"You're Pretty For a Dark-Skinned Girl"

**Disclaimer: If you are sensitive about racial/Black issues, please do not read this post. And if you have something negative to say, please keep it to yourself. Thank you.**

Hey Everyone,

Hope you all are doing lovely and feeling great!!

Yes, this post is definitely a stray from my usual fashion or beauty related post. I wanted to share with you all something that has been on my mind for some time.

What is it to be a dark-skinned woman in this world?

Growing up, I had major problems with self-identity, mainly because of the color of my skin. I was a dark-skinned female in an era where being dark-skinned was not considered "beautiful". There were people throughout my lifetime that made me feel subordinate because of the color of my skin.

I've had guys and girls tell me that "I'm pretty for a dark-skinned girl." What does that mean?! Does it mean that automatically a woman not considered pretty because she's dark-skinned? Lol...people kill me!

Students in my graduate program and myself. I blocked out their faces because I didn't ask their permission to be put on the blog. 

As I have matured in age, I have come to accept myself and I am proud to be a beautiful dark-skinned woman! I know who I am... I am a child of God, fearfully and wonderfully made.  But sometimes my former struggles with identity come to haunt me. I am the only Black female in my graduate program (as you can see in the image above) and sometimes I do feel  uncomfortable. For example, although I was doing exceptionally well in my classes, a White professor at my academic institution told me that I didn't deserve to be there. That made me wonder if my race, or my skin color had anything to do with his statement.

Image Cred: Organicbeautyvixen.com

I'm so tired of the dark-skinned vs. light-skinned war. One of my male twitter friends tweeted that light-skinned girls are better than dark-skinned girls. There is also this supposedly straight male that tweeted he'd rather have sex with a man than a dark-skinned woman. He did add the #nohomo hashtag to the end of this tweet...but I don't think that did too much damage control. When I see/read things like this, I just laugh at the ignorance. Oh, lets not forget to mention, both of the males are dark-skinned themselves.

I feel like every dark-skinned woman has a story about the unfortunate societal issues she has faced because of her skin color. There is this new documentary entitled "Dark Girls" that explores the "stigma" behind being a dark-skinned Black women in society. Below is a preview of the film. I was  so captivated by it. I can identify with the stories of all the women in the preview. I missed the New York screening , but I cannot wait until it is released on DVD so I can watch the full documentary. Even if you are not a dark-skinned Black woman,  please support this documentary. The preview alone is very eye-opening. To find a screening of the movie near you, click here.

 

Dark Girls: Preview from Bradinn French on Vimeo.

With that said...my dark-skinned ladies love yourself and know your worth!! Don't let anybody put you down because of the color of your skin! There is this awesome book called The Skin I'm In by Sharon G. Flake. Although some will call it a kiddie book, it was one of those books that was really helped me overcome my struggles with identity. It's about the hardships that a young dark-skinned girl overcomes and her journey towards accepting and loving herself . I highly suggest that everyone reads this book, especially if you are a dark-skinned female. I read The Skin I'm In the summer before I attended high school and it really helped me learn to accept myself for who I am!

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Hope you enjoyed this post!

xoxo

-Cherrie <3

P.S. If you are a dark-skinned woman who would like to be featured on CherrieAmore, email me at Cherrie.Amore@gmail.com. Im starting a new series that features dark-skinned women!