(disclosure: black guy here) I applaud the author for voicing a perspective that rarely sees the light of day. Here are a couple thoughts I had while reading

(disclosure: black guy here) I applaud the author for voicing a perspective that rarely sees the light of day. Here are a couple thoughts I had while reading this article: 1. The term "self-hatred" always begs elaboration w.r.t. why one hates oneself. The hatred can come from internalizing perceptions of ugliness, criminality, dirtiness, etc. These are all very different things and making general statements about an underspecified self-hatred will lead to confusions. 2. Related to the above point, self-hatred is often talked about from a female perspective because what's being talked about is self-hatred stemming from internalizing a sense of female beauty that is at odds with blackness. 3. Likewise, self-hatred (of the ugliness variety) is almost never talked about from a male perspective because many aspects of black maleness do cohere with general perceptions of male beauty (and this despite the fact that black males are still horribly underrepresented on fashion runways). 4. Self-hatred of the criminality sort is very complex and has to do with a number of factors, among which are darkness of skin, body size, clothing, dialect, loudness of voice, gait, body-language, facial features, etc. I personally am of medium complexion, am 5'6" with a slight build and if you spoke to me on the phone you would certainly think I was white. In my entire life I have never thought that someone chose not to sit next to me because I am a black male. My guess is that body size and darkness of skin and facial features are the determining factors in the difference between myself and the author (basically, I look much less like the prototypical scary black guy than the author). 5. The psychology of "disgust" is very interesting and depressing. The idea that people are viscerally repulsed by others and that the object of disgust could internalize subject's feelings is fascinating. This is something that isn't specific to hatred of blacks, of course. Jews and gays come to mind as other groups on the receiving end of this feeling. I've never felt a sense of self-disgust regarding my race.