Dark music, dark clothes, dark makeup, why not dark complexion?

[pomba gira]

Big issue in African Diaspora communities: lighter skins are more valued, period. The classic definition of a beauty is "light skinned with long hair".... or, gods forbid, "good hair" (meaning naturally straight). Why? Well, remember, we were taught to devalue ourselves for 300 years... that does not disappear overnight, and the "Black is Beautiful" consciousness raising of the early '70s IS overnight in historical terms.

I had a conversation about this with my mother recently; she was questioning the fact that she still catches herself using expressions like "good hair" and making statements like "she is dark skinned but very pretty" from time to time. Now, my mother is light skinned but married two dark skinned men. No big deal by 1980 when she hooked up w/stepdad, but back in 1960 it was not really expected for a light skinned woman from a bourgie family to marry a dark skinned man (unless he was from an even more bourgie family, which my dad is not). I am quite sure my MaMa heard more than one "you're going to marry HIM? Think about what your children will look like!" So she obviously doesn't find dark skin unattractive. She is a very "conscious" person and has traveled extensively in Africa... so she is not using these expressions from ignorance or from the kind of overt self-hatred that is unfortunately still prevalent among us. But these self-denigrating habits of speech still persist, and she was wondering why that is and what that says about her true feelings about self and culture. No answers from her snowbird firstborn, haha.

AFA dark skinned women in media... I've heard that one reason you don't see a lot of truly dark skinned actresses/models (only 2 I can think of are Alek Wek and Naomi Campbell) is that most photographers don't have the experience to do them justice. Don't know how true that is but it makes sense, back in the day anyone darker than brownskinned was liable to look horrible on camera. Better tech, more experience now, so I can't imagine it's the issue it once was... but maybe the mindset still persists that makes people shy away from darker skins when they're choosing beauties.

I am currently reading my students a book called The Skin I'm In, which deals with a 13-year-old's issues around being teased and bullied partly because of her dark skin. Another very enlightening book around this topic is Tenderheaded, a book of essays on Black women and the cultural/political significance of hair (the title is a word used for little girls who cry when their hair is combed).

Other thoughts: Racialicious, Racewire

Now, in India the issue is a little different: historically, having dark skin meant you were a peasant and therefore worked out in the sun... this is true in most Asian cultures. I'm sure having the Brits running things for a couple hundred years had some influence on attitudes, too.

...and I don't know if that extremely enhanced pic of Iman counts as a "real human".

[Msterbeau]

Big issue in African Diaspora communities: lighter skins are more valued, period. The classic definition of a beauty is "light skinned with long hair".... or, gods forbid, "good hair" (meaning naturally straight). Why? Well, remember, we were taught to devalue ourselves for 300 years... that does not disappear overnight, and the "Black is Beautiful" consciousness raising of the early '70s IS overnight in historical terms.

I had a conversation about this with my mother recently; she was questioning the fact that she still catches herself using expressions like "good hair" and making statements like "she is dark skinned but very pretty" from time to time. Now, my mother is light skinned but married two dark skinned men. No big deal by 1980 when she hooked up w/stepdad, but back in 1960 it was not really expected for a light skinned woman from a bourgie family to marry a dark skinned man (unless he was from an even more bourgie family, which my dad is not). I am quite sure my MaMa heard more than one "you're going to marry HIM? Think about what your children will look like!" So she obviously doesn't find dark skin unattractive. She is a very "conscious" person and has traveled extensively in Africa... so she is not using these expressions from ignorance or from the kind of overt self-hatred that is unfortunately still prevalent among us. But these self-denigrating habits of speech still persist, and she was wondering why that is and what that says about her true feelings about self and culture. No answers from her snowbird firstborn, haha.

AFA dark skinned women in media... I've heard that one reason you don't see a lot of truly dark skinned actresses/models (only 2 I can think of are Alek Wek and Naomi Campbell) is that most photographers don't have the experience to do them justice. Don't know how true that is but it makes sense, back in the day anyone darker than brownskinned was liable to look horrible on camera. Better tech, more experience now, so I can't imagine it's the issue it once was... but maybe the mindset still persists that makes people shy away from darker skins when they're choosing beauties.

I am currently reading my students a book called The Skin I'm In, which deals with a 13-year-old's issues around being teased and bullied partly because of her dark skin. Another very enlightening book around this topic is Tenderheaded, a book of essays on Black women and the cultural/political significance of hair (the title is a word used for little girls who cry when their hair is combed).

Other thoughts: Racialicious, Racewire

Now, in India the issue is a little different: historically, having dark skin meant you were a peasant and therefore worked out in the sun... this is true in most Asian cultures. I'm sure having the Brits running things for a couple hundred years had some influence on attitudes, too.

...and I don't know if that extremely enhanced pic of Iman counts as a "real human".

The issue about photography is interesting. It is certainly true to the extant that dark skin absorbs a lot more light and therefore requires a lot more of it to get a good exposure. Now I want to go find a dark skinned model to shoot and see how much I have to change my settings to compensate. Not that I'd mind shooting her...

[jynxxxedangel]

Big issue in African Diaspora communities: lighter skins are more valued, period. The classic definition of a beauty is "light skinned with long hair".... or, gods forbid, "good hair" (meaning naturally straight). Why? Well, remember, we were taught to devalue ourselves for 300 years... that does not disappear overnight, and the "Black is Beautiful" consciousness raising of the early '70s IS overnight in historical terms.

I had a conversation about this with my mother recently; she was questioning the fact that she still catches herself using expressions like "good hair" and making statements like "she is dark skinned but very pretty" from time to time. Now, my mother is light skinned but married two dark skinned men. No big deal by 1980 when she hooked up w/stepdad, but back in 1960 it was not really expected for a light skinned woman from a bourgie family to marry a dark skinned man (unless he was from an even more bourgie family, which my dad is not). I am quite sure my MaMa heard more than one "you're going to marry HIM? Think about what your children will look like!" So she obviously doesn't find dark skin unattractive. She is a very "conscious" person and has traveled extensively in Africa... so she is not using these expressions from ignorance or from the kind of overt self-hatred that is unfortunately still prevalent among us. But these self-denigrating habits of speech still persist, and she was wondering why that is and what that says about her true feelings about self and culture. No answers from her snowbird firstborn, haha.

AFA dark skinned women in media... I've heard that one reason you don't see a lot of truly dark skinned actresses/models (only 2 I can think of are Alek Wek and Naomi Campbell) is that most photographers don't have the experience to do them justice. Don't know how true that is but it makes sense, back in the day anyone darker than brownskinned was liable to look horrible on camera. Better tech, more experience now, so I can't imagine it's the issue it once was... but maybe the mindset still persists that makes people shy away from darker skins when they're choosing beauties.

I am currently reading my students a book called The Skin I'm In, which deals with a 13-year-old's issues around being teased and bullied partly because of her dark skin. Another very enlightening book around this topic is Tenderheaded, a book of essays on Black women and the cultural/political significance of hair (the title is a word used for little girls who cry when their hair is combed).

Other thoughts: Racialicious, Racewire

Now, in India the issue is a little different: historically, having dark skin meant you were a peasant and therefore worked out in the sun... this is true in most Asian cultures. I'm sure having the Brits running things for a couple hundred years had some influence on attitudes, too.

...and I don't know if that extremely enhanced pic of Iman counts as a "real human".

Thank you, Pomba Gira. I knew you could add some pepper to this thread.

[taysteewonderbunny]

(I used to wish god would make me a black girl when I was little because I thought they were the most beautiful on earth.)

[jynxxxedangel]

(I used to wish god would make me a black girl when I was little because I thought they were the most beautiful on earth.)

:drool :drool

[taysteewonderbunny]

:drool :drool

Yeah, I know, you know? I tried finding the girls so dark they're blue, but apparently there aren't enough photos of them on the interwebs. But mahogany is nice, huh?

[Msterbeau]

(I used to wish god would make me a black girl when I was little because I thought they were the most beautiful on earth.)

Imma have to concur with jynxxy on this. Particularly the last one:

[taysteewonderbunny]

Ha, more then.

oooh, THIS ONE!

Ah.......I wish this was me at left.

what Janet Jackson might have looked like before all those treatments

another of that model we love so well

This woman is a blogger on this site

I suppose that's enough for now.

[Oh_My_Goth]

I think you don't see allot of dark skinned women on DGN threads, because you don't typically find many goth chick pics that are of darker women, & that's most of what I see on here.. Not all, but a whole lot.

Shit, I just searched for like 20 min & this is all I could find.....

But yeah.. Dark skin is beautiful.....

[Mean Salley]

Yeah, I know, you know? I tried finding the girls so dark they're blue, but apparently there aren't enough photos of them on the interwebs. But mahogany is nice, huh?

Interesting historical note on Irish Gaelic; Many years ago when the Irish were first introduced to the very dark skinned Africans, the referred to them as "gorum fear" which translates to "blue man".

[jynxxxedangel]

Let's face it..

Black IS beautiful. How could anyone think differently? Be proud of your blackness, if you are.

[Simon Bar Sinister]

Yeah, I know, you know? I tried finding the girls so dark they're blue, but apparently there aren't enough photos of them on the interwebs. But mahogany is nice, huh?

Long ago, I met a Tamil couple who were that kind of dark. From what I've seen, Tamils have the darkest skin tones on the planet.

[taysteewonderbunny]

Long ago, I met a Tamil couple who were that kind of dark. From what I've seen, Tamils have the darkest skin tones on the planet.

Far from all of them, though. Most of the on-line images are of the paler ones.

Like her...(Kangana)

Or her...(Shreya)

both light skinned actresses.

[Msterbeau]

Oh my...