newwavefeminism:

An essay i wrote for a class. one of my favorites… [click to read the whole thing]

excerpt: 

The black female experience is one of alienation. We live in society where woman are already loosely controlled by the patriarchy. As women, we are taught the importance of being feminine, ladylike and beautiful. Commercials inundate us with images of the ideal woman. Television and movies base their characters off tropes already existing in society. However, while these images make it very clear the characteristics expected of the “proper lady,” black women are taught to assess their own worth through a white standard of beauty. In terms of representation, black women are essentially invisible. Yet, while women everywhere try to live up to society’s standard of beauty, black women are constantly reminded that their naturally curly hair, dark skin and curvy bodies, make them naturally inferior.