Why Lil’ Kim’s shocking ‘white’ look is our fault
Lil’ Kim has never shied away from changing up her look. From coloured wigs to avant garde getups (who can forget the purple nipple pasty from the 1999 VMAs?), Kim’s brave fashion choices in the ‘90s and 2000s paved the way for today’s risk takers like Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj and Katy Perry.
Instagram/lilkimthequeenbee
Over the last few years, though, the rapper’s evolving appearance hasn’t been making headlines for quite the same reasons. Instead of shocking the world with her wild hair and pleather onesies, she’s garnering worldwide attention with her radically altered bone structure and skin colour. On Sunday she posted a number of selfies debuting her brand new look. And when I say that she is unrecognizable, I’m not being dramatic.
A part of me wasn’t completely surprised. Shocked, yes, but surprised no. The truth is, this transition didn’t happen over night. Over the last decade, especially the last few years, Kim has popped up in the headlines thanks to her affinity for plastic surgery. First, her nose became noticeably thinner, and then her cheekbones more defined, her eyes pulled higher, her lips more plump. But, despite the lead up – I simply wasn’t prepared for the most recent incarnation. What left me speechless, more than the altered shape of her face, was the fact that she went from a dark skinned African American woman to a white skinned girl.
Lil’ Kim in 1999 (Photo by Brenda Chase/Online USA)
ALSO SEE: Fans are shocked by Lil’ Kim’s drastically different look
While I was left with no words, her fans had no issues articulating their displeasure. There were confused followers stating “That’s not Lil’ Kim.” There were funny followers joking “Lil’ Kim has looked like 30 different people since she been livin.’” And also sympathetic followers leaving captions like “It breaks my heart seeing this. Y'all are laughing but this is really what happens when you shame dark women so much they can’t take it.” And there it is, among the memes and jokes and clickbait headlines, the depressing truth: Lil’ Kim felt so unhappy inside her own body that she literally changed her skin.
Now, everyone’s going back in the archives to find some evidence as to why she would take these drastic measures. Sure enough, Biggie’s protégé was very candid about her feelings of physical inadequacy. In 2000, at the peak of her fame, Kim told Newsweek, “All my life men have told me I wasn’t pretty enough…It’s always been men putting me down just like my dad. To this day when someone says I’m cute, I can’t see it. I don’t see it no matter what anybody says.”
No surprise that the scars run deep. And, did we really need that confirmation? The motivators and the instigators behind her actions are clear as day. After all, we still live in a world that celebrates a standard of beauty that is unrealistic and unattainable for the majority of the world, a standard Kim explicitly spoke of in the same interview. “Guys always cheated on me with women who were European-looking. You know, the long-hair type. Really beautiful women that left me thinking, ‘How I can I compete with that?’ Being a regular black girl wasn’t good enough,” she said. Powerful stuff.
ALSO SEE: Kerry Washington isn’t angry over this excessively retouched mag cover, she’s disappointed
Coming off the heels of Beyoncé’s HBO special and subsequent new album, “Lemonade,” Lil’ Kim’s struggle is especially poignant. To put a very complex piece of work simply, “Lemonade” – aside from a story of a woman scorned by her cheating man – is a stunning tribute to the diverse beauty of the black woman. The video features the faces of many famous ladies who have been told they’re not good enough the way they are – curvaceous Tennis powerhouse Serena Williams and Winnie Harlow, the Canadian model with vitiligo. Throughout the film, Beyoncé wields her sword (actually, it’s a bat) in the name of cultural pride, sisterhood and creating a better and more inclusive world for our daughters.
The fact that young women of colour went to bed Saturday night fist pumping Bey’s messages of empowerment and woke up to pictures of Kim attempting to wash away all signs of her diversity, is a strong reminder that for all the progress being made – the pressure to “fit in” is still too loud.
This is why the fight for diversity - whether it be on TV, at the Oscars, on the Victoria’s Secret runway or in the boardroom – is still so important. It might seem like we’re absolved of the responsibility to make change but really it is in our hands and our hands alone. It is our duty to support diverse artists. We must buy magazines that celebrate different standards of beauty. We are responsible for shopping in stores that honour all sizes and colours. We should all be voting for representatives who champion change and equality. We do have the power to embrace the change that needs to happen in order to live in a world where beautiful, successful and powerful girls, like Lil’ Kim, aren’t tempted to surgically remove all of their individuality. Let’s all do our part.
