The Bane of Colorism
Colorism is such an interesting topic. It affects damn near all hued cultures. Steeped in both mythology and colonialism, it's a topic worthy of discussion. I think in the black community, if we want to see change, black men need to be a part of the conversation.
Light skinned women generally speaking have long been a preference for many and it's created unnecessary rifts between us. When we should be supporting one another, natural selection intervenes in that process, causing us to see the other as competition.
We have to start conversations with those men with that preference. You would deny the validity of another human being over something as trivial as skin color & hair texture. Why? Have you thought about it? Could it be rooted in the fact that you believe white skin is superior?
We need to raise our sons with the knowledge that we are souls on a human journey. Our external characteristics are far less important. What matters is our spirits and hearts. We need to raise them with a quality of self love that states I choose who I choose because I want them, not because society says I'm more of a man or I have more validity if I have a woman that looks a certain way (And that's characteristic of all cultures...white men wanting blond, thin women...same thing). It's only when we are evolved and fully conscious that we can transcend the messaging that states that our validity is based on anything other than what we already are. That what was assigned at birth is ours and it is precious. Only then can we look at someone else and say 'good for her, but I'm good too.'
My novel Dirty touches on this issue in reverse (for more information visit www.TonyaLampley.com).
Being light skinned does not exempt you from the messaging. We're all victims of it in some way. Self love is the only way we will heal it. Very important topic.
