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The television premiere of “DARK GIRLS: The Story of Color, Gender and Race” aired last night on Oprah Winfrey‘s OWN network, however the movie hit a few theatres late last year.
[FLASHBACK: ‘Dark Girls’ Documentary Premieres in ATL – Is Life Different For Darker Women?]
Just days after Paula Deen’s lack of racial sensitivity hit the net, the documentary addressed the touchy subject of ‘colorism’.
Colorism – a term coined by author Alice Walker, is used to describe a form of discrimination based on skin color i.e. prejudice or discrimination in which human beings are treated differently based on the social meanings attached to the color of their skin.
Don’t act like it doesn’t exist…
[FLASHBACK: Fantasia vs Alicia Keys: The Darkskin/Lightskin ‘Homewrecker Debate…]
We’ve talked about it… argued about… fought about it but every day we witness it firsthand in our music (like when Waka Flocka Flame announced he was giving up black girls, or when Lil Wayne raps about ‘redbones’), in print ads (like Beyonce in ‘blackface) and even in our everyday lives.
We’ve all heard phrases like ‘she’s pretty for a dark skinned girl’ and ‘light is right’ but it’s so common that most of us don’t even acknowledge the issue when we hear it.
It’s a problem so deep-rooted in self-hate that I don’t know if talking about it will even make a difference. But I guess discussion is always a good thing. Maybe at least one person will become enlightened.
The journey of a million miles begins with a single step…. right?
Watch the full version of ‘Dark Girls’ documentary below and join the ‘shade debate’…
VIDEO: Dark Girls: A Look At Colorism & Internal Racism in The Black Community
What did you think of the ‘Dark Girls’ documentary?
Are ‘DARK GIRLS’ Treated Differently?
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This documentary was sad but its necessary. I’m BLACK… And we are all different shades of beautiful. There are ugly lighter skinned women who feel they are cuter because they’re skin is lighter. And? you are light and still ugly!
I think that until we ALL take a good look at ourselves and ask WHY we like dark over light or vice versa. Then we can better understand if its really our "preference" or something deeper.
I think most of the light/dark dichotomy is social and is also rooted in the value men ascribe to women. Now don’t get me wrong, racism and inherently colorism is systemic denying access in all areas of life, socially, economically, physically (access and types of healthcare). It is easier to deny access to entire races and ethnicities when you have members of those racial and ethnic groups fighting against each other over something as simplistic as skin tone.
The whole thing actually traces back to slavery with the house vs. the field girls. The division that created still exist. It just manifest itself in different ways as society goes on.
Yes. Back in the day colorism was necessary for survival. But today it’s just downright silliness and shallowness.
Thank you! And what a gold nugget it has proved to be through white ancestors. This is ONE thing their heirs feel they CAN’T be blamed for because we are doing it ourselves. We even want babies by Latino, white or lightskinned men just so our babies won’t be dark skinned. Our ‘Now Generation is the worst. No young Black woman would have made this documentary…other than Soledad O’Brien and she gets backlash because Black women think she’s not Black enough. There are so many talented,educational, strong in spirit and personality that are shunned even in your social groups because of lighter complexions. If you open your eyes to the most relevant women in our Black culture you will only see dark brown and brown complexions. From entertainers to historians.Harriet Tubman,a woman who carried a pistol in case loyal Black men were too scared of freedom, Pearl Bailey the first Black woman to have own show. Nat King Cole,Natalie Cole,Sammy Davis,Barbara Jordon, Shirley Chislom, G.W.Carver, Sidney Portia, Hattie McDaniels, Paul Robeson, Ethel Waters, Martin Luther King,Bill Cosby and now Oprah Winfrey Winfrey and Tyler Perry. All successful, positive and Dark and brown skinned African Americans. The light skinned contributions of our culture..you can count on one hand and their contributions are really not noteworthy, except for Marian nderson and Corretta Scott King. We are of many hues and to single out and proclaim one hue better than another is your white ancestor slavemaster’s mission being accomplished in 2013.
LOL so you have heard that "preference" bullshit too? I thought I was the only one.
Sure did …
This goes back to the paper bag test.My bigmama said that back in the day,they would put a paper bag next to your skin.If you were as light as the paper bag ,you were allowed in the "big house".So sad! All I know is light skin guys are NOT HOT anymore!!BTW<this is the topic on the TJMS with Jackie Reed today.!!
Light skinned dudes are NOT HOT!! LOL!! Like Funky Dineva said "Light skin dudes went out with Debarge on heroin in 1992!"
Well, there are a few ones … but give me Idris Elba over Shemar Moore anyday!
light skin dudes were never hot lol the darker the better baby. thats coming from a light bright
We saw this displayed first hand on "R.B. Divas" by the brainwashed and bipolar chic who constantly disses Angie Stone. It goes without saying her reason for doing so. She pretty much displays this attitude throughout show. She seems to feel her light complexion gives her a pass to fart,belch, make extraodinarily AWFUL faces and say and act anyway she pleases because she feels her skin color validates her. Good thing I saw this show because I never want to hear her sing any damn thing else again. This is the reason Faith all but disappeared from entire season. Ethel Waters went through hell filming with Lena Horne. Ethel had better acting skills and better voice but Lena had "The Look".Ethel didn’t just sit on her distaste during her art, and if anyone read "My Eye Is On The Sparrow" you know she kept it real…even to the consequence of near blackballing(which means ‘no scripts for you).
I’m light and I love me a dark chocolate man. Something about that skin color oiled up in the sun poolside does things to me. Jesus take the wheel, I need a fan to cool off. LOL
Did you see Paula Dean clip on "Wendy" yesterday? Well that’s what your comment reminds me of. I also watched the "View" this morning and can’t understand why no one is addressing the clip "WENDY WILLIAMS" played yesterday? Paula asks her male "Help" to come out and address a topic. First she described him to host,(can’t remember his name)goes on to say "X is blacker than this board behind us" then calls him.."X!! come on out here! We can’t see you against that black board!" Yes.. Black men have always been appealing to light chics. Paula I’m sure has f*cked a lot of her dark male staff. Probably calls them "Black Bucks" in the sack. Black women have always been attracted to dark men. Unfortunately dark men haven’t in sincerity been attracted to us. Dark women have always been abused by them and accepted their beauty because we aren’t as blind as that slave stamp that’s embedded in his brain by mama and mama’s passed down history.
Versatile: Say that
wow…how amazing
Question: for those who watched rb divas, season 2, I know its edited, but, when you see keke wyatt, belching and acting like a 5 year old, in what appears to be a business meeting. If it were a darker skinned woman, say, angie stone or nicci that was belching like that, would it be swept under the rug? would they have made a whole episode of how unprofessional that was? or would have been a silly 3 min clip of how "colorful" their personality was, as what was said in the clip … idk IJS
I don’t think it has anything to do with her color or the fact she is biracial. I think it’s because in the first season the show presented her in a way as if she has some serious mental health issues. If you take a close look at her actions in the finale, one minute she’s happy the next minute she’s big and bad, ready to fight, then she’s talking about how she’s a woman of God and then she’s crying like a five year old. Maybe she’s Bi-Polar and/or Borderline Personality Disorder, and the producers of the show do their best with what they have been given to work with.
Keke Wyatt’s behavior is accepted because she is exceptionally talented. She has an amazing voice.
I strongly believe that her career has not taken off in the manner that it should have because she is so unprofessional.
I don’t think that the acceptance has anything to do with her skin tone.
You are right. She is bipolar as sh*t and downright scary to watch. I’ve never seen her type of crazy portrayed on reality tv unless some chic got drunk. Because Kiki is light complected and always bragging about her "white side" with that cowgirl country fake azz drawl, she gets a pass. I just hope to hell no one passes her a drink.
Colorism is very alive. Hard sigh…my list of examples are long as hell. All Black people are touched by it and its not right. You hear the comments all the time that go unchecked.
"light skinned women are prettier"
"light skinned men are soft"
"dark skinned women are more agree"
myth after myth…we have heard them all. Then you have the men and women who say Light Skinned and Dark Skinned is their Preference and when you tell them that thought process is wrong they say "OH WELL, Thats MY Preference" but then get mad when White people treat them like lower class people. Maybe its the white folks preference.
Bill Duke has another documentary coming soon in response entitled "Yellow Brick Road", which will tackle the "issues" that face fairer skinned African and African American women.
Colorism is sometimes embedded so deep into someone’s mind that they don’t even always realize that they are guilty. That is not an excuse, but it’s sad that so much time, energy and money has been set aside to always keep specific groups of people in a subordinate position.
From the dissemination of pictures of the white, blond headed blue eyed picture of Jesus in the
churches of Black slaves, advertising has
played a very insidious role in elevating
white skin and straight hair in the subconscious minds of people of color globally.
If we change how we see ourselves, we can change
our present and our future. Jesus and his mother had brown skin. The truth will set us all free.
Amen!
LOVE IT
IT HELP ME
I am a dark woman and have been all my life. I have never really had a problem with my color, but I did suffer through the blurple, tar, black and any other jokes that came about. I remember in high school I had one boy who would always call me a different candy bar because he said my skin was so chocolate (which was rare). I also was told once I was pretty for a dark skin girl and my reply was I am just pretty for any girl. The crazy thing is the guy thought he was giving me a real compliment.
"She is a pretty dark skinned girl" or the all time favorite "she is pretty to be a dark/black girl". I had to check a guy for letting those stupid words fall out of his mouth .I asked this dude, why isn’t she a pretty girl, no need for the extra adjective. Sigh…I am all colored out.Slavery still lives within us and we can not deny that curse.I give up with this subject.Sigh,SMH
IMO, guys have an easier time.
No they don’t, my eighteen year old son says african american girls don’t like him because he is so dark, but white and hispanic girls love him to death. We live in Louisiana where there seems to be a larger number of light skin african americans. I just don’t understand how in 2013 we as a people are still having this issue!
Okay so I’m giving one big collective hug to my dark skinned sisters. You are beautiful….God knew what he was doing when he created you. Self hate is the worst hate of all. Embrace all that God has created…that beautiful black skin…that curly hair those full hips right down to our soft chocolate lips….black is beautiful.
As women people we have to stop letting the desires of others particularly those of men drive not only how we view ourselves but the things we do to ourselves. Women aren’t running around here getting butt injections, skin lightning treatments, starvation diets, and lip shots for nothing. Check your motive and be honest with yourself when you ask the question, why am I doing what I’m doing to myself. I’m a dark skinned woman and I approve this message….LOL.
It really amazes me that blacks have to deal with racism from whites, etc., but having to deal with this ignorant bs from our own communities is just unbelievable. And again, we as women have been brought up or brainwashed to think that our hair and features were ugly and these women are trying to look more and more less ethnic. I was also not surprised that this goes on globally.
It does go on globally. When my Indian friend and her parents were meeting with a match maker for her marriage, they were giving all the various options. One guy was a 10 all across the board but then the lady said "but he’s a darky, that’s not going to be good for your children". They put his folder down and picked up another.
Yes, they have issues with dark skin as well and many of them are dark. They also go by that stupid caste system.
The same white men that f*cked us up screwed their culture too. It’s far worse there than here. British rule. Same thing in Australia. Not so many years ago light skinned Aboriginals were taken from their families and put in orphanages to enforce ‘caste system’. Native American Indians endured same until they established their own laws. Case is going on today dealing with white family that adopted part Indian girl.
im a light skinned women n i approve your message
I know for a fact that I’m gorgeous in all of my dark skinned glory all of it and I approve of your message…LOL
@janet; That is profoundly the best post I’ve read on this topic.
Whateva!!!you can read all that BS you want but truth be told…DONT EVER THINK THOSE FOLKS LIKE YOU!I don’t care if you are light bright damn near white, the perfect tan, or dark as night. You are who you are. Those folks only like you when you are making them look good or when they can advance from your misfortune (ignorance). They will NEVER see us as equal. I am not anti-white or pro-black but I do believe in self expression and self love.
People need to stop this foolishness about the color of your skin, texture of your hair, what side of the tracks you live and any other foolishness to promote separation among HUMANS. I was taught that some people thrive on the smoke screen fallacy (things are not as they seem). Meaning they will put something in place to take your attention off the real point of view. While they have brought this color issue up yet again because they know it will get a lot of attention while a real issue is being overlooked. How many times has the issue of race come to play? and yet it is still an issue.. again whatever and wake up people!!!
I agree with you. Some are commenting on this topic like its new. This may be a ploy to get our attention off of one of the biggest trials in court. Have you seen the jury pool??? How about we send thoughts and prayers to Trayvon Martin darked skin mother. I am sure she could use some light skin, tan skin and dark skin support from Real Woman and from Mothers.
Hear hear!
womanpower: if you think this doc is a ploy to get attn of of zimmerman trial you have issues just like keke wyatt.
lilkunta: <<<< crickets >>>>
that is what I hear when I try to decipher your response
You better say that, i tell people that all of the time. But for some reason blacks want to be accepted by whites so badly they will go out of their way to do things for them…that they wouldn’t do for their own mom. And when its said and done you can’t do anything for them or their family unless you are making money or famous and when thats over its back to normal…
Not only that, but I get so sick and tired of blacks saying, "I have Native American in me" and if someone read their family tree most of them will be sadly disappointed and most of them never stepped foot on a Native American reservation. It’s like some of them want to feel as if they are less black and should feel like they should be more special than the next.
White people write checks thats why. When you have Black Corporations hiring and cutting checks then talk. Everyone works for whites unless its mom & pops small company & even you self employed blacks work hard to pay off white people and the Utilities they own.
This is unbelievable because as a light-skinned woman, I have to endure discrimination and ridicule from dark skinned women. I remember passing a test for a job with a major computer corporation than a white male was to interview me and explain my training schedule. Unfortunately, a very dark skinned recruiter walked by the office I was sitting in and replaced him. She had a nasty attitude as though her not giving me the job was due to our difference in skin color. My education and skills were perfect for the job but the wrong interviewer.
treci : you are ASS U MING the dark skinned recruiter was mean and nasty bc you are lighter skinned It could be she was having a bad day. or maybe she jsut has a funky attitude.
Exactly. That’s one of the reasons that I rarely get involved in these conversations about skin color. So much is assumed and extrapolated. Then we have people who will put down lighter skin in order to uplift dark skin. This whole thing is such a mess and we don’t realize that the end of this mess begins with us.
Most definitely right now the primary concern is interracial relationships whereas black men prefer white and Hispanic women and do not considerate dating or even marrying a black woman. Therefore, we as black women regardless of colorism we need to stick together.
My dad’s friend said to me one day "why buy the cow when you get the milk for free? why put a ring on it when she already calls you her husband and treats you as such? If you could collect a paycheck from your employer for not doing anything at work, why buss your ass?. That is why you can make babies with a black woman, and never have to marry her, it’s not a requirement for that race.When I was a kid if you got a girl in trouble, you took your ass to city hall because that is what was required and demanded. Nowadays you just a baby daddy and she a baby mother, and everyone is fine with it."
loving this site:
__That is why you can make babies with a black woman, and never have to marry her, it’s not a requirement for that race.__
really? 1st THERE IS ONLY 1 RACE HUMAN.
2nd, ALL ETHNICITES are baby mama and baby daddy
and it is a damn shame.
I am not and I wont ever be.
first comes love
then comes marriage,
then comes baby and the baby carriage.
Girl I gave him the side eye with that comment too. I wish their was only the human race in many peoples eyes. In all honest that is not the first time I have had a conversation with several black men and something along that lines was said. I had an open forum convo with some black males 16-25 and their general opinion was a ring is not needed anymore before the baby or after the baby when it comes to black women. The goal is not to be a wife but a breeder, and as long as you provide for the child and slide her a little money, you never have to marry her and can make as many babies with her (and other women) as you like.
Gone are the days of love, marriage then baby carriage.
loving this site: well maybe thats the reason why other races are considered more psychotic especially the white male. They would rather marry a woman they don’t love to save face and then kill her chop her up and bury her in the back yard to keep from saying that he got a divorce….some black people act ignorant. But there is a major difference in acting ignorant and being sick and psychotic. I’m a counselor i know..
"there is a major difference in acting ignorant and being sick and psychotic" Whew, Say it again, then put it on a T-Shirt.
You are so right about that.
I’m going 2 say this I’m a proud brown and wouldn’t have any other way
I am a very fair skin black woman. Never did I realize how very skinned I was until I moved to the south. There instead of being recognized by my name, I was called "high yella, or lil’ red." I also realized that in the south, my "stock" if you will,went up with darker skin men. I always found it offensive and downright self hating. I had a lot of girlfriends who were darker complected and GORGEOUS! I always thought of myself as a tomboy with not much to offer to the other sex, but then one of my dark skin friends told me that because I was "red" I could pretty much have any man I wanted. But did I want a man that would date me just because I was a certain complexion? Hell no! As I got older, I realized that it was not just the black men who held lighter women in a higher regards, but white people did as well. I worked as a bartender for a few years while finishing college and again, I was working with a darker woman who I found absolutely drop dead gorgeous..me nor any of the other white bartenders could hold a candle to her, yet, she never made the amount of money we did in tips. One day, a group of customers came in and demanded that I serve them instead of her. She became enraged and begin shouting that I am the same race as her, what is the difference? The group as well as the manager looked at her as if they were perplexed. That is when it hit me…I was accepted because I was a light skinned black girl, I was accepted and preferred because I was racially ambiguous. It is ignorance that holds other races from looking deep into the faces of a darker skin girl and realizing her beauty. This was made evident to me when I had a daughter of my own who was the spitting image of me, but dark skin. Never have I heard, "you are pretty for a black girl," I was told I was pretty , and that was that…but when I find myself having to explain to my beautiful ebony twin that she is beautiful regardless of her complexion because some ignorant ass person decided that she is the "exception to the rule" I find myself hating humanity more and more. I said all of that to say this, you have a mirror….you have eyes…that is the mere beginning of the beauty you behold. If you are able to endure the cruelty in this world and still know that you are a beautiful person in out, and that goes unchanged…..you are indeed beautiful, no matter your shade…btw, fair skin chicks and white chicks realized the beauty in the darker complected women ages ago….why do you think they spend so much money on tanning? Sorry for the long post..came home after a birthday dinner and was expecting to catch up on LHHA and found this…lol
nice read
Good read. I’m from Louisiana and some of them down there are some color struck negroes. This black man told me that he likes white women and I told him if that’s what you like then that’s what you like. But what was the most ignorant thing he said is that since the men down here like the light skinned women they might as well get a white woman with some real straight hair. I told him to his face that he’s the most ignorant negro that I have ever met.
To even here that come out of someone’s mouth is cringe worthy. Everyone has a preference, but personally mine never had to do with the color of someone’s skin because just as beauty comes in an array of different shades, so does a handsome man…ex..Idris Elba and on the flip side, Channing Tatum
One thing I will say however, is as said in the video, it seems to me that white men who are attracted to black women, are more comfortable with our "blackness." They love our natural hair, our natural beauty without makeup, etc…but unfortunately, many of us get caught up in societies idea of beauty and fail to embrace our own natural beauty. I like the comedian’s reference to the drop of water being the love for oneself and the ripples being the love that we are able to give to other’s because of the love we have for ourselves.
Black is black whether light or dark. However, as a light skinned woman I have always had to deal with dark skinned girls giving me problems in high school. Even though I could care less about what color anyone is, the insecurities within themselves caused them to hate me. Now, I have a daughter that is brown, and I tell her she’s beautiful all the time. I don’t want her to be those girls I had to grow up with, who were probably never told how beautiful they were at home.
Another documentary will be out soon that deals with the issue you speak of. I believe it’s called, "Yellow Brick Road" someone referenced it in an earlier post. You are right; a lot of the hate that dark skin women hurl at their lighter skinned sisters is because of self-hate and because society tends to elevate women of a lighter hue, whereas that’s not the case for women of a darker hue. I think it’s very sad, and that’s why it’s so important that people truly learn to love themselves and not rap their identity around the opinions and thoughts of others. Also, I think adults should be mindful of how they phrase certain things as well. I’m dark skinned and my sister is light skinned, I could go on and on about the comparisons that were frequently hurled at us. One night me and my sister were having a heart to heart and she shared with me that she was jealous of me when we were growing up because I had nice curly hair, could dance, was outspoken and dark skinned. I shared with her that I was jealous of her because she seemed to get all of the attention and all of the guys and was light skinned…we both looked at each other in shock and laughed. It wasn’t until I became an adult that I truly embraced all of me chocolate skin and everything…LOL
Thank you for this!!! I always had a problem with some girl! Just because I was light, they thought I was better than them!
I thought it was a very interesting documentary and well put together. I am lightskin commonly reffered to as LSLH on the internet, LOL. It aint always a picnic for us either. In 3rd grade I fault daily with a pack of dark skin girls whose only reason to fight me was "she think she cute because she light skin and her hair is long" or "she think she better because her momma white" (she’s not just super light") or my favorite was "she think she cute cause she got a father". I was just shocked because I can not control being light skin, the length of my hair or the fact that my parents were married. But I still had to fight them damn near on a daily basis over things I had no control over.
Oh yeah, the hair thing. That was a problem for me too, I feel u. We must do better.
Yes, that stupid ass hair thing. They pulled my hair on the school bus and that’s when my mom pulled us out of public school and put us in private. What’s funny is that the white kids treated us with much more respect that the black kids and I really hate saying that but it was true. Black boys back then called black girls with short hair nappy headed, chicken headed, baldy mae. In high school when girls were starting to wear the fake ponytails and weave, the guys still gave them hell. They wouldn’t talk to a girl that wore fake hair and also they went down the halls snatching their ponytails off and thought it was funny. These young ladies felt humiliated. I really think that some women have issues with their hair because it all stems from their childhood. Some think that having long hair is supposed to make you either better than or make you feel prettier and neither is the case.
Typo: What’s funny is that the white kids treated us with much more respect than the black kids.
My parents took me and my sis out and put us in predominantly white school as well. In the white school I was black. In the black school, I wasn’t black I was red. The only time my color didn’t matter in childhood was at church because the only color they care about is green. Pass the plate one more time Sister Greene, smh.
I’m don’t have light skin, but I’ve always had long hair. The hair thing has always been a major issue for me. Even as an adult, I still have to deal with stupidity about my hair. It’s absolutely ridiculous.
I tend to think that the issue of color exists on both ends of the spectrum. Often times, if you notice most light skin women or men desire a significant other with a darker tone of skin. Vice versa with darker tone individuals they want a lighter complexion spouse. I see that as a means of acceptance amongst the two and a place within society in their minds. Both are dealing with insecurities within themselves. If you look, light skinned individuals are always having to prove that they are black enough and dark individuals have to justify in a way that you don’t need to look at my skin tone, I’m more than this. This conversation will go on for many years. I don’t believe anything will ever change. Prejudice within cultures is across the board and all over the country. In India they have their cast system, if you are too dark you are not desirable. It’s unfortunate, but that is just the way it is. This type of thinking has been rooted for many years. People need to start looking beyond the color of one’s skin and focus on other attributes.
Could that not just be opposites attracting, in this case skin tone? I don’t think an attraction to a skin tone you are not is some sort of deep seated issue is most people. Skin tone just like overall aesthetics, should not be the THE qualifying factors for being with someone.
It indeed is a problem among everyone. If you’re dark skin you are called names, and if you are light skin then you are accused of not being black enough.
This documentary was needed as a reminder! That there is a lot more work that needs to be done
A good example for someone whose successful and dark skin who has done well for herself is Naomi Campbell. She is liked all over the world by many people (even though she has those crazy tantrums)so apparently she’s never had any issues that I know of. Venus and Serena are a success but sometimes constantly get dogged by people of many backgrounds calling them evolved apes and so forth. Every time I read an article about those sisters and read the comments people post are just downright nasty and mean.
I get that alot from people. With older people they say "oh my that’s a pretty black girl. From guys its sexy chocolate or something silly like that. I just thatk that alot of people are ignorant. Becuase if you go down to place like new orleans you will see ignorance at its worst especially from the black. theyve been taught the closer you are to white the better you are, although regardless of if they are creole or not they are hated by the whites down there…but its not their fault that they are so ignorant thats how they were raised in that culture. So as black pplwe just have to learn to love ourselves and each other and know that color don’t make a person cute. There are plenty dark skinned girls that look better than light skinned girls and vise versa
i agree in new orleans the brighter you are the better. in school i never really had issues because i was "LSLH". My sister looks just like me but four shades darker and she got hell coming up. after katrina we moved to colorado and realize white people lovvvvvvve that dark skin!!!
I watched the show and can honestly say I have never gone through any of that as a dark skinned female. I also believe it matters where you grew up. I grew up in New York and have never heard of a dark skinned girl being called black (when a guy is trying to talk to them). The first time I heard of a dark skinned girl being called black was in Mississippi. She answered to it and I looked at her like, you don’t find that offensive? I can’t understand why this still exists, it is just sad.
We need to do better.. Tolerance begins at home.. As a (considered not Black enough light skin chick) I’ve dealt with with the typical light skin jokes. Living in a predominantly white neighborhood complicated issues. Dark or light skin we share a lot of social discrimination issues. Sad for 2013!
Lighter skinned blacks ARE generally treated better. I made note of this when I was little, although our father is black my sister and I are light skinned, my sister is extremely light skinned. We went to a predominantly white school and we were treated far better than our brown skinned counter parts, we were given extreme latitude. Sadly lighter skinned blacks being treated better still holds true today, this is an after effect of slavery.
I have always received dirty looks from dark women, I am use to it.
In case anyone is wondering…I married a beautiful dark man, and the funny thing, our two kids are lighter than me.
It’s hard out here for a dark skinned woman. I think the documentry was necessary and something that should have been addressed a long time ago. It’s crazy how we are allowing the separation that slave masters imposed on our ancesters years ago to still dictate how we treat each other. They divided us by bringing the lighter skinned slaves inside and making the dark skinned slaves work the field. It was embedded in our minds then that the lighter the skin the more priviledged you are. Today media tells us that you have to be lighter skinned to make it in the entertainment industry by using photoshop to lighten skin in print ads of girls you know are browner. As a dark skinned women, YES I have been passed over, talked about, made fun of, been sterotyped, and all that. My self esteem at one point was low and just the feeling that I won’t be loved. But thank GOD I love me enough to not allow those things to keep me bonded and feel as though I can never be anything more than dark skin. I hope the documentry opens some minds and some eyes to some issues and like someone said it may not change but the awareness of it is a start.
Mulattoes (as they were called at that time) worked in the fields as well. A slave was a slave regardless of complexion. The only time that you would find lighter complexioned slaves getting special privileges was when they were the offspring of the plantation owner.
In many accounts, the lighter complexioned slaves actually had it harder. The lighter you are, the less melanin you have in your skin which increased their chances of being burned while working in the field under the scorching sun. They also faced abuses from the mistress of the house, as they were a constant reminder of her husband’s indiscretions with slave women whom she believed to be beneath her.
Both dark complexioned slaves and mulattoes worked in the house, skin color had no bearing on that, instead familial ties did in many cases.
I’m sorry. I believe I am the only one who feels that this documentary is a bunch of unnecessary BS. I feel this documentary will make dark girls thinks they are ugly!! Yeah they may be talking about the history of it but damn sholdn’t we be past this by now. I guess I feel this way because I am a dark girl and NEVER once have I felt inferior to any other person who is lighter than me or a different race than me. Why, because I had a mother and father, hell a family for that matter that 1. Taught me that color didn’t matter! 2. Constantly told me how beautiful I am(Not for a dark girl) but just a beautiful girl period. My parents have 4 light skinned children and 2 dark skinned kids. All 6 of us were treated the same, we all had chores and we ALL got our butts tore up if we did something wrong. No one was praised over the other. We were also taught not to worry about what other people thought of you because they do not contrl your destiny, for this is up to you and GOD. Loving yourself starts from home. Once you are taught to love yourself you will never let anyones opinion of you determine your self worth. Stop this foolishness and instill the right values and confidence in all of our children and we won’t have this durn problem.
amen, you go girl!!! and steer cleer away from insecure black men!!!
Well, as you could see in the documentary, not everyone had your fortunate upbringing, so I think it was necessary for those who didn’t to see how people in their situation coped (or didn’t), healed and moved on.
i have 3 daughters, one is light bright, one is chocolate and one is carmel!!!! three different tones each loved and treated and taught that they are equal and should demand to be treated equally everywhere they go. trust me i have had some tell me that my light bright is the most beautiful, they would say things like, all your girls are beautiful but "she" is the most beautiful and thats where i went ham on their ignorant asses!!! this has to stop and it has to start at home, in the household, there are so many ignorant blacks that are not taught that all skin tones are beautiful, just like the different hair textures!!! it’s sad to see that even right now in 2013 some young black girls dont even appreciate their own skin color!!! it’s sad and again, the self hate has to stop and the ignorane outside of our race must be put to an end as well! all shades are equally beautiful and imporatant! these so called rappers need to quit too, cuz they are the ones got the light bright’s thinking they are all that and better when they are not. light brights can be basic looking and kinky hair, while you got the chocolate with silky smooth curly wavy hair!!! light skin should stop being put on a pedestal by men and by ignorant white people!!!! those same men will marry a white woman because of his insecurity!
oh let me make this clear too, just because you are dark skinned dont mean the juice is better….dark women need to quit saying that, the darker the berry don’t = the sweeter the juice, nope!!! ask any man and he will tell you!!! dark meat don’t = good or better pu#@$! IJS while we on this topic!
Michelle, my friend, thank you for doing this story. It’s true, you can’t help who you fall in love with but if you purposely go out of your way to pursue someone because of their skin color then I have an issue.
I.E., I know black gay guys who actually go after lighter skinned guys cause they think lighter is better. Which confuses me… Y’all can’t have babies together so your mixing of the blood line "good hair" is gone out the window.
I say, Black Girlz, love yourselves cause the world at large has massive issues which effects us all. Someone told me you have to put yourself first, I say black women, even if you can’t put yourself first you have to at least consider yourself at some point. GOD made you and for me you add beauty to the world and it would be colorless without you.
Dana T.
Having read some of these comments and watched the video as a British black women, all I can say is America has some serious issues. Black is black is black. That ranges from light skinned to ebony. THe reason that little girl in the opening clip didn’t like her skin colour is because her mother / family hadn’t taught how to be proud of her skin colour. I was born in the UK to Nigerian parents. I’m darker than my mother and brother. Who cares. Has that stopped me from becoming a doctor? NO. Has that stopped me having friends of ALL colours? NO. Has it stopped me from getting married? NO. These children need to be instilled with self pride about who they are and where they’ve come from. That girl should have been looking up to people like Michelle Obama instead of being allowed to feel low about being black.
Also on a separate note, in the UK it would be offensive to a black person to call them ‘dark skinned’ or ‘coloured’. We prefer black. Because that’s what we are.
Amen Liz B…thats a word from God that you just spoke and people need to take notes on that. This country is one of the only countries that make a big fuss about color, yet we have some of the worst school systems. We need to be making a big fuss about that..thats god for what you just spoke
Amen Liz B…thats a word from God that you just spoke and people need to take notes on that. This country is one of the only countries that make a big fuss about color, yet we have some of the worst school systems. We need to be making a big fuss about that..thats god for what you just spoke
Thank you and well said. I am really not understanding all the fuss about the color of skin. I was a military brat who became a miitary member so I dont really have roots in one state or geographical area but I have met people all over. I have read articles about attractive women getting paid more than the precieved less attractive and i have met some women who were overweight, over BMI and dont look like the women in magazines or on tv but are banking in major dollars. All I can suggest is that an individual love oneself.
The bottom line is this: Self-esteem–whether you are light, caramel, or dark–starts at home! If girls are taught from the beginning that they are beautiful, smart, and other positive, confidence-builders, they will be equipped to deal with society’s bullshyt. What they will learn is that the problem isn’t them at all, but other people and will be able to blow off petty stuff like beauty and skin color.
Thing is..even white folk can see how damaged our self esteem is. Check out commercials on white stations. Whether you’re light or brown or dark,young or old as ‘Pine Sol lady, they won’t hire you without your own natural hair.As great an actress Ross was on "Girlfriends", even other light chic..wouldn’t have gotten roles without natural hair. We, Mona Scott and the likes will ONLY portray WHOLE Black women casts with straight weaves. TP casts all of our hues and hair preferences.
I will say this, I am 25 yrs old with cancer (I am light skinned very fair and had blonde hair and hazel eyes but I am not mixed, both parents are black and so are both sets of grandparents to give some perspective), I have very little hair, and I went to a beauty supply store to get some stuff for my scalp because of irritation before I moved. The black girls in that store gave me the DIRTIEST looks and even had the nerve to whisper "why she here she ain’t got no hair" all while giving me dirty looks the whole time I was there. These were dark skinned girls; now it is not that I am unaccustomed to being treated like this by my own race, but what shocked me is that the discrimination from MY OWN PEOPLE knew know bounds, not even to someone who has cancer. So I am done with this unity crap, this light skinned people ruin everything stuff. It just has no bearing when really it just boils down to low self esteem.
I think it’s amazing how two black parents can create a child wit blonde curly hair and blue eyes. This is rare that this happens and I’m not talking about albinos…funny the world we live in. Anyhoooooo black people shouldn’t bleach or lighten their skin regardless. Cos people you do that look far worse and open themselves to skin cancer…I’m darkskin and don’t give a hoot about what the media thinks…yh they may be saying light is better but they placing pressure on those with fairer complexions to be like the sexual goddesses that are out of this world which is so crazy and then they tease those who are of dark complexion at the other end of the spectrum. I’m for teamblackskin NOT teamdarkskin or teamlight…we should stop hating each other and allowing the media to mess up our minds. Geez! Black folks complexion has always been in variations from the world go so why are they trying to irradicate something God has created….(maybe that’s why they’re trying to get features that Black folks are naturally born with, athleticism, curves, strong facial features, youth, melanin, bum etc.)
Wow. This documentary hit home. I recently took a college class called "Race and Ethnicity", where we had to write a paper about an experience regarding our race and how it affected us.
When I was around 13, I use to think I was very ugly because I was dark-skinned. My siblings only added to the trauma because they would pick on me. My mom even told my nanny use to call me "dust" and my brother "dawn" because I was darker than him. This bothered me for years, all through middle school. It seemed the only girls to attract all the guys were fair or light skin with long straight hair and light colored eyes. It was depressing for me until I got to high school.
Soon after, it became more about curves and less about color ..in the era of the Uncle Lukes and 2 Live Crew. I was winning in that department with my voluptuous body and cute smile to match, lol.
Funny, I never knew what this prejudice amongst the Black race was called until I took my college class. I just remember all the White students staring at me when I told my story as if they couldn’t believe it exist within the Black community. Then my professor said..that’s "Colorism".
you guys just need to watch this documentary called Hidden Colors it will definitely open your eyes and make you aware of the great contribution and the beauty of Black people as a whole
i rented it from red box…it was interesting & hit a lot of points…seeing that I´mma darkie & HAVE ALMOST ALWAYS had issues with my tone…but now that i´m an adult I LOVE THIS SKIN I´M IN!!!
I do believe that dark skin people are treated different
I never knew I was dark until a so called friend told me I was. I just thought I was “true” brown. My parents never made a big deal out of color. We had all shades in the family. I knew there were ppl who were color crazy. As an adult, I am happy my parents raised me not to care about color.
yes they do….everybody knows this
Is this a serious question or is it rhetorical?
Ikr
Right!!! OWN is airing a special called Light Girls on Monday at 9pm. Dark Girls will air before it..please tune in!
Yes We Are……
Most black women are too ghetto and ratchet i’d stay sway
I thought it was eye opening and it shed a lot of light on the interactions I’ve had with darker skinned women. I think if your beauty is never validated in some way, it can lead to self hate.
It’s amazing how unlike a post about ATL Housewives- this post has very little responses. Sometimes the truth is more painful than what we care to admit.
RHOA post on Claudia covered it all and to STRAIGHT FROM THE A obviously it exists on both ends of the spectrum. Dark & Lt. skinned women have pain they’re both women of COLOR!!!! Ugh!!!! They ALL should be acknowledged and addressed that’s the issue. You’re only concerned w/one side of the story and issue! Please get yo life and don’t act like lt. Skinned women aren’t treated differently by their OWN race as well. Deal w/ YA own issues and stop using this as a platform to attack and single out one skin tone over another. Every Time I see this negative bs I will comment.
I never had a problem with it but it’s a fact. We need to stop as black ass people. We are the only race that has a numerous amount of color in our race. If you are light or dark it doesn’t matter to a white person because hated either way/ not all white people. It’s stupid people that discriminate against there own race not the white man it’s us.
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Colorism is also being internalized by Dark skin men men from the media images of Caucasian beauty that people of color globally are constantly subjected to. It has brainwashed men of color in all countries, especially those with the darkest hues among their people, to create a white, light skin preference. There is a direct connection between the global propagation of the white Jesus Christ image and colorism causing dark skin women globally to be excluded from these images of beauty. Ironically, dark skin Black men have the highest incarceration rates. We must confront this sickness head on. This Dark Girls film is a good start.