Controversial issue, but I'll post it anyway
I've recently got into a very nasty argument about this to the point I was ran out of a community. I would like to discuss/rant about it.
In this society, the darker you are, the more you're looked down upon. It's an injustice which we should all rebel. I think this applies to mulattos too, because some are darker than others. We're not looked at as white in this society, so we don't get any perks.
However, some mulattos are lighter than others and lighter than black people. For example, I have medium skin (as you can see in my pic), so to some, I'm seen as a "safe" black person, especially because I was raised by a white family, so I "act white." My black relatives always rave about my hair and skin color, which is seen as "good." This always disturbed me -- is there really THAT much self-hatred in the black community?
Also, black guys seem to flirt with me a lot because I'm seen as "safe." I told this one black guy who was hitting on me on the bus to GTFO, but he said something to the level of that I'm not like "other" black girls. Meaning, I'm seen as "safe," while black women get the short end of the stick because of negative stereotypes attached to them. I feel very uncomfortable with this, and it's wrong to deny to date people because of their skin color. The media proclaims that dark skin is ugly and bad, and people are stupid enough to fall for it. It's a major injustice in our society.
I'm rarely hit on by white men. I know this mainly because of my race. Anybody who's dark is "ugly." I've been in many online discussions where people have said, "I don't like black women. They're unattractive because they have nappy hair, big lips, and big noses." WTF, right? And when I tell them that's bluntly racist and people shouldn't discriminate on the basis of race when it comes to dating, they just say, "It's just my preference," as if that makes it okay.
I know that all men aren't like this, and they see past the media's ignorance. But these are just my personal experiences living in Southern Indiana, a terrible place to live if you're not a white, heterosexual male who goes to a Christian church every Sunday. So, I'm screwed.
Luckily, in the GLBT community (I'm bi), I find more openness when it comes to dating outside your race. I guess this is because the GLBT community also doesn't fit into the fabric of society.
I talked about my experiences in the community I mentioned, only to be attacked and called "privileged." One woman actually name-dropped me in a post, saying that she's angry that black men find me attractive, and it made her feel unattractive. I can't help what I look like, and I can't help my experiences. About everybody has insecurities about their looks because the media's standard of "beauty" is ridiculous. I'm overweight myself. And that standard of "beauty" is also based on race. I hear awful stories about black/biracial women relaxing their hair and bleaching their skin. I went through a period of self-hatred myself. When I was little, I used to take many showers, washing the "blackness" off of me because one girl in school called me "dirty." Now, I embrace what I am, but because my skin is somewhat lighter, I'm "privileged."
Has anybody else run into this? I understand black women's anger when it comes to this, and they have every right to be angry. But I think they should aim that anger towards the right people, like the media, instead of lighter-skinned people. I felt so upset when I was called "privileged," because I've faced racism myself, being the only dark person in the community in which I grew up. The online community actually brought me to tears, and it made me so angry because of the accusations put on me.
Being a mulatto, you certainly don't fit into the white community, but you're either praised (for the wrong reasons) or looked down upon because of the color of your skin. Colorism is a difficult issue to face, but has anybody here faced this in the black community? Have you ever been called "good" because you're light? Have you ever felt the rage of some blacks because you're light?
I hate to get into this topic again, because I really don't want to have the same experiences that I had on the online community I mentioned. Hopefully, this is a safe spot. If you could enlighten me on something, I'd appreciate that as well.
In this society, the darker you are, the more you're looked down upon. It's an injustice which we should all rebel. I think this applies to mulattos too, because some are darker than others. We're not looked at as white in this society, so we don't get any perks.
However, some mulattos are lighter than others and lighter than black people. For example, I have medium skin (as you can see in my pic), so to some, I'm seen as a "safe" black person, especially because I was raised by a white family, so I "act white." My black relatives always rave about my hair and skin color, which is seen as "good." This always disturbed me -- is there really THAT much self-hatred in the black community?
Also, black guys seem to flirt with me a lot because I'm seen as "safe." I told this one black guy who was hitting on me on the bus to GTFO, but he said something to the level of that I'm not like "other" black girls. Meaning, I'm seen as "safe," while black women get the short end of the stick because of negative stereotypes attached to them. I feel very uncomfortable with this, and it's wrong to deny to date people because of their skin color. The media proclaims that dark skin is ugly and bad, and people are stupid enough to fall for it. It's a major injustice in our society.
I'm rarely hit on by white men. I know this mainly because of my race. Anybody who's dark is "ugly." I've been in many online discussions where people have said, "I don't like black women. They're unattractive because they have nappy hair, big lips, and big noses." WTF, right? And when I tell them that's bluntly racist and people shouldn't discriminate on the basis of race when it comes to dating, they just say, "It's just my preference," as if that makes it okay.
I know that all men aren't like this, and they see past the media's ignorance. But these are just my personal experiences living in Southern Indiana, a terrible place to live if you're not a white, heterosexual male who goes to a Christian church every Sunday. So, I'm screwed.
Luckily, in the GLBT community (I'm bi), I find more openness when it comes to dating outside your race. I guess this is because the GLBT community also doesn't fit into the fabric of society.
I talked about my experiences in the community I mentioned, only to be attacked and called "privileged." One woman actually name-dropped me in a post, saying that she's angry that black men find me attractive, and it made her feel unattractive. I can't help what I look like, and I can't help my experiences. About everybody has insecurities about their looks because the media's standard of "beauty" is ridiculous. I'm overweight myself. And that standard of "beauty" is also based on race. I hear awful stories about black/biracial women relaxing their hair and bleaching their skin. I went through a period of self-hatred myself. When I was little, I used to take many showers, washing the "blackness" off of me because one girl in school called me "dirty." Now, I embrace what I am, but because my skin is somewhat lighter, I'm "privileged."
Has anybody else run into this? I understand black women's anger when it comes to this, and they have every right to be angry. But I think they should aim that anger towards the right people, like the media, instead of lighter-skinned people. I felt so upset when I was called "privileged," because I've faced racism myself, being the only dark person in the community in which I grew up. The online community actually brought me to tears, and it made me so angry because of the accusations put on me.
Being a mulatto, you certainly don't fit into the white community, but you're either praised (for the wrong reasons) or looked down upon because of the color of your skin. Colorism is a difficult issue to face, but has anybody here faced this in the black community? Have you ever been called "good" because you're light? Have you ever felt the rage of some blacks because you're light?
I hate to get into this topic again, because I really don't want to have the same experiences that I had on the online community I mentioned. Hopefully, this is a safe spot. If you could enlighten me on something, I'd appreciate that as well.