Viewpoint: The #KylieJennerChallenge is dangerous and racist

Alexandra Samuels | The University of Texas at Austin

In today’s culture, a new – and sometimes dangerous – “challenge” seems to pop up pretty frequently. When it wasn’t the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge in the summer of 2014 , it was the Cinnamon Challenge of 2013.

The latest to take social media by storm? The #KylieJennerChallenge.

To participate, teens use shot glasses, cups or bottles to suction their lips. The result is what Elle magazine dubbed “Kylie-esque” lips. Although numerous dermatologists are warning against this new fad, those partaking in the challenge are risking significant pain, permanent disfiguration or bruising in the hopes that they’ll end up with plump and pouty lips similar to 17-year-old Keeping Up With The Kardashians star, Kylie Jenner.

Teens are documenting their results on Vine, Instagram and more. Most appear shocked – and sometimes horrified – by the outcome.

GUYS I DID THE LIP CHALLENGE THING, PLEASE DO NOT BE STUPID LIKE I WAS AND DO IT #kyliejennerchallenge #lipchallenge pic.twitter.com/Jfwilf9Jea — sense8 News (@cuttothefeeling) April 21, 2015

For those calling this cultural appropriation, I’m not so sure I agree. People of all races, genders and ages seem to be participating, so I don’t think that’s the main issue.

Aside from the obvious health warnings associated with this trend, my concern is that these teenagers participating in the challenge aren’t aware of the history associated with black people and big lips.

White Americans in the nineteenth century used blackface, along with other racist black stereotypes, as a form of entertainment. While these racist distortions of black features were seen as a “joke,” the racism and prejudiced depictions -- along with the idea that black people were both “racially and socially inferior” to Caucasians -- carried on for years.

One of the more prominent racist illustrations was the picaninny, which used to be a dominant caricature of black children. They were reportedly described as having “bulging eyes, unkempt hair, red lips and wide mouths into which they stuffed huge slices of watermelon.” Those same “red lips and wide mouths” are being imitated and mocked by today’s youth.

So my issue with the #KylieJennerChallenge extends far beyond one girl and her lips. My problem is that history has mocked the natural features of black people, namely women, for a long time. Dark hair, big butts and big lips were seen as “ugly” and problematic -- that is, until a white girl got them and they became trendy. It’s pretty despicable that the qualities I was born with used to be undesirable until Jenner and other white girls came around and made them popular.

Long story short: My biggest in concern is that Kylie is hailed for her big lips and for making them trendy whereas black people have been historically ridiculed for them.

For centuries, big lips were deemed an ugly feature on mammies and black women. Now that they’re fashionable, people seem to forget what black women went through. They were ridiculed for having these same attributes.

Don't forget, these are the features they tried to teach you to hate. #kyliejennerchallenge pic.twitter.com/4jisjJiuFS — Nneoma (Nne) (@NnesCorner) April 21, 2015

This isn’t to say that that African-Americans are the only race that can and should have full lips. But, when it comes down to it, white people are now being praised for imitating traditionally black features.

Another issue with the #KylieJennerChallenge, is that – to be quite frank – it’s unappealing to say the least. People doing the challenge aren’t finishing with the au natural lips that Kylie Jenner reportedly has. They instead get bloated, red lips quadruple the size of their natural ones.

I can’t do anything about society’s newest trend. But I can say that if you want the illusion of having big lips, there are other ways and makeup tricks that will help you go about it.

But if having those plump and pouty lips is the look you’re aiming to achieve, so be it. But don’t go around saying that some 17-year-old “made big lips popular.” Doing some reading on the history behind this fad could instead prove beneficial.

Personally, I don’t need anyone telling me that my natural features weren’t considered beautiful up until a few years ago when a white girl got them. Before we go popularizing the next trait on a person's face or body, get some history as to why this is now seen as the newest “hit thing” and what culture, if any, had the trend before it was glorified on social media.



Alex Samuels is a student at the University of Texas at Austin and a spring 2015 USA TODAY Collegiate Correspondent.

This story originally appeared on the USA TODAY College blog, a news source produced for college students by student journalists. The blog closed in September of 2017.