Stop comparing Rachel Dolezal and Caitlyn Jenner

YNaija prides itself on being accepting of all perspectives and we welcome all submissions. Some we agree with, some we don’t.

Excuse me as I get a bit meta.

As editor, it’s hard to sit by and watch terrible opinions get tossed on our pages without any response. This one, in particular, deserves a response.

It was a case of a naturally born white woman acting black. And her story grabbed media headlines because she was not a white never-do-well who just decided to re-do her identity for frivolous reasons or even for calculated material benefits. Her name is Rachel Dolezal.

Her name grabbed headlines because she was a white woman who pretended to be black. She didn’t just pretend to be black, the pretended her way to the top of the Spokane NAACP.

In addition, she is the chair of Spokane city’s police oversight commission. On a number of occasions she made claims about treats to her life and hate crimes against her because she is black. The police are yet to apprehend anyone on these allegations which are becoming suspect.

She also grabbed the headlines for this.

It is somewhat ironic that as her claim to being black was igniting controversy, the fate of Mr. Bruce Jenna, now Ms. Caitlyn Jenna, was garnering applause all over.

Spell the last name right, at least.

No one is crucifying her for her transgender status even in the knowledge that for several years he had masked her real personality as a man acting woman.

No one is crucifying her because it’s not the same thing. Implying race and gender are the same is cybercafe logic. Despite both being social constructs for the most part, it takes an ubeliveable amount of privilege to openly identify as a particular race considering how racial identify is imposed in American society. Black people don’t get to pick and choose what race they are, that’s the entire premise of the “one drop” rule.

Two issues are clear: Rachel is Caucasian by birth and has patently lied about it for several years; she is passionate about her civil rights activities. Question is: what is more important, her commitment to championing the civil liberties of coloured people in the United States or the fact of her faked racial background?

The fact she faked her racial background.

The fact she turned racial harassment into a farce by filing multiple false reports of racial harassment . She sued Howard University for discriminating against her on the basis of her race. What civil liberties was she championing while making a mockery of black people?

It’s so easy for us as Nigerians to sit in Lagos traffic and tweet away our terrible opinions on things we frankly have no clue about. Reducing the Dolezal situation to a “what’s the big deal” matter is a gross oversimplification of the matter.

Cliff Notes version: It’s not by force to have an opinion.

One comment

  1. I totally agree with the Editor’s opinion. It’s beyond disgusting really, what that woman has done. Imagine if I, an AfricanWoman, had done everything to pass myself off as white; and got a job based on the farce. My (black) parents then decide to spill the beans. By now, some 21 year old white (supremacist) terrorist would have blown out my brains, as well as those of my parents, for good measure!

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