If we look at history, light-skinned slaves were allowed to work inside of the slave owner’s homes and some were even able to walk around in public with their owners. They were deemed “house slaves,” because their skin tone was so light that they could pass for actually being white, which made them more acceptable. These same slaves got special privileges: They didn’t have to eat scraps of foods or wear dirty clothes. The dark-skinned slaves, or “field slaves” always had to work harder in the cotton fields.
Today, if you look at some families, some siblings feel that they are treated differently because of their skin tone. The lighter skinned people in the family are often deemed “pretty” more often than the darker skinned members of the family.
Additionally, many celebrities play a huge role in how skin tone is portrayed in the media. Many rappers have lyrics that insinuate light-skinned women are the most beautiful women in the world. There are only a handful of artists who would make a dark-skinned girl the “main girl” in a video, like Common and Trey Songz.
Last year, singer Fantasia admitted the reason she hasn’t graced many magazine covers is because of her skin tone. Singer and former member of Destiny’s Child Kelly Rowland’s response to being a dark-skinned woman in the industry: “I don’t let my skin tone define me.”
With all that said, some African American women may not have experienced discrimination based on their skin tone. Oftentimes, it’s not an issue until someone mentions it in the media. So, how do we overcome this issue? Maybe we should all take a page from Kelly’s book and not let our skin tone define us.
What do you think? IS skin tone still an issue in our community? Do you think women with darker complexions are seen as less beautiful? Are women of a lighter complexion treated differently or better by society? By the black community? Continue the conversation on the Glossy Blog by clicking HERE.
