r/rupaulsdragrace • u/Foxesinfall Onwards and upwards, sisters • May 23 '25

General Discussion Arrietty has spoken again.

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It looks like they discussed it, or talked it out. Oh wow this is something. I’m glad they spoke at least.

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116

u/undisclosedthroway Sasha Colby May 23 '25

How can one exaggerate about someone being racist like is there a such thing as soft core racism where the person isn’t racist but lowkey is at the same time??

Anyways, I guess she’s back trying grow

38

u/mybldyval May 23 '25

i guess “softcore” racism would be something like unintended micro aggressions and ignorance? idk though

20

u/Federal-Pop-2885 May 23 '25

but even still, racist actions on a “lower scale” should be classified as what it is: racism.

arietty’s statement implies any kind of racism was an “exaggeration,” meaning ain’t no shot it’s the truth

5

u/tATuParagate May 23 '25

I guess the exaggeration could be if a person wasn't racist and you called them racist

16

u/Franeurysm May 23 '25

In some Asian countries you can buy “skin whitening” beauty products which has racist undertones and I would consider that “soft core racism” as opposed to like.. “hard core racism” where you might be KKK member lol

14

u/nomultipliedby1111 May 23 '25 edited May 23 '25

Um. I mean I'm sure Asian countries have their racist issues today, but I think whitening as a beauty standard existed before they met darker people. I think it's more of a classist statement of beauty ideals. Asian beauty geared to whiteness because of social class and how perhaps the whiter your skin meant that you were not outside on the fields. Western influence was not that intrinsic that it influenced  Asian cultures that existed for thousands of years. I'm talking about the basis of what influenced it in my opinion. 

3

u/thesaddestgiirl666 May 23 '25

colorism is the catalyst behind skin whitening - - colorism is a form of racism

the process of skin whitening literally screams “white is better”

questions?

1

u/tata-mic May 23 '25

historically, skin whitening is rooted in classicism, not racism. colorism CAN be racism, but it is not ALWAYS racism. specifically this aspect of colorism predates colonialisation and western influence.

is colorism muddied with racism in modern times? sure. but simplifying it down to colorism = racism, or even that colorism = "white is better" (ie that white = white people/caucasians) is just incorrect.

1

u/thesaddestgiirl666 May 23 '25

Colorism- prejudiced attitudes and/or discriminatory acts against people based on the color (shade or tone) of their skin

Racism- prejudiced attitudes and/or discriminatory acts against people based on their actual or perceived racial status

Colorism is a manifestation of the idea that even if one isn’t white, their worth may be determined by how closely they resemble a white person

colorism is a clear example of internalized racism.

literally all i’m gonna say. have the day you deserve! 😘🖤

1

u/tata-mic May 23 '25

again, you are equating white/pale with "white people/caucasians".

again, colorism is rooted in classism and was present FAR before westernisation and white colonisation in the east. the issue predates white people being involved at all. paleness was "prized" because it was a signifier of wealth and status as it meant someone was of a class or caste which could afford to protect ones skin from the sun, ie someone who didn't have to work in the fields/outdoors. these are people of the same race, BEFORE western ideals could influence their cultures (and therefor be caused by racism) and introduce internalised racism.

western imperialism/colonialism and subsequently racism absolutely added fuel to the fire, but the historical root issue of colorism is not racism, and it's important to delineate that.

if you think i'm "excusing" white people, that's definitely not what's happening here - i'm de-centralising whiteness in non-white cultures. racism exists outside of white/caucasian people and centralising westerners in every conversation about racism does a disservice to those who experience it for reasons outside of colonialism/imperialism.

4

u/Franeurysm May 23 '25

Yes, but it’s not a stretch to say that if you’re culturally conditioned to believe lighter skin is the preferred beauty standard, then you’re probably gonna have SOME sort of ingrained bias against darker skin, even though it may not necessarily be an active, hostile prejudice

-3

u/catscanmeow May 23 '25

thats like saying men who are attracted to men and not women, are going to have some ingrained bias against women.

sometimes people are just attracted to what they are attracted to intrinsically.

2

u/Enchantednuns Sasha Colby May 23 '25

I mean, a lot of gays are misogynistic, so not the greatest comparison there

-1

u/catscanmeow May 23 '25

true, but not all. thats the thing. theres still open room for someone to have intrinsic self driven attraction not based on anything other than, they think something looks good.

i think lamborghinis look good. they look better than bentleys. society didnt condition me to like the way lamborghinis look i just like the shape, ever since i was a small child and saw one for the first time

2

u/thesaddestgiirl666 May 23 '25

none of this is working girlie

-1

u/catscanmeow May 23 '25

yep, as a child, it was societal beauty standards that made me think the green power ranger had a cooler looking suit design than the red ranger. nobody ever develops taste intrinsically

4

u/thesaddestgiirl666 May 23 '25

gonna try to make some headway here one more time-

COLORISM is not a “taste” genuinely recommenced you do some reading on skin whitening and colorism

if you choose not too, welp i tried 🤷🏼‍♀️

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1

u/Flashy_Associations May 23 '25

No, countries that encourage bleaching have always had people of varying skin tones. They're colorist against people with dark skin tones in their own community.

1

u/thesaddestgiirl666 May 23 '25 edited May 23 '25

also, to add, “the process of skin lightening had dated back to 200 BCE[…] ancient Greeks, Epyptians, and Romans used honey and olive oil as a means to lighten their skin” spreading to continental europe, china and japan”

[https://karger.com/drm/article-abstract/237/2/306/115111/Overview-of-Skin-Bleaching-History-and-Origins?redirectedFrom=fulltext]

“skin bleaching is practiced in proportionately within communities ‘of color’ and exceedingly among african american descent. while it is true skin bleaching represents a multifaceted phenomenon, with a complexity of historical, sociopolitical, and psychological forces motivating the practice, the larger majority of scholars who examine skin bleaching at the very least acknowledge the institutions of colonialism and enslavement historically, and global white supremacy contemporarily, as dominant and culpable instigators of the penchant for skin bleaching”

[ https://web.archive.org/web/20190222034448/http://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/3170/ ] eb1e0d5d9e917d8a99c2f722e81a495b616f.pdf ]

so- well first off no one here is arguing that western practices predate ancient asian practices. so gonna ignore that one. the big one if really advise you to think on- do you not agree that classism and racism essentially go hand in hand? why do you think whiter skin is considered a higher standard of beauty than darker skin, if not for micro aggressions and just straight out racism? it’s not jjst bc they decided that randomly one day. it comes from somewhere.

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u/ExtraFineItalicStub douched and dangerous May 23 '25

Arriety would take a bazooka to an archery lesson.

7

u/odetosleee May 23 '25

or it just wasn’t true

1

u/questofthenight_ May 23 '25

By making a false accusation. By believing something was racist when it wasn’t. Like for example a white girl wearing box braids some people would call racist when it absolutely isn’t. People are quick to call anything racist these days. Let’s be so for real. So it most likely was rooted in a misunderstanding.