Light-skinned vs. dark-skinned

[dlwickham]

http://theundefeated.com/features/light-skinned-vs-dark-skinned/

It was a brisk May night in Oakland, California, when the Golden State Warriors vanquished the Portland Trailblazers to snag a second consecutive berth in the 2016 Western Conference finals.

Before the game, reigning MVP Stephen Curry once again hoisted the Maurice Podoloff Trophy recognizing him as the league’s most-heralded player. As the glee gently took hold in the locker room and spilled into the hallway outside, I spoke to Curry and most of his family — his father, the 16-year NBA veteran Dell, his enchanting mother Sonya, his brother and current NBA player Seth, and his resourceful wife Ayesha. I discussed with them a wide range of issues — faith, fatherhood, feminism, and family values — seeking to gauge how they affect Curry and his loved ones.

Now that the Warriors are entering the NBA Finals to play the Cleveland Cavaliers, Curry’s profile as the league’s best player will be further elevated.

But there is a vexing issue I didn’t raise with Curry and his family — an issue that his celebrity has shined new light on: the difference one’s visibility makes to the race, and to the larger world, if one is light-skinned or dark-skinned.
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I'm curious as to people's opinions on this. The whole light skinned is soft thing makes sense because it's my understanding that the light skinned meant higher social status. But being darker skinned is more desirable because it makes you more real or authentic like the hood comment in the article? I didn't know that.

[brush]

1. Come on, do we really need to go there?

Are we subscribing to Willie Lynch's theories now?

[MADem]

2. Michael Eric Dyson just pulled the pin on a small but not inconsequential hand grenade.

Might as well talk this out, too. There are people who might object to his attempt to break this down, but I'm a fan of sunlight.

There's an old saying "Where you stand depends on where you sit" and a corollary to that is "My own is my own." We naturally gravitate to and display an unforced bias towards those who are like us. This isn't a hard-and-fast rule, but there is an element of truth to it.

Light skinned also means much more swirly and one must deny history if one doesn't acknowledge that there has been an attitude of a pecking order depending upon one's level of "brightness." Those ugly "House" v. "Field" commentaries bear this out. The nickname Pinky isn't about a preference for a particular color of a rose. This all gets mixed up with the "good hair" stuff and the societal push through media and magazines back in the bad old days which did not celebrate any features other than white/European to "assimilate" in whatever fashion one could manage. So, a bit of push-back against that kind of attitude is not really new at the community level, but bringing it out difinitively on to the national stage where people who are strangers to this sort of discussion (i.e. the insular white audience, by and large) hasn't yet really happened to this point.

This emphasis on not just color, but "shade," is seen not just here in USA among people of assorted colors, from black to brown to varieties and shades between, but in India, Pakistan, Iran, and south of the border all the way down to Chile and Argentina, etc. where that good old Lightning Cream is a top seller--you don't want your husband to leave you if you're "too dark" now, do you? That's how the ladies' magazines advertise this stuff. You see it in the littoral of Africa, in parts of the Iberian peninsula, and in Italy, too.

Maybe at some point we'll be able to celebrate every color, tone and shade, and not feel the need to change ourselves to suit some non-existent norm of beauty or handsomeness in pursuit of a bullshit "ideal."

Of course, that would cut into the bottom line of the Lightning Cream manufacturers, AND the Coppertone suntan cream ones too--to say nothing of the (orange and otherwise) spray tan factions! Their bottom line depends on us wanting to be darker, lighter, fatter, thinner, taller, shorter, etc. They want to create desire for an ideal appearance, and then separate us from our cash while we chase that impossible ideal.

[UMTerp01]

3. Oh my word. Let me grab a chair cuz I have something to say about this.

First off, it is a very complicated issue. Colorism is still a HUGE deal in the Black community. Type "Curry light skinned" on Twitter and you will see a lot of hateful comments in reference to him being light skinned. Some are joking but let it be the other way around and there be a bunch of "dark skinned" comments and all hell would break loose. The same comments are also attributed to Klay Thompson. I don't see light skin or dark skin necessarily meaning you are more authentic. That is more about the way you carry yourself.

I don't know who defined what Blackness is but as a light skinned person myself I have experienced this throughout the entirety of my life. First of all, I grew up with well off parents, went to private schools, and lived on the Main Line in the Philadelphia suburbs. There is something about being "real" or "authentically' Black that has to do with skin tone and mannerisms. I am very articulate, dress in a preppy style, and am told I "speak white" so I've dealt with the "oreo" comments or "you not a real n*gga". I'm 6'3" and can't play a lick of basketball. I play tennis. I was President of my senior class. I was a great student, things that are looked down upon unfortunately by too many of our Black youth who think that its a "White" thing to play tennis and be studious. Thank god Serena and Venus came along. So my being light skinned and not being the stereotypical "hard" Black man I feel like I have been treated as an "other" by some Blacks in the community.

Please understand that I am not painting all Black people with this brush. But there are plenty of Black people who do share this sentiment. Because I didn't grow up in North Philly or the tough areas of Philadelphia I am considered "bougie" automatically. I'll hear "oh you ain't no hood brotha". Plus my parents put me in Jack and Jill growing up and so many Black folks think that is bougie as hell. Well, ok...Jack and Jill is bougie as hell. You got me there.

On the flip side, I recognize that I have light skinned privilege. I have NEVER been pulled over for driving either of my parent's nice cars, or for driving the car I own now. I have NEVER been followed in a store. I have NEVER had White women clutch their purses in an elevator or cross the other side of the street when they see me coming. I have NEVER had a bad encounter with a police officer, nor have fears about them about myself personally. I have benefited personally and professionally because of my skin tone and I am able to recognize I have a certain privilege that darker skinned people typically do not have.

So yes OP, light skinned people are typically viewed as being more intelligent, more attractive, and are generally viewed higher in social status. These, of course, are all stereotypes. One of my very good friends is dark skinned and sadly I see differences in how we are treated even by other Black people who unfortunately have internalized the same ideas that light skinned is less threatening and more intelligent. Whenever we are together and someone needs to interact its always me who is approached first. I see how people treat me and how they treat him without knowing anything about us. However, he also grew up with parents who had money and is very articulate like I am. He also gets the "you're not a real brotha" treatment from others who know him.

Ultimately, its a complicated issue that has to do with a mix of complexion and mannerisms. Look at President Obama. David Plouffe came to Maryland after the '08 election to discuss Obama. I was in the audience and basically said that I don't think President Obama would have been elected if he wasn't socially acceptable by White people. By that I mean if he was the complexion of a Djimon Hounsou I don't think Obama becomes President. This country has an issue with dark skinned people. Hell, the world does. I'm part Puerto Rican. Dark skinned Puerto Ricans are looked down upon in Puerto Rico. Same as any other country where there are skin tone differences. Dark skinned Dominicans and dark skinned Brazilians...I mean you name the country where there are people of color and you will find this as an issue. Why do you think skin bleaching products sell so much? There's a lot of internalized hate as a result. And don't even get me started on grade of hair. I have a very fine grade of hair. When I let it grow out it gets curly and its that so called "good hair" that my people like to say so much. I hate the term "good hair". "Good hair" is when you have it. When you are bald then its bad.

I really could go on and on about this but its such a complex issue. Ultimately though, I have benefited from my complexion WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY more than any negative comments have brought me. Like I said, I recognize the privilege from it, which is why I always get so upset when White people don't recognize their White privilege. If I can recognize my privilege then why in the hell can't you recognize yours?

[brer cat]

5. That is a very informative post.

I spend a lot of time trying to understand the answer to your last question. There is certainly a lot of denial among whites that they have benefited from their race, and it frequently is accompanied by a racist comment. But that is a subject for another thread.

[dlwickham]

6. thank you

I was reading/listening to something about India and they were discussing the whole skin lightning issue.

Being gay, I understand the whole internalized hate thing and it's a shame that people are so hung up on what is "normal" that they can't accept themselves.

My niece is half Italian and she can go out in the sun for ten minutes and come back with a tan. I'm so damn pasty I don't tan just burn. I've traced my family history and you don't get more northern European than me. It sucks.

thanks for your comments though-I really appreciate it.

[FrenchieCat]

4. I am of a very light hue, with Green eyes and what some call "good hair"....

although good hair to me means you know how to maximize your hair to look good on your head...as a lot of "good hair" folks do nothing to their hair because they don't think they need to, and the result is their "good hair" doesn't look so good...but that's for another day....

Anyways, if one looks throughout history, whether one is fair or dark or a hue somewhere in the middle, bottomline for me is that we are still all Black folks, and that whatever happened to make some of us lighter than others has much more to do with history and parentage than anything any of us ever did. I grew up in France where I was considered too dark "la petite Negresse" for the White French folks that I lived around, and then emigrated here, where I was called Zebra, bleach face, half breed, and on and on by the Black folks that I lived around. In the end, I do believe that Black folks of the darker hue accept their light skinned brothers and sisters and visa versa....pretty much, as long as no one has atti"tude" of superiority...which yes, can happen.

Sure there is still colorism everywhere...and in fact other countries have it worse than here in the States...since most Black folks here have anywhere from 20% to 30% White in them anyways.....and we have learned over time that in the end, we are all "black"....as demonstrated by our biracial President....who hasn't been treated any better (in my opinion) from being 50% vs. 70%....or whatever.

We should also remember that many of the greatest African American history makers also were light skinned, many biracial....such as Booker T. Washington, Frederick Douglass, Malcom X, W.E.B. Dubois, Rosa Parks, Angela Davis, Huey Newton, Muhammad Ali, etc., etc., etc....

My very good friend wrote a book exactly about the many very light skinned folks in our history who could have passed.....but chose not to, instead made a difference for all Black Folks in this country......because like me and most of us....they understood clearly that being Black has not so much to do with the hue of one's skin......

BTW, It's a wonderful book.....

[dlwickham]

7. a friend of mine's favorite comment is calling someone high yellow

I thought he was talking about Asian people for the longest time.

[JustAnotherGen]

9. My dad's mom could have passed

She chose my grandfather (very dark) and history was made. 10 kids and 33 grandchildren and we represent the rainbow of black. Funny - even though my mom is white - I have cousins far lighter than me with light eyes. You never know how Black children will look.

Veering into white perception - in my mom's family of light eyes and hair with the exception of her mom (she had southern France dark hair/eyes Olive skin coloring) - the dark rich girl was the "button". Her grandfather gave me his mother's name because he knew at a few days old I was a knock off of his mom. Looking at pictures of her and him - I know where I come from.

My complexion - I know where I come from and how I've experienced America outside of the confines of my family.

I will read that book! At some point I'd love to chat about how I'm perceived/treated in France and more recently - Italy. I think shade perception exists in those two countries.

[Number23]

8. Why, Michael Eric Dyson? Just... why???

[kwassa]

10. My wife's family contains a broad range ....

from an aunt whose skin is as light as mine, to the darkest skin possible. I went to a wedding last weekend and saw it all again, in all it's beauty. The older generation of her father's side ranges from that light to medium dark, with all kinds of interesting looks. There is definitely a family look. Many families have this kind of range. The grandfather looked like a slightly black Italian, though I only met him briefly before he passed maybe 15 years ago. He came into the community as an outsider, with essentially a secret past that has never been divulged. I've personally never seen anything but total acceptance in this family for everyone, even my outside white self. The range of skin tones is the norm. The maternal side of my wife's family has visible Native American, seen in the faces of the grandfather's generation. Again, the range.