The Impact of “Whitewash” Labeling: Diminishing BIPOC Identity

The impact of “Whitewash” labeling diminishes BIPOC identity, especially when they don’t fit into a stereotypical category of what some think they should be like based on their race and ethnicity. It can be found thrown around in reference to the way someone speaks, dresses, styles their hair and makeup, cares about academics, participates in extracurriculars, behaves, and more. This affects the identity of Black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) in severe ways that can lead to the questioning of one’s identity, behavior, and connection to their culture.

If you want to include this term in your vocabulary, use it only to describe the way American history avoids integrating the culture of its approximately 72 million immigrants and those who lived on the land first. Or maybe use it to describe the way that the entertainment industry has chosen White actors and actresses to play the roles of those who are BIPOC in the past. Remember when Angelina Jolie played Mariane Pearl in A Mighty Heart, a character who is half-Dutch-Jewish and half-Afro-Chinese-Cuban? Or maybe you remember when she played a character who was written to be an African-American woman in Wanted? Don’t forget about Emma Stone playing Allison Ng who was supposed to be Chinese, of Native Hawaiian descent, and of Swedish descent in Aloha.

Raise Awareness in Media

These incidents raise attention to the controversy in the entertainment industry, leading to apologies and efforts to make it end. Emma Stone’s role in Aloha taught her “about the insane history of whitewashing in Hollywood and how prevalent the problem truly is.” Acknowledging the problem is the first step. Preventing it from happening again is the next. Cameron Crowe, the director, apologized in a blog post to those “who felt this was an odd or misguided casting choice.”

Don’t use the term ‘whitewashed’ in a way that takes away the identity of BIPOC who don’t fit your stereotypical idea of what they should be like. Why? It’s racist because you are forming an idea of characteristics that belong to only White people.

Many BIPOC social media creators and influencers face hate comments where they are accused of “trying to act White” based on how they present themselves, with commenters sometimes basing this strong opinion on viewing just one video or post.

Celebrate the Community

Beyonce Janvier, also known as @sexyrichlibra on TikTok, created a video that has reached 6.7 million views about “whitewashed” Black girls. Her caption states, “Here’s to being unapologetically ourselves in 2023,” and the comment section is filled with over 17 thousand comments from women who relate to feeling targeted by this word in their lives when they are just being themselves.

“To get literal, whitewashed literally means you’re not physically White but you’re ‘painting’ yourself as such, when there is no such thing, by liking things that have been associated with White people,” said Janvier in an interview. She goes on to describe situations where Black people have labeled other Black people as “whitewashed” for not using African-American Vernacular English (AAVE), having a certain aesthetic such as preppy or coquette, listening to certain artists or genres like pop or country, not wearing hair naturally and silk pressing it, displaying certain mannerisms, and who they associate themselves around.

Hearing the term since around the time of middle school, Janvier has never been explicitly called it but has been told she acts or talks like a White girl before. These comments have made her feel “super self-aware… self-conscious…[and] frustrated” at times. It caused her to think about her “mannerisms and interests growing up.” When asked if she were able to give advice to her younger self growing up with these thoughts, Janvier responded, “I wish I could tell her to just be herself and not be so self-conscious when meeting new people. I want to tell her she’s a product of her environment and she’s not any less Black.”

Accusing someone of acting like a race that they aren’t is racial stereotyping and not okay. With the usage of the term “whitewashed”, many instances relate the person or action to doing things that are seen as ideal or proper. This is extremely racist and creates a barrier between White people and BIPOC with what is expected of them.

In an interview published by The Center of Public Integrity, Dr. Kali-Ahset Amen describes the relationship between race and classism. The Executive Director of the Center for Journalism & Democracy at Howard University states, “...individuals and institutions mark our bodies through the lens of race. Because Black bodies are continuously coded as ‘different,’ if not lesser, race still matters.” Classism.org states, “All of us are born into a system we didn’t create…But as we become aware of the social meaning of our identities, we can choose whether to accept or resist systems of domination.”

One extreme instance of this surrounds work ethic in jobs and school. Janvier recalled a time when another Black girl said her “work ethic in school was White.” She followed this by saying, “...while I understand she said this to get under my skin, it’s just so much deeper than that. It almost felt like internalized racism- like we’ve been told that Black people are not intelligent for so long that she labeled it a White trait.”

Elaina Chen, a Chinese American, has been labeled as “whitewashed” by people in her community because of her interests and connection to her culture. Growing up in Memphis, TN, Chen expresses how it has been hard to connect with her roots and culture, facing criticism for not speaking Chinese fluently. In combination with dying her hair blonder and speaking with a “southern twang,” she’s heard this term used to describe her. She tries not to take the term too seriously, but stated that “it does hurt because I don’t try to act White.” She sees the term used “in the context of being basic, country, and having American ideals- liking anything American and not towards one’s own culture.”

Create and Foster Change

People are connecting being American with being White. Thierry Devos of San Diego State University and Mahzarin R. Banji of Harvard University performed a study titled “American = White?” in 2005 to collect research on what African, Asian, and White Americans thought to be ‘American.’ In 5 of their studies, the results showed that White Americans are more associated with ‘American’ than the rest, providing “evidence that to be American is implicitly synonymous with being White.”

The idea of relating being American to being White is inappropriate and creates barriers for BIPOC who are embracing things that interest them solely because they may be accused of trying to be someone they aren’t. Limitations are put on BIPOC whether it’s about how they should look, act, or behave. People may be reluctant to try or do things because of the fear of being labeled as “whitewashed.” Rather than bringing down someone based on their interests, they should be validated in their feelings of confusion and connection with their roots.

Growing up in the south, half-Filipino and half-White Rachel Velasquez has been called “whitewashed.” Her father’s side of the family immigrated to America to live out the American dream, causing Velasquez to become disconnected from her culture. Nonetheless, this does not mean she is “whitewashed,” only that she is not strongly connected with her Filipino heritage - and absolutely nothing is wrong with that. She is not trying to be White. She is not trying to avoid the half of her that carries Filipino heritage. She is not trying to conform to anyone’s idea of how she should be. She is too busy being herself and taking an interest in things that interest her.

Anna Akana published a YouTube video titled, “Am I White Washed?” where she makes the perfect statement about this situation - “People are products of their environment. So unless you are surrounded by your heritage growing up, you’re more likely to be a product of where you are and who you’re with.”

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Sophia Aiello is a freshman at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, majoring in Journalism & Electronic Media with a concentration in News. She is involved on campus with The Volunteer Channel's The Morning Jem and Pi chapter of Chi Omega.