Beauty Is Political: The Untold Cost of Survival with Dr. Yaba Blay
In this episode, Chisom sits with cultural critic and scholar Dr. Yaba Blay to explore identity, Blackness, and beauty through history and lived experience. They discuss colonial legacies, colorism, and how beauty standards shape power, belonging, and self-perception. The conversation reflects on Blackness as a political and cultural identity, and the importance of questioning systems that define value and visibility.
With Dr. Yaba Blay
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Show Notes
In this deeply reflective and expansive conversation, Dr. Yaba Blay — cultural critic, scholar, and author — joins Chisom Udeze to explore identity, race, and beauty through the lens of lived experience, history, and consciousness.
Born in New Orleans to Ghanaian parents, Dr. Blay shares how growing up between cultures shaped her worldview — never fully “of” one place but belonging to both. She reflects on what it means to be first-generation, living between Ghanaian heritage and American culture, and how that duality continues to inform her voice and her work.
Together, they unpack the emotional, political, and psychological legacies of colonialism, from the ways Africans idealize the West to how colorism and proximity to whiteness still define privilege. A system built to fracture and rank, yet still alive in how Black people view themselves and each other.
The conversation turns to blackness itself — not as biology, but as a political identity. Dr. Blay challenges the notion that some people are “born Black” while others “become Black,” reframing Blackness as a consciousness shaped by power, history, and experience. “You can be Black,” she says, “and not know it — until the world reminds you.”
They explore beauty as a site of power and struggle, questioning how white supremacist standards dictate who is seen, valued, and safe. From hair and skin to body and dress, Yaba argues that beauty is not trivial — it’s political, it’s survival. Colorism, skin-lightening, and hair politics are not vanity; they’re responses to a system that punishes certain bodies and rewards proximity to whiteness.
She also speaks to the cost of her work and advocacy and the reality of pushing against systems designed to resist change. She remains rooted in questioning — the ultimate act of resistance.
Dr. Blay’s forthcoming book, To Become Beautiful, blends memoir and social critique, exploring how beauty, culture, and identity intersect in Black women’s lives. For her, the work is about context, compassion, and consciousness.
Learn more about Yaba and her work: https://www.yabablay.com/
Her book “One Drop”: https://www.amazon.co.uk/One-Drop-Shifting-Lens-Race-ebook/dp/B08HHSQWZ9