Light Skinned Vs Dark Skinned

Being a black girl, I have always be exposed to the light skinned versus dark skinned debate in microscopic doses but the recent uproar and hysteria surrounding the issue means that I have been bombarded with a few more doses than I have been used to in previous years.

The portrayal of the issue appears as if to suggest that irrespective of personal judgement, light skinned or girls of fairer complexion are more beautiful than dark skinned girls.

Until a recent e-mail from a ‘peace hater’ sorry I meant friend threw me in the deep end and explicitly asked where I stood on the debate; I managed to steer completely clear of the issue.

Sidebar: Please take into account the aforementioned ‘Personal Judgement’

Now, I could easily come to an easy end by concluding that beauty is in the eye of the beholder (which I happen to disagree with) but I am far too controversial and drama hungry...

…Ideological state mediums have taught us that light skinned girls are more beautiful that girls of a darker complexion. It’s everywhere around us, seeing pop stars start out as cocoa beans and over the years transform into almond seeds and seeing models getting lightened and photo-shopped in an attempt to make black models appear more ‘European’ means that we forced to accept the superiority of light skinned beauty.  

What I think bothered me the MOST about the whole light skinned superiority hysteria was our willingness to accept the ideology with open minds. Without question, doubt or interjections.

Time spent over thinking the scenario brought to mind a question

‘If you didn’t look in the mirror, how would you know you’re black?’

Now most people would say you wouldn’t. Which is a fair answer but I beg to differ.

If you didn’t look in the mirror, you’d know you were black because of the way people treated you:

-Oxford University would be a dream in two nights away. ALWAYS

-The police for no apparent reason would stop you if you drove a nice car

-You’ll hardly be accepted in a modelling agency and

-When you go in a shop, the security would escort you around for the duration of your shopping trip even if you have no intention of shoplifting.  

There’s no doubt that for a long time, white skin superiority has been the accepted ideology ask students, models, drivers or go to an airport as an ordinary black person carrying Louis Vuitton luggage. What makes it even sadder is that even as a black community, we accept these ideologies and form our so called ‘opinions’ based on these ideas so much so that we’d rather see beauty in skin complexions that are closet to the white skin, find attraction in relaxed hair, weave and all things that make us a little bit more ‘European’ than the next black girl and then condemn the darker girls that wear natural hair because the look ‘Fresh’ and ‘Immature’

So light skin versus Dark skin?

Well, there is NO light skin versus Dark skin because light skin won when a world-renowned modelling agency said

‘Africans would be more beautiful if they were all white…’ and light skinned girls are simply closest to this ‘beautiful’.

        Roses with thorns and A kiss with a mouldy mouth