The Problem with Kali Uchis/White Latinxs
And Why We Need to Have This Conversation
There’s always a problem with discussing issues in the Latinx community publicly: most people don’t understand or care about the complexities of Latinidad. It’s no surprise that this happened multiple times in the past week as Kali Uchis got criticized for portraying herself as a brown Latina when she is actually white. As the criticism came in, Kali replied with sarcasm, non-answers, self praise, and a healthy dose of white savior complex. As per the usual, some non-Latinxs came to her defense while others tried to argue against her. The problem with both of these groups of people is that they don’t actually understand the conflict.
There’s a common misconception that Latinx is a race, and anyone who is Latinx or Hispanic is a person of color. This is not only ahistorical and culturally ignorant, it also dismisses the unique experiences of Latinxs of color. The qualifications for who is and isn’t a white Latinx are weak at best. Some say that white Latinxs are those of direct European ancestry while the majority say that mestizos (mixed-race Latinxs) that are white-passing should also be included. I opt for the latter because there aren’t many Latinxs with 100% European ancestry. White-passing people are the ones who hold the power and have the privilege making them effectively white.
Kali Uchis very clearly presented herself as a white Latina in the past, and as such she benefitted from the privilege that comes with it. More recently, with the release of her newest single and the announcement of an album, she has started to present herself as a brown Latina and appropriated the aesthetic of one.
It’s certainly interesting that Kali Uchis’ drastic aesthetic change happened around the time of her album and single promotion. This reminds me of Sofia Vergara: another white Latina who adopted the brown Latina aesthetic in order to seem exotic in American culture.
Sofia Vergara rose to fame in Latin America by using her light complexion and blonde hair to appeal to the European beauty standard. Once in the American entertainment industry she dyed her hair brown and embraced her tan. If she had kept the same aesthetic that she used in Latin America, she would have been just another white woman. Instead she took the route of being the “exotic Latina”, which was a smart career choice as proven by the many people who did this before her. America has a fetish for people who are just different enough to exotic while still adhering to the European standard of beauty. Latinxs, especially Latinas, are hypersexualized in the media for this exact reason. All the while they’re chanting “build that wall” and yelling racial slurs at anyone that they deem “too foreign”. When Kali Uchis portrays herself as a brown Latina, she’s playing into this fetishization and exotification of Latinxs.
Now, I’m not saying that Kali Uchis intentionally made herself look like an urban Chicana so that she could sell records, but I am implying it. To say outright that’s what she did would be assumptious and I’m in no position to speak for her. What I am in the position to do, however, is acknowledge her actions, analyze the cultural implications of those actions, and criticize her role in perpetuating a system of oppression. Because whether or not she intended to do this, the effect of her actions are the same and those effects are harmful.
I’m hardly the first one to address this: Espi, a queer Chicanx, made a Twitter thread about this, but was pressured into deleting it by Kali Uchis herself. At best that’s shady; at worst, and more realistically, it’s manipulation of someone who has less power than her. (Espi has since posted screenshots of their thread, that you should definitely read, and screenshots of their conversation with Kali.) As if manipulating someone into deleting a thread about her wasn’t enough, Kali came back to Twitter days later fighting the same fight.
In a tweet that was quickly deleted Kali Uchis had the nerve to claim that she, a white Latina, did more for Latinxs of color than we do for ourselves. For anyone that doesn’t understand the implications of this statement, she is effectively saying that Latinxs of color shouldn’t criticize her because she is an ally. Never mind the fact that she rarely actually speaks out for us, allies aren’t exempt from criticism and an ally shouldn’t respond to criticism like this. From here, everything turned into an echo chamber as people across Twitter communities got involved and Kali began retweeting people who agree with her. I doubt anyone missed out on much because it was clear that Kali wasn’t looking for an actual conversation with Latinxs of color.
She’s not alone in this; the sad truth is that most people aren’t looking to have these conversations. The true narratives of Latinidad are too complex for people to handle so they opt for watered down versions. White Latinxs and non-Latinx people are similar in this way, making many Latinxs of color feel unwelcome in their own communities. This is even more true for Afro-Latinxs who often have their identities picked apart and analyzed by both the Latinx and Black community. This is yet another reason why it’s incredibly harmful for Kali Uchis to portray herself as a brown Latina. She doesn’t have to experience the hardships that are unique to Latinx of color because her complexion gives her privilege.
When these things happen it reminds Latinxs of color that people don’t think we’re valid. They’re saying that we neither deserve humanity nor the right to defend ourselves. Then non-black Latinxs of color will do the same thing to Afro-Latinxs without a second thought. Our experiences are valid and they should be treated as such. There is no reason that white Latinxs should be speaking over Latinxs of color just as there is no reason for non-Latinxs to be speaking over any Latinxs when it comes to issues of Latinidad.
