Of Sapphires and Diamonds, Women, Beauty, and Worth
A sapphire is a beautiful gem. It is also extremely valuable. And it is very strong. That last quality, rather than its’ beauty or worth, is why the word “sapphire” has been used as a nickname for American women of African descent at least since it was the name of an overbearing female character on the old Amos ‘n Andy program.
“Sapphire” used in this way gives offense to many African American females because their history of oppression means that this is a group of women who seek to claim qualities besides strength: their beauty and, to some extent, their frailty, delicacy, dependency, and weakness.
A diamond is a lovely jewel. It is also known for its’ strength. And of course, it is very expensive. Although “diamond” is not a nickname for any group of women per se, I believe it is safe to say that the gem is associated in the general imagination with white, especially blonde, women like Marilyn Monroe and Madonna.
There is, as I hope to demonstrate, a valid parallel between the different types of jewels and the two types of women. Both types of jewels are strong and beautiful but we think of strength when we hear sapphire and beauty when we hear diamond. Moreover, while both are highly valued, the diamond is more prized than the sapphire. Why?
Ironically, or perhaps appropriately, modern diamond mining is located in South Africa — until recently the white racist land of apartheid. Stefan Kanfer, in The Last Empire: De Beers, Diamonds, and the World, writes of how, early in the 20th Century, De Beers hired the N. W. Ayer advertising agency to “keep diamonds before the public as the preeminent symbol of romance and durability.†Ayer “homed in on America’s dream factory, convincing Hollywood producers to change the title of a film from Diamonds are Dangerous to Adventures in Diamonds, and arranging for stars like Merle Oberon and Claudette Colbert to flaunt their jewels on screen.†Some years later, in the 1953 film Gentlemen Prefer Blonds, Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell sang “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend,†and, as Kanfer writes, “everyone got the message at no expense to De Beers.â€
Ayers also set about to “strengthen the century-old tradition of the diamond engagement ring.†They sent visiting speakers to high schools to address student assemblies on the “the unique and fascinating history of diamonds†but the focus of these lectures was always the diamond engagement ring.
This advertising campaign was gloriously successful, according to Kanfer, for at the “beginning of the 1950s half of America’s engaged women were presented with a diamond; by the end of the decade, the figure had risen to nearly 80 percent.â€
Here the true parallel between sapphires and diamonds, black women and white women, should be clear. If Western society as a whole values pale skin above dark, and sees the beauty in the former before that in the latter, that collective ideal is not grounded in intrinsic worth and beauty but reflects only the power of advertising.
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Stumble It!
May 27th, 2006 at 9:28 pm
[...] First, I found Denise Noe, who introduced me to stereotypes that I previously didn’t even know existed. A sapphire is a beautiful gem. It is also extremely valuable. And it is very strong. That last quality, rather than its’ beauty or worth, is why the word “sapphire†has been used as a nickname for American women of African descent at least since it was the name of an overbearing female character on the old Amos ‘n Andy program. [...]