This post is inspired by an episode of "Girlfriends" that I watched today. In this specific episode,Toni, who is the most egotistical/vain of them all, had a conversation with her best friend Joan,who is light skinned/curly-haired about feeling like because she was dark skinned, she has to "do extra" to look and feel beautiful and she said that she wished that she had it as easy as Joan did,being light skinned.This threw me off for a bit,but it also got me to thinking about my OWN feelings of being "dark" skinned.
Growing up, I had 3 sisters.2 Light-skinned and "dark" skinned one.My mom (that raised me) was my complexion. Instead of treating us equally,she treated my light-skinned sisters better,and a lot of times,tried to make me feel like they were better than me.....it didn't work though. The only time I can honestly say that I DID feel less than was when I was around 8 years old and my mom was going out of town and so my great aunt was supposed to keep us until my mom came back. We drove all the way from Rialto to Marina Del Rey and when we got there, my great aunt didnt want to keep me or my older,dark skinned sister.....she was more than fine with keeping my light skinned sisters though. I didn't understand it at the time, but I remember my mom being on her cell phone,as we were driving off, going off about it and about how my Great aunt (Aunt Hattie was her name) hadn't changed. My family, on my mother's Father's side of the family are Creoles.....STRAIGHT Creoles.Broken French speaking,Tasso Eating,short tempered, CREOLES. They are beautiful, but they didn't look like me...at all. They ALL were light skinned,curly-haired GODDESSES in my eyes. After meeting more and more of THAT side of my family, I stopped "owning" that part of my heritage(Being partially Creole)
It's funny because, "light skinned/curly-hair" has become such a cliche....that wasn't the case for EITHER of my light skinned sisters OR my biological mother, who is also light-skinned.They may have been light skinned, but it was my dark skinned sister and I that got the curly hair...lol. My youngest sister has ALWAYS been jealous of that and says she got stuck with "nigger napps"...lol
I've NEVER really felt like my sister was prettier than me because she had lighter skin, nor do I ever really feel like my best friend will attract more guys JUST because she has lighter skin. I just feel like if you're pretty,you're pretty, regardless of the color of your skin....PERIOD. I love the color of my skin and instead of insecurities,it's given me confidence...people ALWAYS compliment me on my skin/complexion and I love it. BUT I have also had my share of those "back handed" comments....I've DEF been told that I was "very pretty" for a dark skinned girl,as if dark skinned girls are supposed to be ugly by nature....like it's so rare to find a dark skinned girl that's half decent.....it's annoying,but it's also the way of the world.
Bottomline:Beauty is far more than skin deep and No matter what color you are, you are who you are....NOT the color of your skin. Love yourelf...love your skin...it's YOUR'S and you're stuck with it, no matter how you feel about it!
