lactification means the whitening of a black race. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
Why “lactification” is a great word
Lactification is the psychological and ideological process of internalizing white cultural norms and aesthetic ideals as a form of self-alienation, particularly for Black individuals and communities. From the Latin lac, lactis ('milk') and the suffix -fication ('making'), hence literally 'making milky,' it was coined in its sociological sense by Frantz Fanon in the mid-20th century. Unlike 'assimilation,' a broader sociological process, or 'bleaching,' a term for merely physical lightening, lactification describes a profound spiritual corrosion. It is the studied disdain for the texture of one’s own hair, the practiced flattening of a cadence to erase a musical dialect, and the weary internal calculus that deems kinky hair unprofessional—the soul learning to see itself as a stain to be scrubbed away.
Etymology
See lactify (“to make or become milky”). Coined in sociological sense by Frantz Fanon.
noun
- The whitening of a black race.“However, in stark contrast with the lactification principle so denigrated by Fanon, she decides to abort and come home. She will eventually become involved with a local Black trade unionist.”