blackfishing

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noun

The practice of appropriating signifiers of black identity, such as darkening the skin, or wearing traditionally black hairstyles.

Scrabble 27
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Meanings

verb
  1. gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of blackfish
nounblackfishing (uncountable)
  1. slanguncountableThe practice of appropriating signifiers of black identity, such as darkening the skin, or wearing traditionally black hairstyles.

    Judging from not only various records of campus life but also the numerous Instagram accounts of women appearing as "black" personalities — a phenomenon known as "blackfishing" — many do not know better.

    2019 February 7, Wil Haygood, “Why Won’t Blackface Go Away? It’s Part of America’s Troubled Cultural Legacy”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 19 Aug 2019

Origin

From blackfish + -ing.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

blackfishing. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/blackfishing

MLA

“blackfishing.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/blackfishing. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “blackfishing,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/blackfishing.

Source: blackfishing on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.