Blackfishing explained
Various European and American social media influencers have been accused of practising a new-age form of blackface.
Swedish teen Emma Hallberg is among the many Instagram users who have been accused of starting and unashamedly taking part in a new phenomenon that has been dubbed “blackfishing” or “n****rfishing.”


Swedish teen Emma Hallberg has been accused of presenting herself as a racially ambiguous women to win more social media followers.

What is blackfishing?
Blackfishing refers to the practice of a white person presenting themselves as mixed race or racially ambiguous on social media to pander to a particular aesthetic, and therefore gaining more followers.

It has been viewed as a modern incarnation of blackface – the theatrical makeup used predominantly by non-black performers to represent a caricature of a black person. It is and has been considered a racially insensitive representation of blackness by black people all over the world.

There is no confirmation about who the first culprit of the new wave is or when they were identified but more social media users have been outed as being guilty of this practice in recent days.

The girls in the photos posted and shared numerous times online are significantly darker than they were in old photos, which have been dug up and used as a comparison.

Some of the girls in the photos can also be seen sporting traditionally black hairstyles such as dreadlocks and braids – a practice that has often been dubbed cultural appropriation.

Photos of these girls have been reposted numerous times on accounts aimed at celebrating black women and their hairstyles or makeup looks.

According to their followers, they have never corrected these pages for sharing their images and labelling them black women.

Fans have expressed their disappointment since finding out that their “faves” are not what they have been presenting themselves as. Some even reached out to Hallberg to ask her about her true ethnic background.

Hallberg has denied presenting herself as anything other than white Swedish teen Emma Hallberg has been accused of presenting herself as a racially ambiguous women to win more social media followers.and has claimed the before and after photos of her were merely taken during different times of the year.

When quizzed about her complexion by Buzzfeed, Hallberg attributed her look to “a deep tan naturally from the sun”.

The general consensus about the phenomenon seems to be disappointment in those found guilty of this practice, as many feel they are commodifying blackness as a means of personal gain.

This is due to the fact that the girls identified in the pictures are influencers and performers and earn a living from their appearances and social media feeds.

In addition, they are cashing in on sporting features that naturally occur among black women but are not met with the same level of admiration and enthusiasm.

While there are a few who have come to Hallberg’s defence, the overall consensus is she was wrong and she either needs to stop or face the backlash of a boycott on her social media accounts.



https://citizen.co.za/news/news-eish/2036408/blackfishing-explained/


Forward

Black man get problem oo

They abuse blacks due to skin color na problem

They act and tan skin to be like blacks problem..

Dont call us blacks call us African American....etc

Omo black man get wahala

this where we stand. the uniqueness in our blackness is just the reason they discriminate against us. since they've tried but couldn't beat to our God given endowment, the few bold ones are coming out to claim the blackness that our fellow blacks are trying to bleach out.
I'm proud to be black and would always be.

cescky:
Black man get problem oo

They abuse blacks due to skin color na problem

They act and tan skin to be like blacks problem..

Dont call us blacks call us African American....etc

Omo black man get wahala

"black people" are angry about it because this was the same practice used by "white people" to exploite them during the slave trade era.

booblacain:


"black people" are angry about it because this was the same practice used by "white people" to exploite them during the slave trade era.

Let them keep getting angry..

The same way the word nigger was used to degrade a black man.. musicians removed the sting from it...and it's cool to call your guy nigga...even white call them selves "nigga"

My point is if you abuse me..it will only pain me if I pay attention to you..if I ignore you ud get tired and let me be...

What we give attention to expands

cescky:


Let them keep getting angry..

The same way the word nigger was used to degrade a black man.. musicians removed the sting from it...and it's cool to call your guy nigga...even white call them selves "nigga"

My point is if you abuse me..it will only pain me if I pay attention to you..if I ignore you ud get tired and let me be...

What we give attention to expands

I agree with you 100% on that, however, the issue of blackfishing as it is seen now goes beyond racial insults, it is about racial profiteering and exploitation. Most of the "white people" that are being accused of blackfishing are Instagram influencers and so is obvious that they do it to profit from it. So, "black people" are thinking, ok, you built your society by exploiting the strenght of our bodies, now you want to build your acceptance and bank accounts by exploiting our cultural identity and essence, the same cultural identity that you intentionally denigrated and dragged in the gutters for 100s of years.

people that have eaten and belleful

I'll pass

The underlying issue here is that black beauty is trending and some "white people" wants to not just identify with it but to cash in on it as well.

We so fuqin blessed.
We can switch from black to white and back to black if we wanna.

If blacks can bleach to look white, theyre free to look black

There’s something very exotic about black beauty, white beauty is very plain and unexciting

Being black is a honor, we stem from greatness. T.H.U.G

This is to give you an incling that when we get our acts right and we rule the world, white people would be painting their skin black.

Another one

And yet our stupid girls keep bleaching


But why?

This is Weird!

No they are not

Mulatta:
If blacks can bleach to look white, theyre free to look black

how does this provide job for our lazy youth ?

booblacain:


I agree with you 100% on that, however, the issue of blackfishing as it is seen now goes beyond racial insults, it is about racial profiteering and exploitation. Most of the "white people" that are being accused of blackfishing are Instagram influencers and so is obvious that they do it to profit from it. So, "black people" are thinking, ok, you built your society by exploiting the strenght of our bodies, now you want to build your acceptance and bank accounts by exploiting our cultural identity and essence, the same cultural identity that you intentionally denigrated and dragged in the gutters for 100s of years.

Those giving them attention are the real problems.
If a black person can get arrested and get shot for being black,
I see no point in fighting these internet entrepreneurs for wanting
to look black and enjoy black privilege.

Moreover, this is the age of feeling. If someone feels like black,
they should be left alone.

Dey want to be black chyna

They look beautiful

Hmmmmmm!....

Irony of life, the black wanna become white while while wanna become black

booblacain:


I agree with you 100% on that, however, the issue of blackfishing as it is seen now goes beyond racial insults, it is about racial profiteering and exploitation. Most of the "white people" that are being accused of blackfishing are Instagram influencers and so is obvious that they do it to profit from it. So, "black people" are thinking, ok, you built your society by exploiting the strenght of our bodies, now you want to build your acceptance and bank accounts by exploiting our cultural identity and essence, the same cultural identity that you intentionally denigrated and dragged in the gutters for 100s of years.

A thousand likes!

I do not need to read this post down, just read my comment on Paul Pogba with Chimp.

Black is Beauty and Beauty itself is Abstract

Hmm

They are retaliating because we've been doing whitefishing since 100 AD


My kogi girlfriend caught me with another girl yesterday only for me to hear that she went to her village this morning. I think my life is one minute remaining

ok

I'M A STRONG,BLACK,AFRICAN WOMAN....DE WHITE FOLK SHOULD FORK TO HELL...ASK DE WHITE BAES WHY THEY LOVE AFRICAN MEN....DE KARDASIANS CAN GIVE U DE REASON....MTCHEW DE WHITE FOLK LOVE OUR COLOUR AND RACE,THEY JUST CANT HELP IT.
#PROUDLY AFRICAN

booblacain:


"black people" are angry about it because this was the same practice used by "white people" to exploite them during the slave trade era.

Don’t mind the fellow.
Extremely ignorant.