Debate About White Women 'Blackfishing' Rages Online—Here's What It Means, And Why People Find It So Troubling

Debate About White Women 'Blackfishing' Rages Online—Here's What It Means, And Why People Find It So Troubling
Aga Brzostowska

A new term hitting social media showcases a disturbing trend among white women who portray themselves as black by cherry-picking features to highlight in photos. It's called "blackfishing" — a riff on "catfishing," where a person pretends to be someone on social media that they are not in real life — and it has a lot of people talking.

In November, a thread on Twitter brought attention to the problem. Twitter user @WannaWorld asked people to share examples of "all of the white girls cosplaying as black women on Instagram." The post took off, with over 23,000 retweets, and the conversation began.

There was an overwhelming response to the call.

Twitter user @yeahboutella was among the first to bring up the topic.






Some felt they had pinpointed the source.



People weighed in on why this is so problematic and not simply a case of "too much tanner."


The women accused of "blackfishing" are denying that was their intention.



But black women had issues with these excuses.








There was also this perspective.





This is a conversation that will no doubt continue for some time.

H/T: The Independent, BBC

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