Its real and its STUPID

"Dark skin girls are ugly"

"Light skin girls have it so much easier"

"Light skin ain't in no more"

"Dark skin girls are all ghetto"

"Light skin girls aren't even really black"

"Dark skins and light skins can never be friends"

Well, speaking as a light skin girl myself who is also not considered to be black, I don't believe any of these statements are true. Yes, people in society do show favoritism toward lighter skin people sometimes. Yes, dark skin people are discriminated against more often and poorly represented in the media; but this debate covers up the real issue: the black community struggles as a whole - the African American culture is misrepresented and oppressed as one unit, and the light skin-dark skin controversy only make things worse. If African Americans don't unite to take control of how we are portrayed, the rest of the world will keep blacks oppressed and continue to misrepresent us in all ways, and little black girls all over the world will continue to suffer from emotional distress because they think they're "too dark" to be pretty or intelligent. Just remember to teach them that beauty comes from within and it can be found in all shades.

Light skin is just "better"

Light skin is better than dark skin, there's no argument there right? Why? Is it all a historical thing, because during slavery they separated the light skins and dark skins and had them work against each other and always gave the light skin slaves the easier jobs just as a little sign of favoritism; is it that the oppression of blacks through colonialism around the world has led to this negative perception of anyone of color, especially those darker than a brown paper bag? Well these are true facts, but Nikki Lynette (fellow blogger) said it best: people are fundamentally stupid.
Check this out: light skin guys are superior to and always more attractive than dark skin guys

But since we are discussing women:

I'll just leave that there. 

(SN: you can find Nikki Lynette's works at http://www.chicagonow.com/becoming-nikki-lynette)

Social Media

 

Is "Colorism" in the media? If your answer was yes you are correct. Social media  can provide clear examples of colorism.  Dark-skinned versus light-skinned has been a trending topic on twitter. Black people even have a problem with having dark skin.  Type light skin or dark skin into the search box on Twitter or Facebook and you will see colorism at its best. Take a look at what came up when I typed in light skin vs dark skin on my Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook:

 

Take a look at this: This documentary specifically focus on the history and media's present portrayal of Black women in the media.

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

Light Skin Vs. Dark Skin

Are light skin blacks preferred over dark skin blacks? We would prefer not to discuss this, but studies have shown that light skin blacks are preferred over dark skin ones. Mixed-race people are socially placed below whites, but ahead of blacks. According to a study done by NEWSONE For Black America,  reveals dark-skin black women are given stiffer prison sentences than their lighter-skin counterparts.The study, which sampled over 12,000 black women imprisoned in North Carolina between 1995 and 2009, showed that light-skinned women were sentenced to 12 percent less time behind bars than their darker-skinned counterparts. The results also showed that having light skin reduces the actual time served by 11 percent.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just watch

Here are some videos discussing the light skin vs. dark skin dilemma. This argument has run rampant in the media and its scary to see how heavy of an impact this issue has on people, especially children. These video clips include interviews from the Tyra Banks talk show, interviews in the hallways of an average high school, as well as a full length documentary on the light skin dark skin debate.
(SN: some of the videos are really long, and some are poor quality but they get the point across)

Discrimination

Is there black on black discrimination? According to ABC News,  "The prevelance of "colorism" -- black on black discrimination, is less known, but it's an open secret in the black community." Comedian Paul Mooney talks about it on stage. In one of his routines he said, "At home where I come from, Louisiana, we have the saying for it: 'If you brown, hang around. If you yellow, you mellow. If you white, you all right. If you black, get back.' "

“If you’re black, stay back;

if you’re brown, stick around;

if you’re yellow, you’re mellow;

if you’re white, you’re all right.” -What is Colorism? (about.com)

 

Stereotypes

 Is light and dark-skinned stereotypes new? If you answered no you are correct because people associate certain behaviors and characteristics with skin tone. Scroll down to see the most common light and dark-skinned stereotypes about women:

According to the study led by psychology professor, Keith Maddox of Tufts University in the United States "Light-skinned blacks were more likely to be described as intelligent, attractive or wealthy, while dark-skinned blacks were more apt to be described as poor, criminal or tough and aggressive."

Lighter skin "began to be associated with privilege and it became associated with beauty," said Marita Golden, author of "Don't Play in the Sun: One Woman's Journey Through the Color Complex."

"Women who are light-skinned  are stuck up and make a man work harder at getting to know them," said Diamond, University of Maryland student.
 

"Light-Skinned girls have good hair and dark-skinned girls don't, and I guess I've benefited from the colorism, because I'm light skinned, because I've always had the long, straight hair," said Markita, another University of Maryland student.