'BLACKFISHING'
White women are being accused of posing as BLACK on Instagram – and the worrying new trend has been branded the ‘Kylie Jenner effect’
INSTAGRAM isn't short of bizarre beauty trends and some are plain bonkers - but usually harmless.
But one recent social media fad has caused outrage with white bloggers being accused of "pretending to be black."
The perceived practice is known as "blackfishing" and has sparked a huge online debate after model, was forced to deny trying to look black.
This week, a tweet from a 19-year-old woman named Deja went viral after one of her followers directly messaged her, informing her that the Instagram model isn't black.
"Hey, we don't know each other, but i just wanted to let you know that this girl you follow @eemmahallberg is fully white," the message to Deja read.
Emma is Swedish and with a deep tan, full lips and wavy hair, has shocked many of her Instagram followers this week after it became clear she was white.
But the 19-year-old isn't the only one being accused of "blackfishing" with several Twitter users starting viral threads about other users, too.
One social media user has started a Twitter account (which has now been suspended) dedicated to influencers who are "catfishing" followers.
"I created the account because I thought that there was really an alarming amount of white women posing as black women, and honestly to add some humor to things," Twitter user, Odinaka explained to the .
"It matters because it makes people in our community feel as though we’re not the best representation of our everyday selves.
"They’re gaining success by appearing to look like me while I work 10 times as hard to get where I really want to be. It’s unfair."
Wannas World started the thread to "post all of the white girls cosplaying as black women on Instagram".
Following the debate, model Emma denied the accusations she was trying to look like a black woman, explaining she does not "see [herself] as anything else than white".
One Twitter user posted a screengrab of an Instagram conversation she had had with , asking the model if it was "true" she is white.
"Yes I'm white and I've never claimed to be anything else," Emma wrote.
"And by the way, there are no 'before' pictures, the pictures spread are just two different pictures taken on two different seasons of the year, on before summer and one after summer.
"...Of course there's a difference in my skin tone because I get very tanned NATURALLY when I've been in the sun!!"
The 19-year-old also told : "I do not see myself as anything else than white... I get a deep tan naturally from the sun.
"... It made me sad that some of my natural features are hurting and upsetting people.
"It also made me upset and scared that I can’t look the way I look naturally, without receiving false accusations, hate, and threats.
"I do not have any specific intentions other than [to] show my passion for makeup and fashion."
Speaking to the , Deja explained she was "shocked" when she found out Emma was white, revealing she believes the model "fooled everyone".
"Finding out Emma was white was so shocking due to the fact that this girl has done everything to look the part of a mixed black girl," she said.
"I genuinely believed this girl was Afro-Latina... She had been mimicking black features and getting famous for it.
"She has been darkening her skin several tones deeper than her natural shade, braiding her hair to make it look similar to mixed people’s curl pattern, and even been featured on Instagram accounts made for black hair styles and spotlighting black women.
"The sad part is she really fooled everyone into believing she was a mixed girl."
The trend - that sees white women adopting features of black women - bears resemblance to the debate surrounding Kylie Jenner's lips.
The youngest Kardashian has made a fortune from her pout, but it's thought by many to be a clear example of cultural appropriation.
And in July, sister Kim Kardashian was heavily criticised on social media for wearing braids at the MTV Movie and TV awards.
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"It’s down to the Kylie Jenner effect," blogger Stephanie Yeboah told the .
She said it's almost "fetishistic in that they want to achieve this ‘exotic’ look in order to attract black men. It seems like it’s all it is".
Fabulous Online has contacted Emma for comment.
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