The Ugly Face of Featurism

By Shannay Porter

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Black features have faced constant attack and discrimination throughout decades in comparison to other racial groups.

Like many problems within the African diaspora featurism in Jamaica is the product of British enslavement and oppression. It continues to poison the mindset of citizens and divide communities in Jamaica. Featurism is present in educational institutions, families, friends, and especially beauty pageants.

A majority of winners for pageants such as Miss Jamaica World and Miss Jamaica Universe have had racially ambiguous features or have been lighter skinned. Though ambitious and talented, many of these winners don't accurately represent Jamaica's racial population. They also prove that a large gap in accurate representation needs to be filled.

Shaneen Shirley, who was born and raised in Jamaica explains her encounters with featurism stating, "It has affected me because I thought ‘Oh, my nose was [too] big or my body was [too] big.’ Certain features that I had as a black person were just not acceptable, and it allowed me to feel like I should be different. I should be different in the way that I need to change myself. But I cannot afford plastic surgery, and I shouldn’t have to be thinking about the idea of plastic surgery or anything like that because God made us in the image of him. So each person is beautiful in their own way, and we shouldn’t be so focused on our physical features."

In Jamaica, featurism expresses itself in insults, comparing facial features such as noses to that of animals. Common Black features such as full lips, wide noses, and narrow jaws are constantly ridiculed while Eurocentric features such as smaller lips and straighter noses are often the standard. However, recently there has been a slight shift. The desire is now for fuller lips, wider hips, and fuller buttocks while some Eurocentric features such as a straight now and lighter skin remain the standard.

By Shaneen Shirley

Shaneen Shirley

Shirley observed this shift stating, "It's very ironic in a sense because...we’ve been fighting so hard to look like them, and now they’re fighting so hard to look like us, which really at the end of the day, each person is beautiful in their own way."

The mental health and well-being of many young impressionable Jamaicans also suffer at the hands of featurism as it affects their view of themselves and causes insecurity."It does affect self-perception because we think that we are not beautiful in the eyes of people, but they’re not the ones we should be focusing on because then we try so hard to try and change ourselves." the St. Elizabeth native added.

The 21-year-old advised that while it is normal to admire certain facial features, they should never become an individual's standard of beauty. Every human is made differently and everyone deserves a chance to truly love themselves.