One of the many magical things about black people is our undeniable diversity. We come in so many different skin tones, hair textures, eye colors… the list goes on. However, with that often comes ignorant ideas and remarks from those still unaware of just how diverse our phenotypes can be. One example of that is YouTuber Cydnee Black.
The brown-skinned, bright-blue-eyed stunner has faced doubt about her eye color from the moment she stepped onto the social media scene. After countless videos and posts addressing it, commenters still can't help but display their skepticism. So once again, she's made another video with a newly discovered explanation in the hopes that it will shut up everyone who questions her natural eye color once and for all.
Cydnee Black is known for her piercing blue eyes.
The beauty YouTuber has been mesmerizing viewers for years with that icy blue hue. However, her success and appearance haven't come without skepticism from viewers. Black, who has maintained that her eye color is real — and has even posted childhood photos to back it up — still faces people who believe that her eyes are artificial and/or altered with colored contacts. Many of them make rude and ignorant comments implying that it's impossible for black women to have a natural blue eye color.
Black explained that her eye color comes directly from her mom who has one blue eye.
Even though Black has her critics, many people believe Black when she says her eye color is real and simply attributes it to her mother. Black's mother has a condition called heterochromia, which means she has two different eye colors. One is brown and one is a bright blue, like the color of her daughter's eyes. This is likely (OK, obviously) the reason that Black was born with two blue eyes.
Despite heterochromia being very real, Black has had to address it time and time again.
It seems like no matter how many explanations she gives, people still aren't satisfied. In a video from nearly five years ago, she chalked up the eye color to her mom, of course, and the diverse nature of black people. However, it seems like that still wasn't enough for many.
Because of the continuous skepticism and internet trolling, she's having to address the critics yet again more than four years later.
She's also found another possible explanation that's enlightening for us all.
In her most recent video, Black says that she's being inundated with comments that she insists is criticism disguised as compliments. She says that the remarks have led her to do a deep-dive into what the true reason for her blue eyes is.
Completely deaf in one ear, Black believes that she has Waardenburg Syndrome, a genetic condition that can cause hearing loss and changes pigments, particularly in the eyes.
"People with this condition often have very pale blue eyes or different colored eyes, such as one blue eye and one brown eye. Sometimes one eye has segments of two different colors," reports the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
The revelation wasn't a surprise to some.
A few commenters in a Reddit thread discussed her eye color and shared their own experiences with people who look similar.
"I've always assumed she had Waardenburg syndrome. A girl in my family who was adopted from Haiti has unnaturally bright blue eyes too, and that is what she has," a person wrote.
While others think people should just mind their own business.
"Why do people care even if she was wearing contacts? And while it's true the majority of Black people do have dark brown eyes there are some with other eye colours, because genes mutate! And genes are random when you get conceived. And since your mother also has one blue eye, she does carry the genes needed for you to have blue eyes as well. I mean it's that or a condition like Waardenburg, and all of those are ok," a commenter insisted.
Still, we have to point out the irony in Black's defense of her blue eyes, given her problematic statements about colorism.
Black has questioned the validity of colorism in the past and has expressed she hasn't experienced it. This makes her disappointment that people don't think a woman of color can have eyes that are bright blue a bit contradictory. Unbeknownst to Black, the people who question her ability to have blue eyes is colorism playing out right there in her life.
One fan pointed this out: "Is this the person who said she didn't feel like colourism was a thing because she'd never experienced it? Or am I confusing her for someone else?" someone asked, also critical of her viewpoint.
On another note, let's hope that Cydnee Black reevaluates her definition of colorism, how it plays out in her life, and that she'll never have to address this blue-eyes debate ever again.
These stories are based on posts found on Reddit. Reddit is a user-generated social news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website where registered members submit content to the site and can up- or down-vote the content. The accuracy and authenticity of each story cannot be confirmed by our staff.
