Black lesbian who's been a Billie Eilish fan since I discovered her as a depressed teenager: this has been my longest-standing issue with her. Love her music and personality down but I get so sick of seeing her like this :/ This piece was short and to the point, got right to the middle like cracking open a walnut. Comparing with other celebrities like Miley and Ariana was insightful. Appreciate it.
as a black lesbian i definitely can see where people are coming from in this argument, however i don’t necessarily agree that it is a Billie Eilish problem as it is a white lesbian problem. Billie has been dressing in different formats of the same style for her whole career. it is indeed a style that is very reminiscent of 90s hip-hop fashion. however, Billie has given credit where credit is due. In multiple interviews she expresses her admiration for black artists like Donald Glover and Ice Cube, and she has never shied away from letting the world know that hip-hop and r and b are her main influences for her fashion. unfortunately, her credit often gets left out of the headlines, who praise her “individualist” style. i think Billie if actually one of the few queer women who gives the black community praise and recognition it deserves for the role it has played in every her life. other white lesbians i have issues with. they need to start taking billie as an example and dig deeper into the meaning behind what they are wearing instead of making it out to be some cool trend all the masc girls are doing.
i loved your take regardless, its so interesting to see how non-black individuals feel on the erasure of black culture!
Thank you for your input! Honestly I wasn’t aware that Billie had given credit cuz it’s never highlighted. What artist do you think would be a better example of what i described?
This was so well written. Masculinity has always been seen as something equivalent to Blackness. It only makes sense for white women to want to present as Black when they embrace a more masculine identity in their queerness. Loved that you brought up the parallels among gay white men as well. Black people remain a costume to slip in and out of when it benefits the ego of others.
I’m 100 percent over seeing all the white lesbians doing their “thirst trap” shenanigans on social media (majority portraying black culture aesthetic) and all the comments are the equivalent of “omg I’m straight I’m straight I’m straight I can’t omg be my girlfriend”… like, stop, please. Don’t get me wrong - I strive to be a thirst trap for my wife, but rightly so the tattooed flannel white lesbian version minus the mullet. Anyway, great post.
i think the largest cultural issue is that we very rarely give credit where credit is due. i never quite understood how her style was so creatively different from the style of her music. still a big fan of hers, I just wish that someone with that level of platform would understand the importance of taking accountability.
I’ve been waiting and I mean WAITING for someone to address this. I love and have loved Billie eilish for as long as I can remember, but I noticed the change of style as well, and thought it was so hypocritical of her as someone who says she doesn’t like to follow stereotypes!
Oh. Oh wow. Oh dang. There's a lot for me to unpack here. I've recently noticed that my inner dialogue is blackcent and have been trying to figure out why (I do read A LOT of Black fiction, but still...). One thing I've learned about whiteness is that we don't have any idea how to be authenticly ourselves. We are trained to emulate and conform. So this is what happens when we decide to "be ourselves" - we copy someone else that appears free from "cultural norms.". Not only is it appropriation, but we still haven't done the internal work to find who we actually are. Thank you for writing this.
i absolutely loved the piece and as a bisexual femme that has noticed this a lot with some of the masc lesbians that have hit on me it’s given me the huge huuuuge ick.
Super enlightening article! It was quick and to the point but packed a huge punch. I had noticed the style change with Billie but never thought much of it. It’s interesting to observe it’s a part of a larger problem within the queer community. Thanks for your words and observation!
Sometimes I want to say, “GATEKEEP EVERYTHING”—especially in Black communities. There’s so much to unpack about how mainstream artists borrow from and capitalize off of Black culture, particularly-hip-hop.
We need greater visibility for these conversations and more space to explore how we show up in culture and how culture shows up in us.
Thank you for this well-written piece. It sparks important dialogue that we need to have more often.
This is really interesting and I think it also shows a little bit of the double standard! I will NEVER defend a man, truly, I will die before I do, BUT the double standard between men and women does reveal itself a little within the queer community. For gay men it has been called out for a very long time what they’ve stolen from the black community, while for women, it is now recently being recognized- and with other nonblack women denying it! I am not black niether but It is great to bring awareness to this! Really great title as well to catch attention.
i love billie but also! thank you for your service 🤲🏾 it’s also so powerful that a latina wrote this, because i know sometimes there’s tension between our cultures. this is the ultimate act of allyship! happy black history month
Black lesbian who's been a Billie Eilish fan since I discovered her as a depressed teenager: this has been my longest-standing issue with her. Love her music and personality down but I get so sick of seeing her like this :/ This piece was short and to the point, got right to the middle like cracking open a walnut. Comparing with other celebrities like Miley and Ariana was insightful. Appreciate it.
Thank you for your feedback! i’m glad i could do the topic some justice
as a black lesbian i definitely can see where people are coming from in this argument, however i don’t necessarily agree that it is a Billie Eilish problem as it is a white lesbian problem. Billie has been dressing in different formats of the same style for her whole career. it is indeed a style that is very reminiscent of 90s hip-hop fashion. however, Billie has given credit where credit is due. In multiple interviews she expresses her admiration for black artists like Donald Glover and Ice Cube, and she has never shied away from letting the world know that hip-hop and r and b are her main influences for her fashion. unfortunately, her credit often gets left out of the headlines, who praise her “individualist” style. i think Billie if actually one of the few queer women who gives the black community praise and recognition it deserves for the role it has played in every her life. other white lesbians i have issues with. they need to start taking billie as an example and dig deeper into the meaning behind what they are wearing instead of making it out to be some cool trend all the masc girls are doing.
i loved your take regardless, its so interesting to see how non-black individuals feel on the erasure of black culture!
Thank you for your input! Honestly I wasn’t aware that Billie had given credit cuz it’s never highlighted. What artist do you think would be a better example of what i described?
Also…..Billie isn’t a lesbian
This was so well written. Masculinity has always been seen as something equivalent to Blackness. It only makes sense for white women to want to present as Black when they embrace a more masculine identity in their queerness. Loved that you brought up the parallels among gay white men as well. Black people remain a costume to slip in and out of when it benefits the ego of others.
I’m 100 percent over seeing all the white lesbians doing their “thirst trap” shenanigans on social media (majority portraying black culture aesthetic) and all the comments are the equivalent of “omg I’m straight I’m straight I’m straight I can’t omg be my girlfriend”… like, stop, please. Don’t get me wrong - I strive to be a thirst trap for my wife, but rightly so the tattooed flannel white lesbian version minus the mullet. Anyway, great post.
agreed i’m very much over it too and find it odd when straight women comment like that honestly
i think the largest cultural issue is that we very rarely give credit where credit is due. i never quite understood how her style was so creatively different from the style of her music. still a big fan of hers, I just wish that someone with that level of platform would understand the importance of taking accountability.
I’ve been waiting and I mean WAITING for someone to address this. I love and have loved Billie eilish for as long as I can remember, but I noticed the change of style as well, and thought it was so hypocritical of her as someone who says she doesn’t like to follow stereotypes!
Oh. Oh wow. Oh dang. There's a lot for me to unpack here. I've recently noticed that my inner dialogue is blackcent and have been trying to figure out why (I do read A LOT of Black fiction, but still...). One thing I've learned about whiteness is that we don't have any idea how to be authenticly ourselves. We are trained to emulate and conform. So this is what happens when we decide to "be ourselves" - we copy someone else that appears free from "cultural norms.". Not only is it appropriation, but we still haven't done the internal work to find who we actually are. Thank you for writing this.
such a valid criticism that has been sitting on the tip of my tongue but I couldn't quite place it
Wow I'm white and never noticed this, thank you
ofc! there’s tons of black lesbians who are talking about this tho this is just my two cents so definitely hear their opinions on it as well!
i absolutely loved the piece and as a bisexual femme that has noticed this a lot with some of the masc lesbians that have hit on me it’s given me the huge huuuuge ick.
agreed, gives me the ick too and i wish there was more self reflection when it comes to the hey mamas
the “hey mamas” makes my FUCKING skin crawl.
or the the “AYO YOU LOOOOKING FINEREEE OVER THUR” i’m puking
i have never heard it i cant believe they think its okay to say that omg
it’s as nasty as you think it is. instant VOMIT.
So interesting! ty for this! oh and Tressie McMillan Cottom has a great article about Miley Cyrus specifically:
https://slate.com/human-interest/2013/08/miley-cyrus-vma-performance-white-appropriation-of-black-bodies.html
it’s from a while ago but still so so good!
oooh thank you for that! I'll check it out
Super enlightening article! It was quick and to the point but packed a huge punch. I had noticed the style change with Billie but never thought much of it. It’s interesting to observe it’s a part of a larger problem within the queer community. Thanks for your words and observation!
thank you for reading!
Sometimes I want to say, “GATEKEEP EVERYTHING”—especially in Black communities. There’s so much to unpack about how mainstream artists borrow from and capitalize off of Black culture, particularly-hip-hop.
We need greater visibility for these conversations and more space to explore how we show up in culture and how culture shows up in us.
Thank you for this well-written piece. It sparks important dialogue that we need to have more often.
This is really interesting and I think it also shows a little bit of the double standard! I will NEVER defend a man, truly, I will die before I do, BUT the double standard between men and women does reveal itself a little within the queer community. For gay men it has been called out for a very long time what they’ve stolen from the black community, while for women, it is now recently being recognized- and with other nonblack women denying it! I am not black niether but It is great to bring awareness to this! Really great title as well to catch attention.
i love billie but also! thank you for your service 🤲🏾 it’s also so powerful that a latina wrote this, because i know sometimes there’s tension between our cultures. this is the ultimate act of allyship! happy black history month
Really interesting, thank you.