It’s based upon my personal experience of being a dark-skinned child and called many kinds of names from elementary school up until high school. I tried to put bleach on my skin to lighten it because I thought it was ugly. I just wanted an opportunity to give a voice to the voiceless because there’s shame involved in the sense that a lot of women don’t say anything because people are going to think they’re complaining or weak. Considering your personal experiences, why did you choose to focus on women as opposed to men? There were some things that had happened to women that I know. Also, a friend of mine has two daughters that are dark complected and he had to console them for almost a month because they were the only two girls in their high school that were not invited to their senior prom because [of their skin color]. It brought up the immediacy. Black people and black women have drunk the Kool-Aid of the beauty business. You can go online and look at “#TeamLightSkinned” and “#TeamDarkSkinned” today. What’s ironic is that while black women that are light and dark are scrapping over this idiocy, white women are in tanning salons twice a week, getting their hair crinkled, getting butt lifts and Botox lips to look more ethnic. It points to an ignorance that is not acceptable. In “Dark Girls,” there’s a section that highlights the role of men in some of this discussion. How do men enter this conversation when it comes to colorism among black women? I’ve literally heard famous friends of mine who are athletes and have money, when we’re in a club or something, they’ll point to a light-skinned woman and say, “I want one of those.” Now, in their mind, a light-skinned woman is a trophy. A lot of black men believe this, that you get more power, more prestige if a lighter-skinned woman is on your arm. What happens to light-skinned women is they find out in relationships that since they’re a trophy, they’re transferable. It’s all produced by the beauty business. What the beauty business tells us is that God made a mistake. We’re going to sell you cosmetics, hair products, extensions and we’re going to sell you skin bleach. It’s a global phenomenon, not just a domestic American phenomenon.
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 00:02:28 +0000
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