black and proud

this is a piece i read on a blog i follow. from what i gathered in the time i've followed her is that she's a beautiful nigerian young lady who has great taste in clothing and cartoons. this piece touched me because of her honesty and eloquence. follow her at we're all liars.  her blog name is ironic when you take her candor into consideration.  so please read, think and discuss...

 Dark Skin
Tar Baby, African Booty Scratcher, Blacky, Midnight. “Kids can be cruel” is an understatement. Growing up being dark skinned seemed to be a curse. I couldn’t understand why I couldn’t look like the rest of my Nigerian family members (cousins who are part Egyptian and Yemenese) with lighter skin and hair that was still “presentable” when wet. As I got older, I didn’t grow more accepting of my skin color but more aware that being dark skin was not only a sin on the playground but it was taboo in the media. Music videos that were full of girls whose skin tone told stories of mixed ancestry. Then I got older and the media was no longer my dictator of beauty but instead it was the men I met on a daily basis. The typical qualifications for a “bad bitch” never failed to entail light skinned, red bone, or yellow. I was none of the above, so where did that leave me?


A few years later I can say that I have finally accepted who I am. It is not going to change. I am Nigerian. I am dark. I am very dark in fact. I have a pointy nose and eyes that are almond shape. I am 5’4 , 105 pounds and will most likely never be thick. When men describe their perfect woman…I often do not meet the physical qualifications. I have accepted this.


I have stopped letting the standards and constraints of those around me define what I think is beautiful. I see beauty in all types of people, things, and places that you may not find beautiful. You may even call me crazy if I described what gorgeous looks like to me.


I not only accept my skin color but I now embrace the fact that God found me tough enough to wear a skin tone that comes with hardships. A skin tone that requires confidence to pull off. A skin tone that may sometimes be overlooked but holds spirits that can never be crushed.


I am Dark Skinned. This will never change, and finally 22 years later, I would never want it to.
we're all liars...

good, right?  feel free to comment on how you've learned or are in the process of learning how to love yourself...

besos jenna pearle*