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Discussion: Black is Beautiful
Member Since: 6/16/2010
Posts: 19,686
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Ok first and foremost here I want to clarify that I am not trying to insult anyone or invade anyways privacy in any way, if I offend you at all please let me know and I will remedy it immediately.
So for my English Literature exam I am currently studying 2 great books, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain and The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. I may be going out on a limb here but I think most people here will have read one of them or both of them, if not then you really should. Obviously the topic of racial inequality is central in both works and in doing contextual research for my essays I've discovered some things that I both want other peoples opinions on and want to find more about.
I'm sure pretty much everyone has heard of the Black is Beautiful campaign, I'm sad to say it's not something I've paid much attention to being white myself and living in a much less culturally diverse area than I would like to, it's never really crossed my mind that this is an issue even today. In watching videos and reading articles I discovered that among some black communities they split each other into categories according to their 'blackness' calling each other red-boned, yellow-boned or black-boned (this is where I'm worried about offending people, I have no real idea what these mean to be honest) and young black women seem to be under the impression that a lighter skin is more desirable. Then I got to thinking, almost all black female stars are pretty light other than a select few such as Oprah Winfrey, Whoopi Goldberg and Grace Jones and that really struck me. Beyoncé, Halle Berry, Tyra Banks etc while being obviously black have relatively pale skin. And most black women in media alter their hair and natural appearance when what they have is beautiful in the first place. Is that intentional? Is that a product of the pressures of wider society?
I would just like to say that I think skin colour in no way defines how attractive of a person you are, I have always thought black women were beautiful in fact being extremely pale myself I've found myself being a little envious of their deep skin. Here I'd like to point out the irony that white people try to go dark...
What does this mean to you? Have you found any of this to be true? Is there internal racism occurring where people favour the lighter skinned? Is it just society on the whole? Or is it me looking way too far into a couple of books. Has anyone encountered what I am talking about?
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Member Since: 6/1/2010
Posts: 65,177
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There are many people, especially in the black community, who think being light-skinned is "better" and it's a scary feeling.
As far as the hair thing goes, it's the same thing. There is this issue with "good" and "bad" hair. You should probably watch Good Hair.
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Member Since: 2/16/2012
Posts: 10,807
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It is society, though. However even though Bey is light skinned, her music is incredibly black. People do tend to overlook faults with light skinned people a lot though, and i've seen many darker skinned people get criticised and vilified for things that aren't their fault or the media go OTT with their coverage. We have to live with it though 
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Member Since: 2/16/2012
Posts: 10,807
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Quote:
Originally posted by Cap10Planet
There are many people, especially in the black community, who think being light-skinned is "better" and it's a scary feeling.
As far as the hair thing goes, it's the same thing. There is this issue with "good" and "bad" hair. You should probably watch Good Hair.
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It is scary. I didn't know much till I watch some Tyra vids on youtube...I was like  they actually want to BE white, it's scary. I love my skin, I wouldn't want to be lighter than I am at all. Anyone seen the video of the guy who gets made up via makeup to look white and said he felt better? It was awful. It's a big US problem in black folk themselves, in the UK we have a more societal issue though ie. black folk in high positions be that in music or politics. We have the odd one but not much.
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Member Since: 6/26/2010
Posts: 28,299
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Sometimes I see those American shows (Tyra for example) when they talk about this and I get scared and sad at the same time.
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Member Since: 12/7/2011
Posts: 21,578
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There is alot of negativity around this subject in the black community, the dark skin vs light skin stuff really annoys me 
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Member Since: 3/27/2009
Posts: 30,284
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Quote:
Originally posted by Sláy
It is scary. I didn't know much till I watch some Tyra vids on youtube...I was like they actually want to BE white, it's scary. I love my skin, I wouldn't want to be lighter than I am at all. Anyone seen the video of the guy who gets made up via makeup to look white and said he felt better? It was awful. It's a big US problem in black folk themselves, in the UK we have a more societal issue though ie. black folk in high positions be that in music or politics. We have the odd one but not much. |
I remeber that episode when the parents bleached their children's skin and they were only like 5 or 6.
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Member Since: 2/16/2012
Posts: 10,807
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Quote:
Originally posted by Hooligan
I remeber that episode when the parents bleached their children's skin and they were only like 5 or 6.
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Mmmhhmm a hot mess and used like S curl on 4 year olds who hated it....some cray and scary ****
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Member Since: 3/27/2009
Posts: 30,284
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Quote:
Originally posted by SLAYANNA NAVY
There is alot of negativity around this subject in the black community, the dark skin vs light skin stuff really annoys me |
It is a completely out-dated and unfortunate topic that still gets harolded by many today.
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Member Since: 3/27/2009
Posts: 30,284
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Quote:
Originally posted by Sláy
Mmmhhmm a hot mess and used like S curl on 4 year olds who hated it....some cray and scary **** |
Their scalps and **** were burning too. They was crying they ass off.
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Member Since: 4/22/2011
Posts: 5,090
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Definitely. In a lot of black communities there is a stereotype that being light-skinned is more attractive and more beneficial in terms of getting a job etc. And I think that's all stemmed from slavery and colonisation, where you had the lighter slaves being favoured and doing easier work in the house while others laboured outside all day. This is because usually they were mixed because of rape between slave and master. Because they were the children of the white man they had more opportunities than other slaves. It's a really deep-rooted kind of self-hatred and it's sad tbh. But I also think part of the problem stems from this idea that European looks are the most beautiful, this idea still dominates Western culture for the most part.
EDIT: I just wanted to add that the problem isn't just limited to the US, it can be observed basically anywhere where slavery or colonisation has occurred. I am originally from South Africa and this is a huge problem there. I am sure it happens in other places too.
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Member Since: 12/7/2011
Posts: 21,578
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Quote:
Originally posted by Hooligan
It is a completely out-dated and unfortunate topic that still gets harolded by many today.
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I even know friends ( mainly girls) who are always going on about this, like one time I was with this black girl and I was talking to her about this girl I liked, she asked me to describe her and as soon as I said " mixed race" she got all upset, started ranting and said I only liked her because she was light skinned and I can't see past that and all this ******** There is so much divide in the black community nowadays it actually scares me.
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Member Since: 2/16/2012
Posts: 10,807
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^ Yep.Black beauty isn't celebrated. In the UK I always here 'X isn't pretty' 'She's not Bey' when IMO she is a fine ass sista. A lot of white folk I know don't see black women as beautiful, guys at school (and this is recent) used to say 'I wouldn't dare have a black kid' - even though that's impossible as you'd have a mixed one. See this issue? Mess. But black folk should be proud. That's why we need big dark skinned stars. It really does work.
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Member Since: 6/16/2010
Posts: 19,686
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Quote:
Originally posted by SLAYANNA NAVY
There is alot of negativity around this subject in the black community, the dark skin vs light skin stuff really annoys me |
I don't understand it...I mean the black community has been through hell, their treatment as a people was appalling and I understand that there will be a stigma for them that they are not equal are a lessor people due to the past but they also have a huge amount to be proud of, despite everything there is a black president, there are massive black celebrities and as a community they survived it all, showing great strength...so why turn against eachother? Why label some less black and more black...race is as much about culture as it is about appearance.
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Member Since: 4/6/2011
Posts: 10,635
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Tbh,I have my share of skin color issue. It never should be a factor as to who a person is,but at times you give into that shallowness within you. I am brown myself. At times it makes me feel great,at times i feel like people have biased judgement regarding me even before me opening my mouth. At that moment I get in secured. I know I shouldn't be,but it's easier said than done.
In the end i think i'd rather have variety of color where I live/work etc. It helps to break the barrier of being attached to a single color. What I have honestly learned is that you'll be missing out so MUCH if you are a racist. I have friends of different color/race who are in nature far more superior to some of my kind. So in the end,it's the person for me,not the color.
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Member Since: 6/16/2010
Posts: 19,686
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Quote:
Originally posted by Sláy
^ Yep.Black beauty isn't celebrated. In the UK I always here 'X isn't pretty' 'She's not Bey' when IMO she is a fine ass sista. A lot of white folk I know don't see black women as beautiful, guys at school (and this is recent) used to say 'I wouldn't dare have a black kid' - even though that's impossible as you'd have a mixed one. See this issue? Mess. But black folk should be proud. That's why we need big dark skinned stars. It really does work.
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Belfast has recently been labelled the most racist city in the UK...which confuses me because I have never heard anything like that...not that I have been friends with many black people for the sheer reason that there aren't many.
Personally I think racism in the UK is direct more so towards Eastern Europeans and Arabs. I guess it is much more pertinent in the US.
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Member Since: 6/16/2010
Posts: 19,686
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Quote:
Originally posted by zombaland
Tbh,I have my share of skin color issue. It never should be a factor as to who a person is,but at times you give into that shallowness within you. I am brown myself. At times it makes me feel great,at times i feel like people have biased judgement regarding me even before me opening my mouth. At that moment I get in secured. I know I shouldn't be,but it's easier said than done.
In the end i think i'd rather have variety of color where I live/work etc. It helps to break the barrier of being attached to a single color. What I have honestly learned is that you'll be missing out so MUCH if you are a racist. I have friends of different color/race who are in nature far more superior to some of my kind. So in the end,it's the person for me,not the color.
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TBH you should be proud as hell, from what I have seen black people age so much more beautifully than their white neighbours...some don't appear to age at all.
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Member Since: 10/14/2011
Posts: 15,451
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I don't know if it'll be relevant to your project, but the light skin debate is MASSIVE in India.
There's a huge skin-whitening industry there. Lighter skin can be a sign of higher class and prosperity (it has colonial links to being formerly owned by the UK).
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Member Since: 6/16/2010
Posts: 19,686
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Could someone please explain to me what is meant by red-boned, yellow-boned, black-boned? I saw it in a documentary...middle school girls categorising eachother...saying red-boned blacks were the most desirable and I just...don't get it.
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Member Since: 6/16/2010
Posts: 19,686
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Quote:
Originally posted by jinzo
I don't know if it'll be relevant to your project, but the light skin debate is MASSIVE in India.
There's a huge skin-whitening industry there. Lighter skin can be a sign of higher class and prosperity (it has colonial links to being formerly owned by the UK).
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I have noticed that bollywood stars are significantly paler.
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