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I’ll do colorism now. So here’s a thread about colorism :(
Colorism is discrimination against one who has a dark skin tone compared to their counter parts who have a lighter skin tone.
Here’s the google definition.
Personally, I didn’t know what colorism was until my senior year in hs, so 2018. BUT, I’ve always seen things happen, I just didn’t know what to call it.
Growing up, no one talked about color in my house holds. One of my moms use to call me red but that was it. And even then, I didn’t know wtf she was talking about.
My bio mother birthed all shades: dark, brown, and light.
Cool right? Ik, my black mom is pretty awesome.
Anyways, I remember this one time in 2nd grade, a darkskin girl named Asia use to always get picked on. She had 4C hair and kids would make fun of her bc of how she wore it.
Growing up I got bullied too and I was actually a quiet child (hard to believe now). Anyways, I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know if I should tell my teacher (who was white) to do something, but she always seen what would happen to Asia.
One day, Asia wore a fake ponytail to school and a boy ripped it off her head. From my memory, I don’t remember laughing with everyone else bc I could see she was embarrassed. I just sat, bc I didn’t know what li ole me could have done to defend her.
I THINK I tried to comfort her after that. Shid, I was baldheaded myself so wtf I’ma laugh for?! I remember her crying bc, I mean who wouldn’t?!
Asia ended up moving. I believe I told her bye and gave her a hug her last day. It’s crazy bc she was so helpful, sweet, and nice and all the boys would just bully her. I hope she grew up to flourish into a beautiful young lady!
So that was 2nd grade. Fast forward to 4th grade. Oh 4th grade
This girl, lets call her Bobby. She was in my 4th grade class. She was lightskin, with green eyes, and a big butt who was supposed to be in the 5th grade.
She was the “princess” of my class. All the boys liked her. She had long hair and was older and she was the “it” girl.
She use to bully me sometimes but then wanted to be my friend when it was time to help her with her work.
She use to talk down on every single last one of the girls in my class while she had “friends” who she knew that the boys didn’t like to boost her image up even more following her around.
And they use to really defend this broad too. Like sus, she don’t even like you like det
ANYWAYS, this was one of my first experiences with a girl who thought she was queen bee bc of her skin tone and “ooos and ahhhs” of boys and sometimes other girls. Again, I didn’t know what it was but I just thought it was weird.
Now 6th grade :)
When I was in 6th grade, I started seeing more mixed people. I didn’t know there was a such thing as mixed until 6th grade. If you weren’t black, white, Mexican, or Asian, I thought you was an opp. Cause why tf you look like det?!
So BOOM. One day, this boy was sitting next to be at the lunch table. While waiting, we were talking and all of a sudden he told me “yk, if you looked like Ciara more, yk with the hair and smaller lips, I’d date you!”
Nigga-
Ciara was mixed btw. Again. All the boys liked her.
So I’m like, damn. If only I looked like Ciara. Now in my case this isn’t colorism, but for those who don’t think for one bit that mixed people have privilege, your delusional.
Anyways, 8th grade came and I had two bestfriends at the time! One was black but just really light and one was mixed.
Boys liked them and they liked me too (I think it’s bc I covered my hair so much). But sometimes I felt ugly around them.
The mixed one had got a nickname for her hair. And she stood by that nickname honey. I’d see how she would act with boys and around me, I felt like she was better than me. Bc that’s what I felt coming from everyone else.
So look, in middle school, I always wore a headband to cover my edges. They were already weak and I just didn’t feel like putting gel on em.
One day, she lifted my headband and I was SOOOOOO embarrassed. She has seen my napps and looked at me like I sh*t on my face.
So I’m like damn, she found out.
Anyways, a li bit before the school year ended, we stopped being friends. (She was lowkey fake.)
Freshman year baby!
Was nothing major but I remember talking about skin tone with some of my track sisters and I pointed out one of my teammates skintone (whom was dark).
I didn’t say anything bad about her skin, she just only heard the part about how I said she was dark and was offended. After I said she was dark, I continued and said that I always liked that complexion bc it was different.
Like I said, I never knew anything about color frfr until my senior yr. So like in middle school when the whole team lightskin vs darkskin came about, I was confused asf
Now none of the these I’ve stated were colorism on my end, I was just explaining how the lighter you are, often the better and that’s not true.
Personally, I feel that darkskin women face colorism more than darkskin men. Yes, colorism affects both, but having darkskin for a man is okay.
Darkskin men are the “KINGS” of the black community. The manly, handsome, more preferred black man.
Often I get confused on how one can be hateful towards a darkskin black woman for having darkskin, but if that’s the case, isn’t he himeself, hating his own skin?
One of the most stupid comments I’ve ever heard was “I don’t want a darkskin girl bc my kids gon come out black”. Nigga-
Take me as an example. My mom is darkskin. Both of her parents are darkskin. My dad is brown like a Kobe brown. My dad’s mom is dark and my dad’s dad is light, like me. You see how that gene skipped him and went to me?
So for the idiots that try and get with lighter black women to make lighter kids, think about me next time okay? Okay.
Another example, the asswipe that called the gorgeous Lupita unattractive has a Hispanic wife and all of their kids are brown and dark. Would ya look at them ripe ass apples!
Not just against men, but from non black people and lighter black people, darkskin women are sometimes looked at as masculine & angry.
But this isn’t true either bc I know plenty of sweet and kind dsw who are just full of life!
So for the black women who say dsm are the more manly bm in the community, please stop. Bc to some ears, you are saying that having darkskin = manly and some people are making taking that as you are manly yourself and that’s not true.
https://twitter.com/dangneshia/status/1153032200297668608?s=21 https://twitter.com/dangneshia/status/1153032200297668608
^^^^^That’s an old thread of my thoughts on colorism, my fingers tired lol
But I’ma finish this out. Darker people get treated unfairly due to something that isn’t changeable. And I don’t like that one bit.
But the women just take more bs and that isn’t fair either. It’s irritating bc the men who are suppose to understand you the most, don’t even defend or take up for you when needed.
I hope that the sigma against darkskin can change since it’s being talked about alot more. And I hope all my dark women continue to or find the beauty in their skin
