This short, viral clip has resurfaced across social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram, sparking a renewed conversation about beauty, race, and the irony of aesthetic trends.
Originally aired as part of a 1990 ABC Afterschool Special titled "War between the Classes" (often misattributed to talk shows like Ricki Lake or The Oprah Winfrey Show due to its format), the video features a group of Black teenage girls discussing the contradictions of Eurocentric beauty standards.
The Core Message: "Why Don't They Stay White?"
In the video, the young speakers point out a phenomenon that feels incredibly modern: the selective adoption of Black physical traits by the same society that often devalues Black people.
The primary arguments made in the clip include:
The Tanning Paradox: One girl asks why white people "burn themselves to a crisp" at the beach to get brown if being white is supposedly the "wonderful" standard.
Lip Fillers & Collagen: The speakers highlight the irony of being told their natural lips are "too big" while seeing white women go to doctors to have collagen injected to achieve a similar fullness.
Body Standards: A speaker mentions how white girls comment on the size of her butt, yet she sees them at the "Holiday Health Spa" on stair-steppers trying to achieve that exact shape.
The segment ends with a powerful rhetorical question: "If being white is so wonderful, I don’t understand why all these white teenagers don’t stay white."
Why It’s Just as Relevant in 2026
While recorded over 35 years ago, the girls’ observations predate modern terms like "Blackfishing," "Cultural Appropriation," and the "Clean Girl Aesthetic." Today, these same themes play out on a global, algorithmic scale:
1. The "BBL" Era and Curvy Aesthetics
In the 90s, the girls mentioned gym equipment. Today, the conversation has shifted to surgical intervention. The rise of the Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) and the "Kardashian aesthetic" popularized a body type that Black women have been both fetishized and mocked for throughout history.
2. The "Clean Girl" vs. The "Chola/Baddie" Look
Recent trends like "brownie glazed lips" (brown liner and clear gloss) or "sticky hair" (laying edges) have been rebranded by influencers as new "clean" or "minimalist" trends. As the girls in the 1990 video noted, these styles are often lauded as "chic" when seen on white women but labeled "unprofessional" or "ghetto" on women of color.
3. The Digital "Tan"
The girl's comment about tanning has evolved into Blackfishing—where influencers use heavy tanning, makeup, and hairstyles to appear ethnically ambiguous or Black on social media to gain "clout" or "cool points" without experiencing the lived reality of being a person of color.
Summary of Sources & Details
Date Recorded: Approximately 1990.
Original Program: ABC Afterschool Special: The War between the Classes.
Context: A classroom-style discussion where students of different backgrounds confronted social hierarchies and racial prejudices.
Modern Context: Often cited by cultural critics to explain the historical roots of misogynoir in the beauty industry.
"True beauty is about embracing what society has deemed 'ugly.' It's about recognizing that our value doesn't diminish with a few extra pounds or the first gray hair." — Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder (2025)
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