Instagram has grown from 90 million monthly users in 2013 to a billion according to a 2019 article from Fast Company. Further, a Google search shows that some top influencers on this platform are Kylie and Kendall Jenner and Sommer Ray: a smorgasbord of diversity! Tik Tok isn’t much different with top beneficiaries being Charli D’Amelio and Addison Rae.
Indeed, the veneer of talent once delivered via cable TV stars like Victoria Justice or Bella Thorne has been replaced with a simpler, less pretentious model that outright rewards youth, thinness and, of course, whiteness with social and economic prosperity: two of the main ingredients for wellness.
So, given that one's quality of life has begun to have an undeniably positive correlation with a strong social media presence, and given that one's social media presence has an undeniably positive correlation with how Eurocentric a user is: by the transitive property, one's quality of life has an undeniably positive correlation with their Eurocentricity. So, why does everyone insist otherwise?
To clarify, the commentariat generally follows a formula that begins with acknowledging publicly available data that proves my previous claim. However, it's usually followed by an overly-optimistic inference that contradicts said data. And at best, this is innocent: due to wide-eyed naivete. But at worst, it's calculated, purposeful counter-intelligence meant to suppress critical thought.
For example, I was listening to a podcast that begin with a host citing rather poignant stats that implied whiteness has almost supernatural properties but concluding it didn't. She cited truths such as the disproportional amount of blacks in prison and even how fairer skinned blacks got lighter sentences. She continued by addressing other salient inequities such as those related to income and marriage.
Of course, due to this topic being kept at the fringes (as many of the topics I tackle are) by the clergy (i.e., the liberal media), there isn't a plethora of data assessing people's wellness relative to where they fall on the Eurocentric spectrum. Nevertheless, to check my own bias I looked into the host's claims and was able to was able to find a few sources that attempt to address how people's features affect their success. Namely, a 2015 article published in the MIT Press acknowledges the results from their studies were mixed. But in my opinion, if a publication's most credible surveyor's conclude "the salience of skin tone for employment has decreased for women over time but not for men" it's safe to say Eurocentricity is a big determinant of a human's quality of life.
Again, the host exemplified this truth with her cited data but, ironically, proceeded to criticize people of color who idolize whiteness: either by surrounding themselves with white friends or through means of altering their body (e.g., creams, chemicals, etc.). I found this strangely judgemental considering she'd just given what could be seen as an ad/promo for whiteness.
Granted, this instance wasn't anomalous. There are tons of media "comrades" who allude to the doors that Eurocentricity opens, but turn around and denounce those enamored by it. An episode from another podcast hosted by a group of Muslim girls began with a reading from a fan that explained how a guy who she'd had a lot in common with called off their engagement because he found out her family members were too dark. Similarly, the hosts still tried to reason that skin color isn't important: clearly it is if humans are discrimating who they mate with based on it (and they are).
Further, as a dark-skinned male, I can understand how triggering the data alluded to in this post is. Regardless, I don't see how actively pretending that Eurocentricity isn't correlated to happiness is progressive. My theory is that those who do so either are: privileged enough to not have to think critically about this issue due to their close proximity to whiteness, or have a stake in the status quo (i.e., profit off of black pain).
Moreover, the goal of this post is to provoke creativity in those who've recognized how whiteness is becoming less of a passive physical feature and more of a currency and genuinely want to get out ahead of what's starting to look like a genetic dystopia; even if it means embracing subsidized transracialism.
Clearly, this issue is ripe for splintering into different topics, so before that happens let me thank you for reading and remind you to stay pissed.
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