Colorstruck Ideas

[AKA_Monet]

Why is it that it is mostly the ladies who are from either extent of the color complexion spectrum who have the most problems when it does not matter what your complexion looks like, if you accept an Afrikan ancestry, you will be discriminated against, regardless??? It is because "those" that made up the concept of "beauty" say anything Afrikan in THIS WORLD is to be abhorred...

Interesting how men do not seem to have this problem from what is actually called the "standard of beauty"... Notice how I intentionally did not indicate how men of Afrikan descent suffer from the justice system based on the color complexion spectrum...

All because of the regulation of a single gene can manage one's life...

[Honeykiss1974]

A Girl Like Me

http://www.uthtv.com/umedia/show/2052/

Kiri Davis, 16, Urban Academy I wanted to make a film that explored the standards of beauty imposed on today's black girls. How do these standards affect her self-esteem or self-image. Through making this film I learned a lot about where some of these standards might stem from.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is a great short film (7 minutes) and it's kind of sad that we have made little to no strides in terms of acceptance of who we are as well as those features that make us who we are.

What did you think of this short film?

[jubilance1922]

Originally Posted by Honeykiss1974

A Girl Like Me

http://www.uthtv.com/umedia/show/2052/

Kiri Davis, 16, Urban Academy I wanted to make a film that explored the standards of beauty imposed on today's black girls. How do these standards affect her self-esteem or self-image. Through making this film I learned a lot about where some of these standards might stem from.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is a great short film (7 minutes) and it's kind of sad that we have made little to no strides in terms of acceptance of who we are as well as those features that make us who we are.

What did you think of this short film?

I saw this clip at a dinner party last night. It looks to be a very interesting documentary.

As a child, I was raised by my extremely pro-Black father to know that I was beautiful and to know myself and my history. I ONLY had Black dolls, Black books, saw mostly Black films. We had only Black art on the walls. My siblings and I even had to write reports on various Black historical figures before we could go outside and play.

Now that I look back, I know that being raised that way really shaped who I am as a person now. And a lot of the struggles that the young ladies mentioned in the clip, I don't really deal with, because I had such a foundation as a child. Unfortunately, my upbringing is the exception and not the norm in most Black families.

[Little32]

I was finally able to get the video to play and I got bad chills watching those children with the dolls. When I was a kid, you would more likely see me playing with a transformer or a basketball. However, I imagine if given that test, I would choose the Black doll--the few dolls that I had were black.

I don't remember my family begin vehemently pro-black but we were raised to have pride in who we were. Still, I had some of the same questions that these girls had, once upon a time. Questions about African American culture and what our relationship is to Africans. I actually still have some of those questions. Also, I know that many of us have struggled with issues about our hair--if not our complexions-- at one time or another, whether we wear it natural, pressed, or permed. Often times those issues are imposed from the outside, but we have to contend with them nonetheless.

However, considering the age of the women, I think that their questioning is appropriate and will be fruitful. They are figuring out who they will be and it is encouraging that they can identify the pressures and the prejudices of the world around them rather being swept up in them.

It looks like an interesting documentary.

[SummerChild]

Originally Posted by AKA_Monet

Interesting how men do not seem to have this problem from what is actually called the "standard of beauty"...

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

[pinkies up]

I must be really messed up! Being bi-racial, I always HATED being so light skinned. I wanted to be darker like my friends and was always offended when they called me "white girl". I stayed in the sun for hours until all I got was an awful sunburn. I tried to remove myself from anything white; ya'll, I even tried to get a jehri curl!!! (that was awful...) When I became older, I found myself asking guys was the only reason they were attracted to me because I was light, brite, and dayum near white. When they were truthful and said "yes", they had to go. I have gotten over my complex somewhat, however I find there are difficulties being lightskinned. For instance, (these are the superficial ones) I cannot find the right foundation for me. This may seem trivial, but the white make-up is too pink and the black is too red. I can't wear all of the fly ass MAC pigments and colors like my Chocolate and Mocca friends do. I'm stuck with played out pink and mauve. Seriously, I have to deal with getting jobs and leadership positions and going out of my way to prove that I got them with my own merit and not because I was light enough to "pass". It's funny how the grass is always greener on the other side. *sigh*

[pinkies up]

Further, here in Cali, as you know, you see some Asian women walking around with parasols to block the
SC[/QUOTE]



Girl, I do that too. Not because I don't want to tan, but it's hot as HAYLE in Mississippi!

[PrettyGirl03]

Originally Posted by pinkies up

I must be really messed up! Being bi-racial, I always HATED being so light skinned. I wanted to be darker like my friends and was always offended when they called me "white girl". I stayed in the sun for hours until all I got was an awful sunburn. I tried to remove myself from anything white; ya'll, I even tried to get a jehri curl!!! (that was awful...) When I became older, I found myself asking guys was the only reason they were attracted to me because I was light, brite, and dayum near white. When they were truthful and said "yes", they had to go. I have gotten over my complex somewhat, however I find there are difficulties being lightskinned. For instance, (these are the superficial ones) I cannot find the right foundation for me. This may seem trivial, but the white make-up is too pink and the black is too red. I can't wear all of the fly ass MAC pigments and colors like my Chocolate and Mocca friends do. I'm stuck with played out pink and mauve. Seriously, I have to deal with getting jobs and leadership positions and going out of my way to prove that I got them with my own merit and not because I was light enough to "pass". It's funny how the grass is always greener on the other side. *sigh*

Oh there's make-up out there for you; you just have to go to the right spots.

I'm light skinned, and I use Clinique. I steer away from Mac, because for some reason it comes off too trendy.There's colors out there for all skin tones.

I got called some of everything, but I've never wanted to be anything but my regular ol' light skinned self. I actually had two college acquaintences (darker complexioned) get offended because I told them I wouldn't change my skin color. I had to ask them...would you change your's?

I don't particularly get into telling people what they should deem beautiful. If'n you don't like darker complexions so be it. If'n you don't like light brights, or folks with nappy hair, or girls with flat chests, or whatever, so. be. it. Just as long as you keep it to what you find beautiful and not how you treat those people, go for it.

[pinkies up]

PM me and let me know your favorite make-up brands.

[icebrAKA]

Originally Posted by southernelle25

The POV that 'one ounce of black blood makes you black' is really more popular as myth than it was as reality. In Plessy v. Ferguson, the court addressed this very matter:

"It is true that the question of the proportion of colored blood necessary to constitute a colored person, as distinguished from a white person, is one upon which there is a difference of opinion in the different states; some holding that any visible admixture of black blood stamps the person as belonging to the colored race (State v. Chavers, 5 Jones [N. C.] 1); others, that it depends upon the preponderance of blood (Gray v. State, 4 Ohio, 354; Monroe v. Collins, 17 Ohio St. 665); and still others, that the predominance of white blood must only be in the proportion of three-fourths (People v. Dean, 14 Mich. 406; Jones v. Com., 80 Va. 544)."

And to follow up PrettyGirl03's explanation as to what Creoles are, you may want to visit http://www.frenchcreoles.com for more information.

Websites like this is the reason why these children feel the way that they do. Since when did creole become a race?

[PrettyGirl03]

Originally Posted by icebrAKA

Websites like this is the reason why these children feel the way that they do. Since when did creole become a race?

I did not realize I had already responded to this post some time ago...lol

I think I've seen that site before, and yes I hate the notion that Creoles are some other race...lololol That's like saying southerners are some other race than black or white...lolol

[icebrAKA]

Originally Posted by PrettyGirl03

I did not realize I had already responded to this post some time ago...lol

I think I've seen that site before, and yes I hate the notion that Creoles are some other race...lololol That's like saying southerners are some other race than black or white...lolol

You know!! The one good thing that I did see on the site that I did like is the fact that one of the guys under the being creole section stated that "being creole is a culture"! I couldn't have said it better! Growing up in Southern Lousisiana was very different!

[Exquisite5]

When I saw this it reminded me of the discussion above about the one-drop rule.

[nonchalant]

My mother raised me and my sisters to believe that lightskinned is in. Anything less was not the best. She didn't allow us to go outside and play while the sun was out. She stated if we get too dark, we would only be our daddy's kids and not hers. Therefore, I had a color complex for a long time. Eventually, I grew out of it as I left from underneath her wing. I used to think that if you could not pass the paper bag test, you were not fit to be my friend. That is all in the past now. People grow and learn. It's all in how you grow up and what you are exposed to.

She treated dark skinned people quite differently. Even if they were her family members(own kids, grandkids, sisters, etc.). You can see the difference in her attitude towards light skinned people.

[Dionysus]

Originally Posted by nonchalant

My mother raised me and my sisters to believe that lightskinned is in. Anything less was not the best. She didn't allow us to go outside and play while the sun was out. She stated if we get too dark, we would only be our daddy's kids and not hers. Therefore, I had a color complex for a long time. Eventually, I grew out of it as I left from underneath her wing. I used to think that if you could not pass the paper bag test, you were not fit to be my friend. That is all in the past now. People grow and learn. It's all in how you grow up and what you are exposed to.

She treated dark skinned people quite differently. Even if they were her family members(own kids, grandkids, sisters, etc.). You can see the difference in her attitude towards light skinned people.

That sounds like my grandmother (the crazy one). I don't think she liked black people period. Example, she didn't like living around ANY black people, even if they had money (on the classist side too). But, she seemed to dislike the darker skinned ones even more.

I remember her never fixing my hair in braids when I was little. If I fixed some myself, she made me take them out. French braids were only acceptable. That really sucked because most of my girlfriends wore some type of braids, including a few white girls.