In Defense of Light-Skinned Women
Black Women Who Bully Their Mixed-Race Sistren
A few days ago, I came across a video of Tameka, a 50 year old, light-skinned, green-eyed, curly-haired biracial woman who dared to call herself pretty, while complaining that she has experienced jealousy from other women due to the male attention that comes with her perceived beauty. This video went viral.
Here we go.
I actually found Tameka’s video through a dark-skinned black female YouTuber who was sharing her thoughts about it.
The first thing this Youtuber did, was cut down this woman a few notches. She raised her eyebrows and said Tameka must have a lot of self-confidence to go on the internet and call herself pretty.
She talked about this woman’s age, how she looks older than she is, and how she used to be “cute” when she was younger, but she has never been “drop-dead gorgeous”. She gently placed her hand on her chest and politely proclaimed that she personally did not find Tameka to be attractive, but that is just her humble opinion.
When I researched Tameka’s video, I found a bunch of video responses like this, mostly from other dark-skinned women. In fact, the first Youtuber was tame in comparison to other responses. The few videos and comments I saw were of black women calling Tameka a yellow raisin; Saying she looks like a zombie from Michael Jackson thriller; comparing her to E.T.; Saying she’s delusional for thinking she’s beautiful, etc. etc.
It was a loud chorus of “OH YOU THINK YOU CUTE?!?!”
All of the responses amplified the same message:
You don’t have true beauty. The only reason why you’re perceived as beautiful is due to a legacy of racism.
It’s socially acceptable to bully Tameka because she’s the privileged one.
And, I have a bone to pick about this.
Last week I wrote an essay called, “Colorism is a Sign of Cultural Degeneracy” where I talked about how colorist relationships are a clear sign of regressive, uncritical thought within a population.
I also mentioned that I have been on both sides of the “pretty light skinned girl” equation.
As a brown-skinned, Afro-Diasporan woman of mixed heritage, I have written about being the “pretty, fair-skinned, mixed girl” in certain environments because of my complexion and features. Despite this, I have also felt my beauty undervalued in other environments for those same features, along with my kinky hair.
It’s very interesting how colorism plays out depending on what end of the spectrum you’re on, relative to who you’re surrounded by.
Either way, this gives me the unique advantage of seeing both sides of the coin.
So while I abhor colorism and don’t appreciate seeing dark skin devalued, I also have a great deal of compassion for “pretty” light-skinned women, because, in some contexts, I happen to be one of them.
And even in the times when I am not, my Mother, Grandmother, and Aunties certainly are.