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Originally Posted by AKA_Monet
Interesting how men do not seem to have this problem from what is actually called the "standard of beauty"...
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Hi Soror, I have been told by one guy that I know who has a very light complexion that he was teased as a child and been told the same thing by a guy with a very dark complexion. I think that guys do experience this as well. I was also told by one of the above guys that the guys would tease each other about things like who had more African features. Apparently, it appears to be pervasive to some extent across the gender lines. I think it really all starts with the parenting (or lack thereof) with regard to these very relevant issues. To not address these issues and our relationship with mother Africa, etc. (as I read in someone else's post) just begs for others to define or fill in that information. Parents need to stop being negligent with addressing these issues. It is not a matter of turning your child into a racist, it is a matter of not leaving them ignorant about themselves to figure it out on their own (someday) or receive the wrong information from others. It is the same as educating a child about sex, etc. in my opinion. Now SC doesn't have any kids but I would/will address these issues with my children if/when I do.
Also Soror, you mentioned that it seems to be the women on the extreme that have the color complex (or something to that extent). In my very limited experience, it seems that women who are not on either extreme of the color spectrm may also have a color complex. For instance, I have one friend who is what I guess most would consider to be somewhere in the middle. Let her tell it, she is "brown" and you better not call her dark-skinned. Now Soror, she's in the middle and not on the extreme and she obviously has a color complex. Additionally, I have a friend who is a tan brown. She has let me and our friends know on more than one occasion that she is "dark" and not "light-skinned." So there you have it Soror. I think it is just pervasive at some level throughout.
Further, these issues are not just relevant to AAs as you know. Colorism is a phenom that is pervasive through many cultures including the Latino community and the Indian community. The Eurocentrist idea that the lighter the better is pervasive in these cultures as well. It was pointed out to me by a friend in grad school who considered herself a Latina, but who was from Spain with blue eyes and blond hair. She explained to me that oftentimes, the lighter-skinned Latinas are the ones that you see doing the news, etc. This is at least what she explained to me. Further, here in Cali, as you know, you see some Asian women walking around with parasols to block the sun and apparently fade creams have found a market with some of them as they try to keep their skin as porcelain white as possible. There was a front-page article about it in the LA Times a few months ago.
SC