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• Posted on 16/06/2021
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Jazz writes concerning the term ‘exotic’, the connotations which come with it, and exactly why it really isn’t fundamentally a compliment.

‘I desire I’d your own hair and tan… you just look therefore exotic.’

It wasn’t the time that is first had made this remark if you ask me, and it also most truly won’t function as the final.

I’m race that is mixed however in not a way do I associate with being from any place else however the British.

People often utilize the word ‘exotic’ when explaining anyone whom does not fundamentally squeeze into the Western standard of beauty. It is almost like saying ‘you’ve got various locks texture/skin colour/body type/other physical features’ in my opinion.

it is it unpleasant?

‘So what’s the issue? How come this offensive; it is really a praise?’ individuals have once I noted my displeasure during the term.

Whenever I’ve been called exotic, folks have thought it had been a thing that is good. By their thought process, it is great that you look interesting or unusual because you embody some of these physical attributes that people desire, and. Nonetheless it can be quite objectifying. Periodically, this is a prompt for questions like ‘what will you be?’ or ‘where are you against?’, which straight away recommends you’re not from right here. My locks is long and dense, and my curl pattern is tight and springy also it’s possibly the very first thing people notice. I will be light skinned, but my complexion is marginally warmer than my friends that are white and my eyes and eyelashes are both dark. I’m mixed race, however in no chance do I associate with being from somewhere else nevertheless the British.

In the event that you look within the concept of exotic, this means ‘a foreign land, a remote spot, an import’, additionally the most typical reference is the fact that of wild birds and meals. I don’t feel I associate utilizing the tropical birds or sandy that is white. I’m not at all an brought in bit of i’ve and fruit grown up here into the UK, therefore if such a thing, roast dinners and rainy summers are much more relatable than just about any as a type of exotic dance I’ve ever seen.

Illustration by Jasmine Thompson

Exoticism is usually to fetishise, and fetishisation associated with the human body if you’re maybe not white is really a issue that is huge. Racial microaggressions are obvious every where from movie, music videos, to porn, therefore the term exotic to me embodies plenty of this. Exotification is a kind of cultural objectification. Ladies have already been put through the watchful attention of males for a long time, however with females of colour it is that bit more problematic: we’re objectified and othered all during the exact same time. It is like people look you is the problem with calling me exotic at you as a sex object but a foreign one too, and objectifying that I’m different to.

Asian ladies are typically viewed as submissive or over-sexualised, just like how Latinas in many cases are viewed as ‘fiery’ and black males and ladies ‘chocolate.’ Individuals may obsess over Asian women’s ‘almond eyes’ and silky shiny black colored hair. They are generally described as‘oriental’ and‘exotic’; it’s maybe not politically proper plus it’s definitely not okay.

Touching hair and commenting on systems continues to be regarded as an entitlement in a great deal of culture, whenever in reality our anatomical bodies are our very own; perhaps not for anyone scrutiny that is else’s.

Ebony women’s locks and bums are hugely fetishised within the news, and now have been for hundreds of years. Through the late 1800s leading up to the 1950’s, there were zoos that are human Europe to ny where POC lived as displays. Africans, Asians, Latin Americans and people that are indigenous on display in makeshift ‘natural habitats’, stripped of these garments, whilst spectators could pet and photograph them like ‘exotic animals’. Saartjie Baartman ended up being a woman brought from Cape Town to human being zoos in European countries due to an inherited condition where she had elongated labias and large buttocks- millions flocked to stare at her body. Individuals of color had been objectified and exploited for their bodies, held captive for folks in the future and ‘suss down’ since they had been considered ‘unusual’, as well as now it is nevertheless the actual situation in a great deal of everything we are confronted with. Touching hair and commenting on systems continues to be regarded as an entitlement in a great deal of culture, whenever in reality our anatomical bodies are our personal; perhaps not for anyone else’s scrutiny.

They’re exotic is basically defining them as a ‘very different’ ‘strange’ or ‘unusual’ in reference to animals and plants to tell someone. Folks are maybe not exotic, and never to be sexualised or fetishized due to their bodies contour, features, skin or race color, and now we aren’t right here to gawk at. It derives through the ideology that white remains the norm, also to be whatever else allows you to rare or uncommon. Therefore stop and think that they are human, have their own identity, and most importantly; are not from a strange land before you tell someone they are exotic, and instead remember. I’m from Worcester.

Only at Rife, you want to understand your ideas. Exactly what does ‘exotic’ suggest to you personally? Let us know on Twitter at Rifemag or on Facebook at Rife Magazine

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