What is double consciousness? This term is described as an inward “twoness” within black people in the United States. “Twoness” means that black people must be aware that they are an American, but arguably first they are black or African American. Black people must distinguish between how they carry themselves in white America and black America, as these are two inherently different cultures and sectors of life. When the two are crossed, oftentimes, negative consequences come of it. This has lead black people to change the way they operate around some people, also known as “code switching.” This switching has become an unconscious way of life for many black people. They no longer realize when they move through each of their identities. Double consciousness also gives a name to the feeling when your identity is being divided into several different segments, thus making it difficult to have one unified identity, and difficult to know one’s true self. It is an internal conflict that many black people struggle with their entire lives, as we strive to accurately view ourselves as a people, when we are constantly looking at ourselves through the eyes of a racist white society. Determining the role of white people’s opinions in one’s depiction of themselves can be an interesting battle that can take many forms. The moment that a black child first recognizes themselves as black, society simultaneously drills into them that being black is a problem in this world. They immediately learn what it has historically, and still to this day means, to be black in this country. This leaves a jarring conflict raging in the minds of black Americans as they try to figure out who they are, and who they can be in this whitewashed society that has never been open to allowing the advancement of our people. W. E.B. Du Bois described the term using the following quote:
“ It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever feels his twoness— an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.”
Double consciousness plays a large role in the way black people view themselves. It can lead to a state of inner turmoil and upheaval, and it is a crucial player in the journey one takes over the course of their life. It causes them to build a view of themselves based on inaccurate, degrading assessments of their capabilities, personalities, and wants. These assessments, made by white people, are often made solely on the basis of race. This is followed by an outlook that reflects these views, and this leads to a life course and goals being hinged upon those demeaning evaluations. The inner struggle associated with double consciousness comes when the confusion between the two distinct sets of views about oneself as an individual and one’s race as a black person arises. The individual struggles determining what parts of these two versions of them are actually accurate. Opposing views of oneself arise in the midst of this struggles. Black people are plagued with constant disparities in their life prospects, socioeconomic status, levels of power, and wealth, especially when compared to white people. Black people are never given a real, valid explanation for why they are constantly oppressed and viewed as inferior, and left to figure it out on their own.
This concept takes an interesting, and magnified role in the way that it affects black women. It disproportionately affects the black woman, as nothing about her is ever deemed smart enough, ladylike enough, pretty enough, or enough at all for society. Black women are typically seen as hypersexual, angry, and uneducated. With these opinions constantly aimed and projected in their direction, black women especially grapple with their levels of self esteem and self concept on their journey towards self actualization. Malcolm X once said, “the most disrespected, unprotected, and neglected person in America is the black woman.” This quote brings to life the triple threat black women face as they strive to be successful in life. They are women, associated with poverty and violence, and they are black. Black women have been made the face of poverty, welfare, and lack of success. Black women struggle to fit into the white standards of beauty set by our society that were never meant to be a fit for them. Black girls and women are in a prolonged attempt to establish their identities on the basis of the world’s views, and to present a version of themselves that will be accepted by the world. Black women tend to adopt multiple identities that appease both the white and black community.
In order to escape the effects of racial and gender discrimination, black women have, over time, learned to change their language, appearance, and behaviors. This is done in an attempt to stray away from the negative images often portrayed in the media. Black women are constantly trying to change themselves and disassociate with the image of black women that are often depicted in the media. This is a subconscious switch into the “other” identity that black women have, where they just want to be viewed as American or just as women, not as black, as this brings along with it an array of negative connotations. For example, as a child, most black people can recall their mothers using their “white people voice” when talking on the phone or when in the company of white people. It involved being very proper, articulate, and eloquent, in ways that are not typical of the way many black people speak to each other, or at home. This also brings in the “code switching” dynamic that black women are known for using. This allows black people to attempt to assimilate into “American” culture, although this further perpetuates the marginalization of our people, because we are trying to change ourselves, and who we are to fit in with what white society deems acceptable.
Our standards of beauty are constantly changing. The unchanging variable in this continuously switching phenomena is that these criteria are determined from a white point of view. These are the dominant standards, that are projected onto all races, and whether black people are aware or not, these standards trickle their way into our own views. Historically, white standards of beauty did not include black women at all. Black women were not seen as beautiful, ever. Lighter skinned women were included in the white standard of beauty, as they were viewed as exotic. Black standards of beauty were created once the realization that the dominant standards were exclusive to white people. Black representation of beauty still prefers the fairer skinned of our race, and those that possess characteristics different from the “typical” black woman. Society loves light skinned women, black women with curly hair, black women with finer hair textures, and black women with different eye colors. Light skin represents social privilege, as they are closer to being white than darker skinned people. These two differing systems caused black women to have to view themselves against two systems of beauty representation, and this made it increasingly difficult to actually view oneself as beautiful. If a black woman was beautiful, they struggled being representative of their race and vice versa. To be beautiful, one must toggle on the spectrum of whiteness and blackness. Not too white, and not too black is the goal of many black women striving to be pretty by society’s standards.