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Culture War Roundup for the week of September 26, 2022

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A fairly large problem with this argument is that under 'the English gaze' Meghan doesn't parse as black. In this country our black communities mostly are only two or three generations old so there are relatively few very light-skinned black people.

Also we have a fairly common thing where common chavvy white girls will fake tan to the point of looking like Meghan or darker, much like the Ganguro style girls of Japan, and this is particularly common among footballers' wives and other shallow fame-seekers -- of which Meghan is definitely one. So I presume most people just thought she was yet another famehunting fake tanned slag who landed the famous man she hunted. Her level of entitlement and attention seeking (watch her unnervingly find the camera in any room and stare directly into it with a plastic smile!) certainly made that angle seem likely to me.

Meghan doesn't look any darker than Victoria Beckham, for instance.

Whatever you think of her character, I can't imagine anyone thinking she's a 'famehunting fake tanned slag', since she was already quite famous, is obviously not fake tanned, and is undeniably elegant and attractive - a world away from the stereotypical Essex sambuca girl.

She can't have been all that famous, as I never heard of her before she married into the British royal family. I'm not claiming to be an infallible index of famous Americans or anything, but if I haven't even heard someone's name in passing I don't believe they're actually particularly famous. Being that famous means that almost everyone, if not everyone, actually has heard of you before.

since she was already quite famous

I would be willing to bet that less than 1% of people here had ever heard of her before she became entangled with the Prince.

is obviously not fake tanned

Just because she's not obviously fake tanned (i.e. badly and cheaply) doesn't mean she couldn't be at all. Good fake tan exists and it looks pretty much like her.

and is undeniably elegant and attractive

"tactless and rude" somewhat undermines this interpretation of her. Every single part of her screams fake. But if that's what you're into...

a world away from the stereotypical Essex sambuca girl.

Seems a Prince's wife is just a tier up from footballer's wife, to me. She might be higher quality, but she's of the same taxonomy.