Summer, and time for the racist comments

United States
April 11, 2007 9:01pm CST
I'm a white girl, red hair and pale complexion. Darn near glow in the dark white. I freckle, I burn, I don't tan. My legs have some scar tissue that isn't really too noticeable until the areas around it freckle. So I tend to stay out of the sun (we won't go into the prevalence of skin cancer in my family or the medications I take that caution against prolonged exposure to sunlight.) I don't wear shorts as a fashion statement, but in the summer when temperatures stay at or above 100 degrees round the clock, I wear them to keep from dying of heat stroke. So why is it that all my black and mexican friends feel it is ok to comment on how white my legs are (did they think they were any color other than white? That they would be purple or green maybe?) and to tell me I need to get more sun (read that as "You aren't brown or black enough.) How would black or brown skinned people feel if I told them summer is coming so they need to cover up, their skin is too dark already, they don't need to be any darker. I'm sure I would be called a racist or worse. So why is it ok for "people of color" (by the way, white and freckle red-brown are also colors) to make fun of me, based solely on my skin color?
3 people like this
2 responses
@5000ml (1923)
• Belgium
12 Apr 07
I'm very pale myself and my whole life I've had to face incredibly stupid questions like why I'm so pale. I've always stayed civil, but it irritates me so much because it's such an ignorant question (makes me feel like asking why they're so stupid). If I asked a black person why their face was so brown I'd immediately be branded as a racist, but it's apparently perfectly fine for everyone else to ask me the same ridiculous question! I do know why I have this skin color, it's due to my genes and heritage, but it's honestly no-one's business but mine. I deliberately stay quite pale even throughout the Summer, because I don't like to sunbathe and I'd rather not risk skincancer (I've always had a lot of moles on my skin). I guess I also stay pale just to piss other people off (which is a strange statement to make, but my skincolor does seem to bring the worst out in people!), it's been a long time since I believed I needed to look just like other people.
1 person likes this
@Michele21 (3093)
• United States
12 Apr 07
I get the same kind of comments, like you can help how white your legs are?? I don't tan easily...I just stay white and I get tired of people saying "Cover your leg they are blinding me!!"...I can only laugh and smile back so many times before I want to say, "Shut up idiot!!". I try not to wear shorts unless I am at home because I just don't like my legs...but in Texas it gets really hot so I usually end up in shorts at some point and I don't like the comments either!!
1 person likes this