Experiences I think are unique to Somalis.

[Farahslayer]

These are ones that I’ve experienced. So maybe it’s not a universal Somali experience but it’s just my personal experience that I’m sure other black people do not experience.

• I have timo jileec but it’s still curly. A lot of non black POCs with curlier hair than me will compare their hair to mine and say we have the ‘same hair’. It’s like they can’t get over a black person having ‘straighter’ hair than them.
• I notice cadaans feel they can get away with more obvious racism towards me than other black people. Like assuming I don’t know English etc. I’ve witnessed this in progress when a black carribean friend and I went out to eat.
• Black people are always associating me with TJs and Arabs. I legit had some ask me if my people do cousin marriages like such and such. Some cadaans do it too but the majority are other black people.
• This isn’t race specific but people (of every ethnicity) will always compare me to their mixed relative or child. In what world does your Kurdish and Jamaican child look Somali.

Anyways, I say all that to say that on the internet the rhetoric is that Somalis want to distance themselves from ‘blackness’ but in real life this is how ajanabis behave. None of these experiences are flattering and most are straight up racist.

I’m not even a Somali with wavy hair, I honestly couldn’t deal with that it’s annoying enough with stereotypical hair.

Feel free to share your experiences or to roast me.

 

[𐒁𐒚𐒒𐒂𐒘𐒂𐒗 𐒎𐒚𐒗𐒗𐒒]

It's true, there are Somalis that get treated like Hindi Muslims in the West, and these Cadaans/Madows are less afraid of being racist to us, because we fall in the cracks of racist protection. With Madows they fear a BLM protest in front of their house, with anaga, nothing.

Our boys get treated like Madows though, I would assume, in terms of racism etc.

I think it's gendered sometimes, and also dependent on what your Somali phenotype is.

 

[Keep it a boqol]

For your point number two what racism has white people said to you that they can’t say to other black people?

 

[Farahslayer]

It's true, there are Somalis that get treated like Hindi Muslims in the West, and these Cadaans/Madows are less afraid of being racist to us, because we fall in the cracks of racist protection. With Madows they fear a BLM protest in front of their house, with anaga, nothing.

Our boys get treated like Madows though, I would assume, in terms of racism etc.

I think it's gendered sometimes, and also dependent on what your Somali phenotype is.

The crazy thing is I’m not exotic at all. I have mareen colouring and very typical hair. I really can’t imagine lighter or darker Somalis with looser hair and the weird comments they would get. Especially from non black POCs, they’re oftentimes the weirdest.

I do wonder if Farah’s are vunerable enough to share their experiences. I highly doubt it but I believe a lot of them act like stereotypical madows to run away from the islamophobic and anti immigrant racism. But that’s just my thought.

 

[Farahslayer]

For your point number two what racism has white people said to you that they can’t say to other black people?

The typical anti immigrant bs they do. Treating you as if you don’t know English or try to other you because you’re not Christian/western etc. I often get Hindi and Arab stereotypes thrown at me as if we are the same. Like for example will your dad or husband allow you to do that? Cousin marriage/arranged marriage accusations. Like what other black ppl get that?

 

[DivineMartial]

The typical anti immigrant bs they do. Treating you as if you don’t know English or try to other you because you’re not Christian/western etc. I often get Hindi and Arab stereotypes thrown at me as if we are the same. Like for example will your dad or husband allow you to do that? Cousin marriage/arranged marriage accusations. Like what other black ppl get that?

You wear hijab? Ofcourse you'll experience Islamophobia. Everyone associates Somalia with Islam automatically unlike multi-religious west African states.

 

[Farahslayer]

You wear hijab? Ofcourse you'll experience Islamophobia. Everyone associates Somalia with Islam automatically unlike multi-religious west African states.

No, hence the comments about the hair. Also what do arrange marriages have to do with Islam? I was literally compared to a Hindu colleague.

Why don’t west Africans get that treatment? They’re way more hyper religious than I am.