Color is a complex topic in the Black community. It creates a division that states that the lighter a Black person is, the better he/she is. The color complex dates back to the times of slavery when people were treated better if they had a lighter toned skin color. The lighter slaves were kept in the house while the darker slaves were forced to work long hours out on the plantation. These injustices have been carried over into the future generations and are still having the same effects today. Specifically with women, the color complex is believed to greatly affect women's success rates in America. It is believed that the lighter a woman is the more recognition and success she will gain in American society. For example, if oen is to examine hip hop videos, most "video vixens" are light skinned with nice bodies. They are at the front of the shot in the camera while the darker women are in the background of the shot. It makes lighter skinned women seem better than darker skinned women. Are they?
4 comments:
This is an extremely interesting topic that is seen all throughout American society. Lighter skinned women are not better than those Black women of a darker hue, they are only portrayed as such because the media makes them appear to be better. If the media could place positive images of Black women of all shades throughout politics, sports, and entertainment, young Blaxk girls and Black women aross American society would not be faced wtih a skin complex that complicates their image of beauty.
This is one particular topic that sometimes enrages me. There is nothing wrong with having a particular preference, but I have heard individuals speak of women of a darker tone as if they are inferior or the "runt" of the litter. I completely disagree with the notions that not only women, but people of a lighter tone are better than those of a darker tone. As long as we have frivolous issues like these within our own race, why should America respect us? There are more important issues to focus on besides one's color. You can only check Black at the end of the day, there's no box for "light black" or "dark black".
This battle dates back to the time of Willie Lynch, a slave owner, who had a meeting with fellow slave owners so that he could give them tips on how to keep the slave down. He believed that by causing division between the race, that ultimately they wouldn't band together. Light skin vs. Dark skin was a huge distinction that he felt that slave owners could utilize to keep the slaves divided. Hundreds of years later, these divisions still exist in today's society. Skin complexion is definitely a huge topic and is heavily related with the issue self-esteem. A lot of people, women in particular are insecure about themselves and their beauty because mainstream media seems to advocate that a lighter face is a better face. I for one am not light skinned, but I am well aware of my beauty and I know that my value extends way beyond the shade of my skin. To answer the question that was posed, NO light skinned women are not better than dark skinned women and vice versa. A person's value is given through their personal attributes and characteristics not the pigmentation of their skin.
I agree that this is something that is perpetuated within society. Yet I think that sometimes we, as Blacks, are victims of feeding into this stereotype, sometimes without even realizing it! We try new makeup because we see women like Beyonce and Rihanna advertising for it. Or we decide to relax our hair because we see lighter skinned women in the commercials with their hair freely flowing from side to side. I think that it is something that definitely needs to be changed within society or else it will destroy the race. How can we uplift ourselves if we don't want to pay homage and take pride in who we are as Black people?
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