Political Views on Skin Color

             Unfortunately, skin color issues are still alive and growing everyday. It's bad enough that sometimes African Americans are seen as "less worthy" because they don't have skin similar to Caucasians, but it's worse when African Americans have to split even more; between light and dark toned skin color. Dark skin is always associated with negative perceptions and stereotypical beliefs. For example, some people think that dark skin people are more likely to commit a crime. This is because dark toned people are also seen as being not smart, and capable of doing any wrong doings.

Dark-skinned African Americans also have less income and education than lighter skinned African Americans, or even Caucasians for that matter. They're less likely to be employed, yet African Americans of a lighter color could have jobs, own houses, and even get a more respectable experience in society than a dark toned person would. Going back to a couple blogs ago, light-skinned people better inherited opportunities and status. I stated how Willie Lynch believed that dark skinned African Americans should work outdoors and lighter skinned African Americans should work inside because they looked cleaner and  more appealing. Hence why lighter skinned people may think themselves that they are better than the opposite.

Martin Luther King stated, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." What does that mean to you? To me he's saying that he wanted equality. He wanted his children to grow up and have a fair chance in life because they're decent people. Not because they're skin is darker than that the "superior" one.

Personal Experience

Being that it's 2015, I think that everyone has either seen, heard, or been in some sort of racial issue. With everything that's been going on with police brutality against African Americans people know that the hate of certain skin colors is at its peak once again. If its not on television, its on the radio, the internet, or even in common conversations. Racial issues are very much alive and present. I know this is true because recently I experienced this.

About 2 weeks ago I went shopping. I wanted some nice pieces so I decided to go to a particular area in Little Rock. I had been there about an hour and managed to rack up about three bags with clothes and shoes. I had gotten tired so I decided to go to one last store and then leave. To keep from bashing to store I won't give away the name. I walked in and immediately the employees began to stare at me. It was awkward, but I continued to walk around the store. Maybe that wasn't a good idea because it wasn't long before on of them started to follow me, noticeably. Looking past the situation I might have been in a found three pieces I decided to buy. 


I went to the register, the cashier rang up my items, and when it was time for me to pay she finally spoke. She said, "Are you sure you can afford this?" Naturally you could understand my rage and confusion. I was lost for words. I asked her, "What makes you think I can't afford it?". From the bags in my hands from previous stores it was evident that I had money. She gave me a stern look and replied,"I know how your kind is." Immediately I knew what she was talking about. While I looked around to see who had heard what she had just said I looked at the other customers. With no doubt they were lighter than me or Caucasian. None of them were being followed or harrassed like I was. 


After that situation I quietly walked out of the store. I couldn't believe what had just happened. A full blown racial issue that I was unfortunately apart of. It wasn't because I was African American. It was because I wasn't light enough to get a pass. I didn't appear to blend in with the other Caucasian customers like the other lighter toned African Americans. Part of me think it happened for a reason; just so I can blog about it lol, and the other half just makes me realize what kind of world that we live in today. How it's possible that the issues of skin color and skin tones just won't change.  

Sources: https://www.google.com/search?q=racial+conflict&es_sm=122&biw=1920&bih=979&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAmoVChMIqa-5rdmayAIVAaMeCh3fcg0D#tbm=isch&q=skin+tone+conflict+with+society&imgrc=fux3HbVwBVq42M%3A

                   Disguising True Beauty  

You would be surprised at how many woman try to disguise their beauty everyday to look like something or someone that wasn't meant for them. Woman today are using excessive makeup and even bleaching of the skin to achieve a perfect "light skin color" look. They go through hours of surgery and tons of money to achieve these looks, but why? To be socially accepted through the use of beauty? What about the other characteristics that makes someone special? Because they're bleaching their skin you can suggest that they are unhappy with their natural skin color. They believe that the lighter you are the more you'll stand out, and the more socially accepted you'll be.

The most popular skin lighting cream for African Americans bought in a store is a product called Palmers Skin Success Eventone Fade Milk . It's used to give you softer, brighter, and younger looking skin. It can be used all over the body for a lighter and even skin tone. The fact that it's so easy to have plays a big part as well. I think that if the skin whitening products weren't so cheap less woman would use them. It would get them to accept, love, and embrace their natural skin color. 

*The clip below is a short video going in depth about skin bleaching.

When you saw that video how did you feel? What were your immediate thoughts? When I saw the video I felt bad for some of our African American woman who are not happy with their skin. They haven't gotten the chance to see it's true beauty. If I could I would have talks with woman about skin color. I'd motivate and inform them on how beautiful it is. I'd prove to them how bleaching, lightening, and enhancing the skin isn't even necessary. When I've made my point I'd have a group of woman with a new positive mindset on skin. Hopefully, what I shared with them they'll share with others and so forth. Maybe I could put a stop to disguising true beauty.




Sources:  https://www.google.com/search?q=unhappy+woman+with+their+skin&es_sm=122&biw=1920&bih=942&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAWoVChMI1Ivt04mJyAIVBouSCh3JIw-2#tbm=isch&q=palmers+skin+bleaching&imgrc=IL8F0LU6fAftUM%3A

                         Skin Color Takes Over Social Class 

Like social media glorifying lighter skin as the better skin, your social class can also be determined by the color of your skin. As silly as it sounds I believe it's true and I'll explain why. 

From past to present, beauty has been one of the most important things to woman. If you're "beautiful" then you're on a more important status than those who are not. Our social class suggests that lighter skin is highly associated with beauty. As Margaret L. Hunter explains, "The relationship between skin color and beauty is very important for woman because beauty is a form of social capital."  In so many words, your skin color determines your acceptance into a social class. This idea that social class is categorized by skin color was established by the white supremacy around the time of slavery. Lighter African American skin means closer to white skin. White skin means the top of the social class. 

In the picture above you can see that the social class difference between African Americans and Caucasians. You can imagine how similar the social acceptance of lighter colored African American would have with Caucasians. 

In the picture you see that all of these woman are classified as African American. Be honest with yourself when I ask you which one do you think is more socially accepted? Which woman do you immediately notice? Which one do you think would have the lead role in a movie or video? Which of these woman would more than likely would be known to be "superior" to the other woman? 

Lighter toned woman are also put on a higher social scale by African American men. It's like showing favoritism. I'm not saying that it's wrong to have your skin color preference, but why do you have it? Is your preference because you what skin tone you see being glorified the most, or because you see beauty in ALL skin, but chose one. The ideal woman for men is a light toned woman with long straight hair opposed to a darker toned woman with kinky hair. That whole idea causes lighter woman to have higher self-esteem and darker woman to have lower. It also causes darker toned woman to be ashamed and embarrassed of what they were born with. Beauty should be defined by whats within. What's on the outside should only be a bonus regarding all skin tones. 

Tomorrow when you go out in public, take a look at the world in a different perspective based on skin color. Notice how attitudes and behaviors differentiate based on skin color. 

Sources: 

http://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft6c6006s4;chunk.id=0;doc.view=print

 

http://www.mills.edu/academics/faculty/soc/mhunter/If%20You%20are%20Light%20You%20are%20Alright.pdf

Why Does The Media Praise Light Skin?

                           

Just to recap on last weeks post I talked about how you had to understand racism as a whole before you can understand racism against skin color. This week I'm going to talk about why lighter skin is more socially acceptable than darker skin. Take a moment to think.. how often is it that you see a darker toned man or woman on the cover of a magazine? In a position of high power(other than the president)? The main singer or rapper in a group? etc. Social media changes our perception of what beauty is and what's acceptable. 

In the music industry, its the lighter skin girl who would get the most attention and the best parts. According to social media, it's the skin color that would catch your attention before her skills. She's the one that's going to make the most money, and give "shine" to the company. In the movie Dream Girls, there is a scene where Effie, the lead singer, is moved out of the spotlight by their manager because she didn't have "the look" that sells records. The position was given to a group member with a light skin tone because her face seemed more appealing to listeners. 

                                      *Fast-forward one minute into the clip.


Now let's look at how movies glorify lighter skin. The movie The Color Purple is a great example of how a lighter skin is superior. Celie, the main character, goes through hell and back by her husband, Mister because she has darker skin. To him that made her ugly and useless. Though Celie is his wife through a forced marriage, he is in love with another woman, Shug Avery whom has a lighter complexion than her. To him Shug Avery is beautiful, exciting, and everything he wants in a woman. Soon, Celie is empowered by her to become a better person and love the skin she's in. 

*Celie on the left and Shug Avery on the right.

Zola Ndlovu, a young lady who makes blogs about race, culture, faith, growth, etc says that "... this idol of beauty that we're all worshiping is an illusion." I believe that she's absolutely right. Social media influences us to think that the lighter skin is the "chosen" skin. It makes darker toned woman want to change themselves in order to fit in and feel beautiful, but what is beauty? Beauty is defined by what you want it to be. What's beautiful to one person doesn't have to be beautiful to the next. 

To understand the importance of racism against skin color you must first understand racism as a whole. Racism began around the seventh century. African American were being murdered and beaten because of the color of their skin. Many centuries after that racism had gotten much worse. Even after slaves had moved on to the United States. There was no change in action; only a change in location.

The release of the William Lynch letter played a big part on racism. Essentially, his letter was a manual on how slave owners should treat their slaves. He was all about controlling and separating slaves by every characteristic, especially color. He even thought it was a good idea to separate African Americans by their skin color. To him, it made sense for lighter toned slaves to work in the house because they were smarter and beautiful. The darker toned slaves would work in the fields because they weren't as pretty, nor as smart. They didn't serve any other purpose other than doing field work. Because the lighter skin slaves worked in the house, they would be able to learn from their masters. They were taught things that darker toned slaves would never have the privilege of learning including speaking correct English. After slavery was abolished, there still was racism going in within the race. The separation of color between African American was obvious. At the turn of the 20th century, after slaves were supposedly free, the light skinned Blacks believed what they had been taught by the slave master and treated the dark skinned African Americans discriminatory. Stewart, Bernadette. "Art Exhibition Exposes Racism." 15 October 2009.

My name is Ramisha Cox, and my blogs will strictly be about skin color. Have you ever heard someone say, "Shes pretty for a dark girl", or "Light skin is always in?" How did it make you feel and why? I will discuss why people think it's okay to say those things, why they believe that it's true, how do we get everyone to see the truth, and much more. When reading my blogs have an open mind. Understand that I'm passionate about what I speak on, and that I will be as honest as I can.

I have always been interested in why some people think that it's okay to categorize others by skin color. My interest actually started when I was in high school. Like most, during my freshman year my friends I wanted to know what organizations and groups to join whether they were official or unofficial. We can across a group of called themselves "LightSkins". They were all African American girls who were of a lighter tone. What stuck out the most about them was how they acted, what they would say, and how they treated others that didn't look like them. To them, they were the superior ones because of the color of their skin. I couldn't understand why they thought that they were better because of their skin color, but deep down I knew that it wasn't right. As the years went by I did a lot of research, and I learned why some people think the way those girls did. 

Skin color does not make anyone better or worse than the next. People use terms like "lightskin" and "darkskin", but why? Why does that even matter? Why even use those words? Who do we blame? Google "beautiful women" under images and see what pops up. Outside of about five dark toned women all of the images are pictures of women with light toned woman. Why is that? It's obvious that the media glorifies women of a lighter tone. It's showing that it's more accepting than women of the opposite. People have to understand that not everyone is that same. 


 Every Saturday I will post a new blog on the subject. I'll relate back to the time period were we weren't even born all the way to the present day. Feel free to comment and reply back to my blogs. I'd like to know what you think and how you feel about them.