of society has a hard time seeing Black kids as actual kids.
Are instead more going to be mistaken as older, be perceived as guilty and face police violence if accused of a crime. Which suggested that Black boys actually may not be viewed in identical light of childhood innocence as their White peers.
I’m not bullshitting you here. Mostly there’re actual studies about this. Nonetheless, despite the Black blogosphere being in an uproar over the dehumanizing treatment of our first daughters, the truth of the matter is that we engage in identical sort of dehumanization with other less protected Black daughters -and sons -each time we share and mock their prom pictures. Do you know an answer to a following question. How could we forget last year’s scandal involving GOP staffer Elizabeth Lauten, who had to resign from her post after making disparaging comments about Sasha and Malia Obama’s short skirts, that they wore to the White House’s annual Thanksgiving Turkey Pardon ceremony?
Similar sort of dehumanization happens with our girls.
That’s the thing.
Sure, these pictures are likely snatched from some young and dumb kid’s Instagram, who didn’t have the sense to set their account to private. Meanwhile, the folks sharing these pictures are adults who are supposed to know and behave a little better in lifespan. Of course every year, websites dedicated mostly to Black celebrity gossip and even thought, contribute at least one slideshow to what folks deem as the unrefined or ratchet prom attire. Okay, that may not be entirely accurate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEz5DbMn_pU
You should take this seriously. With folks debating and even competing over who had the most ratchet outfit of them all, for many folks who indulge in this sort of mockery, the clowning of prom attire has become almost like a sport.
Still children, To be honest I never quite understood the enjoyment we get. Sharing pictures and laughing at what are essentially children -albeit awkwardly dressed children.
I can’t emphasize enough the children sides of all of it.
We forget we are actually sharing pictures of young adults, if not minors, while we are laughing and sharing these photos for others to laugh at. For instance, we are often doing it without their expressed permission. Outside the class distinctions, there’s something even more ugly about our mockery of the attire of these kids that bothers me. Doesn’t it sound familiar? Young adults and children, who felt good about themselves in the attire they had selected, suddenly being the butt of the entire Black blogosphere. Ok, and now one of the most important parts. Young adults and children.