Are You My Sister? How James Charles Gentrified The Term, Appropriating Black Culture

By: Bella Carbone and Serena Turner

    In the 2010s, YouTube's beauty community gained an influential member who would gain a significant following for his makeup abilities. His signature slayed block eyebrows and bold eyeshadow or lip combinations made James Charles recognizable and popular. But, what truly helped him stand out was the fact that he was a gay man gaining recognition in a highly women-dominated space. Yes, there were gay male beauty influencers before James Charles but his fame and capitalist ventures were quite an accomplishment. Another aspect that helped James Charles gain awareness and recognition was his catchphrase and fanbase greeting of “Hi Sisters!” that aggressively began every single one of his videos. At face value, this expression of community amongst his followers primarily young girls and other gay men seems harmless and endearing. Yet, when we look deeper there is a notion of appropriating a term often used amongst Black women to display recognition and identification with one another in a society that often neglects and oppresses Black women. When the terms “sister” or “Sistah” are used by Black women, they serve as an acknowledgment of the collective experiences of Black women themselves. This is possible because of the shared understanding between Black women that their societal role is unique due to the specific ways racism and sexism shape Black womanhood. When “sisters” was appropriated by James Charles, the weight of the term became diluted and appropriated for white pleasure and aesthetics. When “sisters” was employed by James Charles the connotation became a group of young, white fangirls obsessed with makeup and beauty products instead of an expression of Black female solidarity. The term was made accessible to and popularized within white culture, particularly white, gay men,  alongside other commonly used phrases by Black women such as “girl,” “slay,” or “period.” When Black women use slang they’re labeled as ratchet, ghetto, uneducated, and classless but when white, gay men use these terms they’re funny or trendy. Alongside being excused from the ridicule and judgment Black women receive for using this language, white gay men like James Charles are also excluded from experiencing the societal hardships of Black womanhood which created a need for oppositional language such as “sister” and “sistah” in the first place. Words like these were never created with the intention of white, gay men using them to build a social media platform and achieve fame and financial success. Not only does James Charles appropriate the usage of “sisters,” he has capitalized off of it from his line of merchandising. From phone cases to clothing, James Charles has sold and continues to monetize the phrase “sisters” in true patriarchal, white supremacist fashion. 

    Alongside appropriating their slang, James Charles and other white, gay men can perform Black womanhood for their own pleasure through visual aesthetics without having to endure the danger or criticism Black women face for the same actions or appearances. James Charles wears long, acrylic nails, has a BBL, and flowy wigs. Yet, for Black women, these traits are viewed as fake, illusions, and trashy. Emulating womanhood, especially Black womanhood, allows James Charles to gain significance for being unconventional but his ability to occupy that space without facing sexism or racism grants James Charles power and profit. He can maintain a connection to white supremacy and patriarchy by appropriating Black womanhood and making it more palatable to white audiences without threatening white supremacy and patriarchy. When Black women subscribe to the beauty standard they are given, they are met with mockery. James Charles only began to receive backlash and ridicule for his actions when they were viewed as taboo within white culture i.e. when it leaked that he was messaging underage boys. This is a clear expression of our society's intrinsic biases in that being labeled predatory is social sabotage but misogynoir is acceptable and even praised to a degree. In both cases, harm is being directed towards a vulnerable group by hegemonic forces, yet only one of these forms of violence is seen as a serious and cancellable threat.

    Often times gentrification is the act of taking space and land from Black individuals, especially in areas deemed poor and inferior, with the intention of "renovating" the space aka whitewashing and industrializing the areas. This often makes the areas desirable to white people who can displace the communities of color living there because they can keep up with the rigorous economic demands of a gentrified neighborhood. These areas once associated with thriving communities of color are infiltrated by and dominated by whiteness. In the same sense, James Charles displaces the association of "sisters" with Black womanhood and solidarity instead using it as a way to make himself marketable to white audiences in the same sense that gentrified neighborhoods infiltrate communities of marginalized people to make them more salable to white audiences.


    From their talk to their walk, white, gay men are used to stealing from Black women and their culture without having to face the same scrutiny or harm that is placed on Black women. It is time we start calling out the hypocrisy and double standard that makes white gays trendy or alternative but refers to Black women as stereotypical. This phenomenon allows white gays to continue the exploitation of Blackness for their own personal gain. Further, when men like James Charles gain popularity through their appropriation, they erase the lineage of Black women who created and confided a culture that was inherently oppositional and that was constructed in response to their lived experiences of discrimination, judgment, and ridicule from the dominant culture. Instead, James Charles makes Blackness seem like a fashionable accessory to be worn for likes and views in a white supremacist, patriarchal society. He also commodifies what was once a term systematically opposed to all James Charles embodies: whiteness, capitalism, and patriarchy. In our modern society, people are often very quick to deny the connection between popular culture and the history of systemic oppression of marginalized groups and individuals. Once we begin to acknowledge the deep-rooted racism and sexism that exist in every part of our culture, we can start the process of decolonizing our minds and experiencing true liberation in our lives.