Jennah Schott had to listen to racist insults as a child because of her skin color. Since wearing a headscarf, she has experienced double discrimination.
Warning: This article discusses racist insults.
When Jennah Schott goes through security at the airport, she gives herself extra time. “Even if it doesn’t beep, I almost always get pulled out,” she says BuzzFeed News Germany, a portal from Ippen.Media. Schott has a guess as to why this could be: she is black and has recently started wearing a headscarf.
She doesn't care about the moment when security personnel have to specifically pat down her headscarf. She finds the routine examination completely fine. The 20-year-old is sure that police officers and employees treat her with particular caution – and that there is racism behind it. “It was the same for me before I wore a headscarf.”
TikToker: “It’s hard for me to distinguish why people don’t like me”
For Black Hijabis (Arabic: Discrimination against women with headscarves is part of everyday life in Germany. Schott experiences it when traveling, applying for an apartment or while shopping. She talks about this in a TikTok video with a friend who is also a black hijabi – it now has almost 700,000 views.
For example, she says that salespeople regularly speak to her in English. She was born and raised in Heidelberg and has lived in Berlin since she was at school. Her mother comes from Russia, her father from Nigeria. Schott deals with such situations humorously. “When I answer in the most polished, best German I know, they are always completely shocked. Her reaction always amuses me,” she says.
Schott is often not sure where the racism comes from: Is it because of her skin color or her hijab, i.e. her headscarf? “It's difficult for me to distinguish between why I experience discrimination and why people don't like me because of my appearance.” However, negative comments have increased since she started wearing a headscarf two months ago. You can also do this on her TikTok channel (@jennahschott) observe. “I think it’s terrible, it should be banned in Germany,” writes one TikTok user about her headscarf. Schott also reacts to this ironically:
Bullying in elementary school, “until the revolution came”
Even as a child, Schott had to listen to insults from classmates. “You look disgusting”, “You have a fat nose, fat lips” are just examples. She experienced bullying in elementary school and at the beginning of high school. “Until at some point the revolution came with American rappers like Nicki Minaj or Tyga. Then it became cool to have big lips. Then it became cool to be brown.”
The TikToker is referring to the mid-2010s, when celebrities like Kim Kardashian got a Brazilian butt lift (BBL) to look more like black women. Injecting your lips became a thing popular cosmetic procedure among young people. Schott, who was around eleven years old at the time, suddenly experienced less discrimination. On the contrary, other young people compliment her. But: “Of course, that hasn’t changed the racism of older grandmothers and parents.”
The fact that her appearance became a “trend” has both advantages and disadvantages
What does Schott think of this development in retrospect? “I think it's a shame that it has to become a trend until people accept my appearance or see it as normal.” Nevertheless, she was able to gain self-confidence from it, she says. In fact, she could win it back. Because she felt beautiful even before she started school. “People have taken away my beauty with their words.”
Kim Kardashian has now had her BBL removed. The heroin chic trend that celebrates thin bodies, is partially back. Celebrities like Bella Hadid have cheek fat removed. Nevertheless, times have changed for the better, believes Schott.
There are numerous influencers who educate people about racism, such as the Nigerian Charity Ekezie. Muslim TikTokers encourage people to stand by their religion. They give young hijabis tips that they wouldn't have found on Bravo before. For example, Schott has released a Ramadan planner that Muslims can use to organize fasting and prayer times.
The Muslim woman does not want to be a role model
“I used to go to my mother very often and say: I hate the color of my skin.” Schott is convinced that her own children will not feel the same way one day. “If I had seen a person on social media or on TV back then that I could identify with and who was talking about bullying, it would have helped me a lot.”
Schott personally does not want to be seen as a role model for young people. “Feel free to model things that I do – like praying that I’m good to people and respect them. But Don’t try to imitate my entire being.” Just as she goes her own way, she wants the same for her followers.
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