Are young black and Asian women under pressure to lighten their skin?

Northampton, England
February 6, 2018 3:17pm CST
Beyonce’s dad has caused quite a stir by suggesting lighter skin black girls are far more successful and popular than darker skin black girls because of something called ‘colourism’, especially in America. The inference is that lighter black skinned black and Asian girls are maybe what a white audience and employers want. In Bollywood many white British actresses are cast to play Indians,. It’s unsure if Mathew Knowles is saying his daughter was the most successful solo career born out of Destiny’s Child because of that lighter skin tone (and getting lighter) or the other three girls didn’t make it so big because they were darker. Beyonce’s mom was black but very light skinned. Many would say the darker skinned Kelly Roland was a much better singer than Miss Knowles in Destinys Child. Beyonce’s dad was also the manager of Destiny’s Child so that clearly helped her daughter get on in the band, regardless of her skin tone. In fact the band split in half because the other two black girls accused him of favouritism. Maybe dad knew the lightest skinned one of the four had the best chance? Maybe he married alight skin black lady to give his kids a chance? Oprah Winfrey kind of disproves that proper attractive dark black women can’t make it in America though. I know in Asia and places like India that the lighter your skin the prouder some parents are of their children. In India you see women under umbrellas trying to avoid tanning. It’s something to do with darker skin associated with working outside and so a lower caste perceived. In African and Caribbean families some parents teach their kids that lighter skin is good. That to me is very sad. If a girl is pretty, whatever color she is, boys will go for her. If a girl is good at her job she will be promoted, however dark she is. Its seems the huge sales of skin whitening creams are more about family shame than white people waning black girls to be lighter. I love back girls. They are always fun and positive. It’s not nice to see magazines lightening Rihanna’s skin color and so warping young black girl’s idea of what is pretty and desirable. In the U.K a lot of black men marry or date white women. 52% of black Caribbean women are single parents here. Are dads trying to subconsciously dilute their kid’s skin colour to give them a better chance in life? Black men tend to leave the relationships with black women for some reason. Black women with mixed race kids get stick from some people in their own community, the same community neglecting black women in relationships, it seems. Black women tend not to date white men though. They are desperate for good black men. If lack men got their act together I think we would see black crime rates tumble in America.
7 people like this
9 responses
@irishidid (8687)
• United States
6 Feb 18
I've noticed that most light skinned black women and men have more white facial features. Most likely due to being mixed race. I've also seen some very dark, attractive black people. Then there's the "beauty is in the eye of the beholder". I think accepting yourself as you are, whether you are fat, thin, pretty, or ugly counts more than your looks.
1 person likes this
@DianneN (247219)
• United States
11 Feb 18
I'm heading to the pool now to work on my tan.
@DianneN (247219)
• United States
11 Feb 18
@thedevilinme No way!!!! I'm too shy and modest.
• Northampton, England
11 Feb 18
@DianneN Back in the day though ;-)
1 person likes this
• Northampton, England
11 Feb 18
pics for the boys please ;-)
1 person likes this
@cupkitties (7421)
• United States
9 Feb 18
Maybe the UK needs a problack movement like we have in the US. Granted that the majority of people in said group despise whites and call us cave beasts, but hey at least they uplift and support their women. Unfortunately it seems like a lot of black women want to waste their energy on the ones that don't respect them, yah know like the creepers that worship white women. Now speaking of Asians, a friend of mine went to one of the countries over there (I'm not going to name any names here, just because) but he noticed they tend to treat the darker skin of their people like crap. He says its a status thing there. He was on a trip with a bunch of his friends and a few of his inlaws from this place and one lady was darker than the rest of them.They treated her like a servant and the personal nanny for the whole journey.
@Theresaaiza (10487)
• Australia
7 Feb 18
Very true, at least in the Philippines, where I come from. I have also heard the same about a lot of people from other Asian countries too. It seems like dark skin is associated with poverty, or lack of class. Which couldn't be further from the truth. I would be hypocrite if I would say I never wished to have lighter skin. I've always felt like people do not give you much regard when you're dark. Walking into a mall or a store, people do not show you the same enthusiasm as they would if a white foreigner walked in. There's so much discrimination. I am very thankful to have migrated in Australia, cause then none of these things matters at all. In fact, white girls here prefer darker skin. Suddenly I don't feel like a lesser person simply because of my skin. But racism exists wherever you go, and no amount of whitening product will ever make me look like a natural caucasian girl so there's really no other better measure than to embrace and love yourself for whatever you were blessed with.
• Northampton, England
7 Feb 18
darker skin makes a girl sexier every time for me. It shows of their eyes
@Theresaaiza (10487)
• Australia
7 Feb 18
@thedevilinme and what if they wore dark sunglasses? (sorry im just being a smartass now ) Seriously though.....for me, it all comes down to how someone carries herself (or himself for that matter), hygiene and a sense of fashion, and by that I don't mean, someone who looks like she is walking down the catwalk kind of fashion.
@SIMPLYD (90722)
• Philippines
12 Feb 18
Here in the Philippines, whitening soaps are very prolific. Almost everyone, men and women, especially those teenagers, uses whitening soap. That's because their perception of beauty is being fair skinned when our natural color, brown is already nice to look at. I think it's because since we were born brown skinned, they also like to feel how it is to be light skinned.
@just4him (307407)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
7 Feb 18
I've never heard that theory.
@LadyDuck (459514)
• Switzerland
7 Feb 18
I would like to be a bit "tanned", I am white like a ghost. I have read from many women on this site that they are using lotions to whiten their skin.
@rakski (112925)
• Philippines
6 Feb 18
Good discussion. I am Asian but I prefer to have sun kissed colored skin. My skin is not dark but I still prefer brown skin. I think it is beautiful. You were right in saying a lot of whitening creams nowadays are available and a lot of people avail of them. People nowadays want porcelain white skin. People should not pair success or beauty with the color of skin. Beauty and success comes from within, from heart, determination and brains.
@A_loves_B (1608)
• Indonesia
7 Feb 18
I'm Asian, but I never want to have a light skin. I let my skin color stay natural.