"I miss when Doja Cat was thick", "Ice Spice's ice is melting" - when Black women no longer serve your misogyny
Black women are expected to perform femininity in a certain way with their appearance; when they don't, they are ridiculed and critiqued
I’ve seen comments regarding Doja Cat and Ice Spice’s bodies so many times, circulating the internet. The actual posts that these kinds of comments are under almost are never about the body of whatever celebrity is being shown. It’s always during a performance. During a music video. In a selfie. Performers doing their job, and existing, essentially.
I always feel sick to my stomach whenever I see comments on a post about a famous Black woman who is some sort of performer (singer, rapper, etc.), because the comments are always about her body, when the post has nothing to do with her body.
I’ve seen it frequently in regards to Doja Cat, on old and new videos of her. Here’s an example:
This video popped up on my explore page, and I stayed on the post once I recognized the performance and the song. I already knew the kinds of comments that would show up, and they did.
The fact that these comments are all from women disappointed me as well. How are you, as a woman, who knows what it’s like to be valued just for your body and looks, going to put those ideals onto another woman?
The answer?
Internalized misogyny. Women like this have internalized the ideals and beauty standards that have been pushed onto women as a whole, and then spit them out onto other women. Because they feel they can. And because they feel that putting down another woman will somehow lift them up. They have been sucked into the idea that women, specifically women who are performers, need to serve the exact wants of their audience - more specifically, the audience of men. Because what a man wants is most important, right? That’s the idea they’ve been fed.
Women can be misogynistic too. It’s been hard for me to accept this, but seeing comments like this all over the internet have really sealed the deal for me. A lot of women think that they are the exception, that they are allowed to comment on other women’s bodies because they themselves are women. This is of course not true.
If that wasn’t enough, here’s another example!
In this example, GloRilla is subject to comments about her body.
The only difference with these comments is the context. These people praise GloRilla for seemingly gaining weight in an area that is known to be desirable to heterosexual men, and that is known to MATTER to heterosexual men.
Who does the patriarchy work to serve? Heterosexual men.
She is praised for something that she is apparently “gaining” while Doja is criticized for “losing” the same “thing”.
Why are comments about these women’s bodies even being put out there? These posts have absolutely nothing to do with their bodies, there is no mention of their bodies. They are just performing.
These kinds of comments have this underlying idea that Black women are expected to look a certain way, in a way that performs “well enough” to the standard that serves heteronormativity - heterosexual men are included in this.
And when a Black woman does not perform to those “standards”, that is when she is made to feel like she is doing something wrong. Because she doesn’t have the right amount of ass or the right amount of curves that is deemed desirable. This relies heavily on stereotypes that say Black women are “thick”, as in curvy with large butts. This stereotype is not just a stereotype but it is a beauty standard, specifically targeted toward Black women, and this is evident through the comments shown above.
And finally onto Ice Spice.
This specific post discusses her body, but that NEVER means that it is okay to start giving one’s own opinions. That’s something people on the internet get confused about. Freedom of speech does not equal no consequences.
Please note that the individual in the first comment seems to be a man who has a wife and a child. Married men are not excluded from this issue and conversation.
There was no surprise with the comments, just more disappointment. When a woman does something for herself, something to make herself feel good, people (especially men) will ALWAYS try to tear her down. She will be critiqued no matter what she does or how she looks. But she will be ESPECIALLY critiqued when she does not look a certain way that adheres to the beauty standards that work to serve heterosexual men, and what we have been taught, are their desires.
People once criticized Ice Spice for being too provocative and having no talent. Now, she is criticized for making a lifestyle change that in part altered her appearance slightly.
WHEN THE APPEARANCES OF BLACK WOMEN NO LONGER SERVE MEN AND MISOGYNY, THEY ARE CRITICIZED.
And it’s not just on Instagram. YouTube has whole videos dedicated to Ice Spice’s change in appearance:
The comments on all of the posts that I’ve linked and the mere conversations that are happening about Black women’s bodies are prime examples of Black women existing in a public space, and being critiqued and shamed for not looking a certain way, a certain way that is meant to serve the desires of straight men. Black women who also happen to be performers are ridiculed for something that has absolutely NOTHING to do with them as artists and as people.
I know twerking is part of Ice Spice’s brand, but she has not lost her ability to do that. She is not being ridiculed for not doing something that has been apart of her brand as an artist for awhile (which is also a bad thing to criticize someone for), but she is being ridiculed for not looking like this performative version of Black femininity which feeds misogyny and misogynistic men.
An eloquent and thought-provoking piece. Really loved this one!
Wonderfully said. I like how you touched upon some uncomfortable truths. It really is disgusting.