Until very recently, I was very secure in my dark skin. That security has been shaken and tested over the recent past. See , I’ve always had very uneven skin tone, where my face is darker than the rest of my body. Think it’s from both my parents genes fighting for space, mum is light skinned while dad is dark skinned. Go figure!
Anyhu…
Come the era of social media and with it came all types of online models. One thing that these girls and guys have in common is their light skin. Some even went ahead to declare how much it took to bleach their skin, apparently it’s upward of 10 milli, 10 freakin milli for some upgraded version of ‘carolite’, Google carolite for those on the outs . Funny thing is that the rest of their bodies, especially the knuckles and knees usually ‘refuse’ to corporate. To be fair even Michael Jackson could never get his knuckles completely white. But nothing that a little filter on those smart phones can’t fix. After all, social media is all about fantasy. Very little of what you see on social media is true, including peoples appearances.
Both girls and guys are obsessed with ‘removing the tint’ from their beautiful dark complexion. It got me wondering, is it wrong to be darker? And what kind of image is it sending to the younger generation. When the standard definition of beauty is light? Here I am, a fully grown , secure, woman and the pressure is getting to me, what about a young teenage girl who is still discovering herself? When the internet is the biggest source of information as well as entertainment, it’s a very dangerous slip and slide that we are going into people.
But when the gorgeous Lupita Nyon’go decided to flaunt her super chocolate complexion, even refusing to be highlighted , it got me feeling better about my skin tone. I mean, it’s common knowledge that dark skin ages better, the high melanin content lowers the risk of skin cancer among other good things….lol
But seriously, I am now proud of my skin, it might be getting harder to find people who appreciate their dark skin, but I appreciate my dark luscious skin. Even Caucasians are tanning to become darker, not that it makes it better, but still shows the way this world is screwed up. The dark skinned people want to be lighter while the white people want to be darker. All to sell some beauty products that some corporations have created to make you insecure of what you are, whichever side of the block you fall into.
One of my biggest pet peeves is when someone approaches me with that shtupid line ‘I actually prefer dark skinned girls’, like cummon, I’m much more than my dark skin. In fact I loath anyone who points out to any of my physical attributes. Makes me feel like a piece of meat. Like when one chooses the best cut in a restaurant, ‘mmh, I think I’ll have the sirloin today’ I’m not a piece of meat! And I am definitely more than my skin tone, or hair or eyes, curves or even the lines on my neck. Some guy actually approached me because he likes women with those dark lines under the neck. What the heck! I didn’t even know that was a thing! Some fetishes are beyond weird, used to think that guys who are obsessed with women’s toes were weird, have experienced one of those too, but when you get one who is into the dark lines under your neck? I think I have seen and heard it all.
We should embrace our diversity even amongst our own people, the stereotyping and the preference for one skin tone over another, one body type over another should not make us feel segregated, it should make us embrace our differences.
I personally guys like with a bit of color on them, and that is ok. It doesn’t mean that I think that light skinned guys are unattractive, it’s just a preference. Not that I would turn down a ‘yellow yellow’ it’s just that to me a dark guy represents raw masculinity or that mandingo look of a guy beating his chest yelling like tarzan…..hahaha which I am sure also applies to Light skinned guys too. Diversity is good people. But diversity that segregates people sucks big time! I love my dark chocolate skin and wouldn’t change it for anything or anyone.
