As some of you might know, there is a lot of controversy when it comes to skin tones or skin shade shaming that happens more often than what we may realize. This issue is known as colorism which has stemmed from slavery, and lasted over the decades as what now divides much of the black community. More specifically, it is prejudice against someone of the same ethnicity as you, but is of a darker, or in some cases lighter, complexion. I've found in many different scenarios it is a topic that is dismissed or not viewed as important as other issues within the black community. However, it is one that is plaguing us in more ways than we know.
In the documentary, Dark Girls, it follows various women of all ages that have been affected by colorism along with various stereotypes and treatment that they’ve received over their lifetime. Some of these stories are not only disheartening, but bring up the question of “How could someone not truly see how beautiful they are?”
Even in cartoons and shows that we love, there's been underlying traits of colorism. Whether it be in character depiction or things said within an episode. For example, in the show Proud Family which is a show that follows the life of a pre-teen girl, Penny Proud, who is raised in a two-parent household with what seems to be the ideal, “perfect” home. Her best friend, Dijonay, is a darker shade female who is often portrayed as loud and a gossiper in various episodes. Her character also has nine siblings which are depicted as mischievous and not the best kept. These characteristics can categorize Dijonay’s character as the “ghetto, dark-skinned” girl stereotype that many of us are aware of. Not only that but Dijonay’s constant approach to her love interest “Sticky” is questionable as well. Another example of colorism right on your tv screen is the show, Martin, starring Martin Lawrence himself. His love interest, and later wife on the show, was Tisha Campbell more commonly known as Gina. Gina's character also had a best friend named Pam. The portrayal of Pam's character was always her being sassy, and chasing after various men in hopes to hold on to one. Meanwhile, Gina's character is more easy going, and a peacemaker when it came to drama in the series.
The list goes on with so many brown or dark skinned female characters being made to seem as less than over their fairer skinned or caucasian counterparts. Both of these shows not only added fuel to the already negative perspective of brown/dark skinned women, but had the darker skinned female play next in line to a lighter skinned female. (As if she couldn't be in the same position) These interpretations amongst the media is what helps add on to one’s knowledge and perspective on race and skin tone. However, we don’t always realize it. Yes, many times these jokes are harmless or only meant for entertainment, but the deeper impact it can have on others goes beyond the tv screen.
CNN even had a case study that I had watched a while ago about how children viewed race in the world. They did a test where they had a sheet of paper with drawings of a child in different shade ranges to see which one they would classify as "smart", "dumb", "good-looking", ugly" and even what skin tone they believed adults didn't like. 70% of the black children in the study chose the darker shades when it came to what they believe other children found to be not desirable. When being asked what shade they found as ugly, more than 57% of the black children chose the darker shades (which of course was what closely matched up with their own skin tone) Overall, the study found that the children both white and black have the same stereotypes as one another with these biases normally remaining from ages five to ten. This now poses the threat of them growing up with these same stereotypes if no correction is put in place, and that their association with darker skin tones could lower their self esteem subconsciously.
Now, we do have to take into account that it is not the child's fault that they think this way, it is the parents for not teaching them to love their skin tone or embrace the way they look. Many times as a kid we are given these stereotypical messages and we don't even know it. A lot of times we're naturally taught to not want to be darker by being told to stay out the sun or glorifying fairer skinned people in front of children. They pick up on these things more than we realize.
Let's not forget the modeling industry where even now it is hard for women of color to be moved to the forefront or if you've ever noticed in some advertisements they'll only have one person of color, a lot of times not even brown skinned, to make sure that they are being "inclusive".
I know some people still may not understand where exactly I'm coming from, and that is okay. You may think that none of this even pertains to you, especially if you're not a person of color but it most certainly does. When you go through life feeling as though there's nothing wrong with cracking jokes on people who are of darker shades, you don't realize the hurt you're actually causing. The person won't always say it so it's YOUR responsibility to become knowledgeable on what should be amusing & what's crossing the line-- cutting into someone's self esteem. We are so quick to follow society's definition of beauty that we forget to look within ourselves for the answer.
"The Kanye Syndrome"
"[….] But while y'all washin', watch 'em
He gone make it to a Benz out of that Datsun
He got that ambition, baby, look at his eyes
This week he moppin' floors, next it's the fries
So stick by his side
I know there's dudes ballin' and yeah, that's nice
And they gonna keep callin' and tryin' but you stay right girl
And when you get on, he'll leave yo'
These lyrics are ones that we both know, and love but what about the true message of it? The whole "ride or die" chick story without the happy ending is one thing, but the ending though? Even though everyone’s reasoning for dating outside their race or someone of lighter complexion than themselves is different, there has been a consistent pattern of various high figures in the media originally dating black women. Then as their career advanced, they began to date fairer skinned or biracial women— sometimes even marrying them. There is definitely a difference between preference and colorism, but I've noticed how a lot of men can't seem to tell the difference.
I also didn't realize how much biracial, and other light skinned people struggle with discrimination, self-esteem, and even sometimes identity issues until recently after speaking with someone close to me about it. The conversation from both perspectives needs to be had because it seems like neither side is actually listening. I will save a lot more of this perspective to be discussed in the part two of this blog post, but I wanted to make sure to shine a light on this current perspective too.
We need to get back to the point where we're loving who we are again. True self love is being able to look yourself in the mirror and love every part of you. Head to toe. Every pimple, freckle, mole or dark spot is BEAUTIFUL. Brown or people of darker skin complexions shouldn't be just a fetish or something that is glorified across social media, but never in person. It should be praised in a respectful manner with appreciation and genuine love for it. We also need to be able to realize that we're (aka YOU) not always the one going through something; acknowledge someone else's struggle for a change instead of your own all the time. In turn, this can help you better understand yourself & others.
We're all fighting different fights, but with the same struggles.
Always a pleasure sharing with you, thank you.
