World Beauty Standards and Skin-Color...

I was commenting on another thread when it suddenly hit me how important skin-color is, throughout the entire world.

The first time that I really noticed it, was when I was playing in the playground with other kids at about the age of seven. This really cute, dark-skinned, little girl named Linda, leaned over and kissed this light-skinned boy, named Jimmy, on the cheek while we were playing hide-and-go-seek. All three of us were hiding in this large cement water pipe that had been installed on our school playground. Suddenly, Jimmy jumped out of the pipe and started to frantically rub his face with his shirt sleeve like something really nasty was on it. I asked him what was wrong with him, he said," That black bitch Linda just kissed me, you saw it!" Linda, immediately began crying! Crying like she had been punched in the stomach or something.

I've mentally played that scene again and again in my mind. As I've grown older, I now see the social complexity of skin-color and psycho-political influence, it has upon us all. It's insidious but powerful!

All over the world, mates are being chosen based upon skin-color. Various chemical skin-tone lighteneners are being sold and distributed all over the world due to the high demand for lighter skin. This world phenomnon is found all over India, China, Japan, Malaysia, South East Asia, South America, Mexico, the United States, and guess where else...Africa! It's a multi-billion dollar industry!

Between the western media and the Colonial period of conquest, world beauty standards with regards to skin-color are just, FUCKED-UP!

At the end of the day Koanbred we all bleed the same colour which i think is the most important thing to remember. I'm white and live in the uk which is quite varied in ethnic types and for the most part is pretty laid back without
much racial tension which is how it should be.

I choose my friend based upon the values i was brought up with, which were politeness, manners, treat people how you yourself want to be treated. I try for the most part to live up to these ideals, but being human i do fail from time to time.

As a result i have quite a varied group of friend who are white, black, asian, based upon those values because they to have those same values as me.

It's ironic really that as soon as a white person goes on vacation, especially a brit, what's the first thing they want to do to say they've had a great time.

Brown their skin to get a tan.

In the words of jim morrison " PEOPLE ARE STRANGE"

Skin colour matters not.

Hey there TT Boy!

I'm really surprised that this site has white subscribers. That alone is quite refreshing. You know, as time goes on, I would hope that skin-color would mean less. However subconsciously, it subtilely has woven itself into the nuances of our beauty standards. It's not only skin-color, it's also the contour of our noses and the curliness of our hair. If you're a person of African descent, having dark skin along with thick lips, kinky hair, and a broad nose, then you most likely don't fit into the world-view of beauty.

Skin-color unfortunately does matter! It's surprising that it also is beginning to matter in countries like Nigeria and Senegal. Countries that are on the continent of Africa! I was reading an account of a person who was looking for an escort in Nigeria. The black cab driver told the customer that he would find him the "creme de la creme" of whores. The cab driver took this aristocratic-looking black guy to an area that was teaming with sex-workers. When the customer told the cab driver to stop and back-up, because he wanted to take a second look at a dark-skinned sex-worker, the cab driver said, " That's shit! That is not what you want! I'll show you something much lighter than that! " There are plenty of accounts like this one. This case is not isolated by any means!

Not only are Nigerian women using skin-lighteners, they are also beginning to dye their hair blonde!

Who knows where all of this is headed! Maybe typically strong black and typically strong white features are both subconsciously being eliminated and we're slowly evolving to something towards the middle. Something like people who look more like Arabs or Samoans or something, I don't know. What I do know is that, western media and the ripples of Colonialism has had its deleterious effects upon people of African descent.

I am a lover of the human race, TT Boy! I love it when I see the races intermingle on common ground and not because the white folks have enough money to get the black folks to do whatever. However, this skin-lightening thing is a direct smack in the face of Africans and Dravidian Indians!

Love,
Koanbred

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TT BOY

At the end of the day Koanbred we all bleed the same colour which i think is the most important thing to remember. I'm white and live in the uk which is quite varied in ethnic types and for the most part is pretty laid back without
much racial tension which is how it should be.

I choose my friend based upon the values i was brought up with, which were politeness, manners, treat people how you yourself want to be treated. I try for the most part to live up to these ideals, but being human i do fail from time to time.

As a result i have quite a varied group of friend who are white, black, asian, based upon those values because they to have those same values as me.

It's ironic really that as soon as a white person goes on vacation, especially a brit, what's the first thing they want to do to say they've had a great time.

Brown their skin to get a tan.

In the words of jim morrison " PEOPLE ARE STRANGE"

Skin colour matters not.

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Good post, and I Love Jim Morrison!! :cool:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Koanbred

Hey there TT Boy!

I'm really surprised that this site has white subscribers. That alone is quite refreshing. You know, as time goes on, I would hope that skin-color would mean less. However subconsciously, it subtilely has woven itself into the nuances of our beauty standards. It's not only skin-color, it's also the contour of our noses and the curliness of our hair. If you're a person of African descent, having dark skin along with thick lips, kinky hair, and a broad nose, then you most likely don't fit into the world-view of beauty.

Skin-color unfortunately does matter! It's surprising that it also is beginning to matter in countries like Nigeria and Senegal. Countries that are on the continent of Africa! I was reading an account of a person who was looking for an escort in Nigeria. The black cab driver told the customer that he would find him the "creme de la creme" of whores. The cab driver took this aristocratic-looking black guy to an area that was teaming with sex-workers. When the customer told the cab driver to stop and back-up, because he wanted to take a second look at a dark-skinned sex-worker, the cab driver said, " That's shit! That is not what you want! I'll show you something much lighter than that! " There are plenty of accounts like this one. This case is not isolated by any means!

Not only are Nigerian women using skin-lighteners, they are also beginning to dye their hair blonde!

Who knows where all of this is headed! Maybe typically strong black and typically strong white features are both subconsciously being eliminated and we're slowly evolving to something towards the middle. Something like people who look more like Arabs or Samoans or something, I don't know. What I do know is that, western media and the ripples of Colonialism has had its deleterious effects upon people of African descent.

I am a lover of the human race, TT Boy! I love it when I see the races intermingle on common ground and not because the white folks have enough money to get the black folks to do whatever. However, this skin-lightening thing is a direct smack in the face of Africans and Dravidian Indians!

Love,
Koanbred

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You will have to excuse me, as I rarely if ever bother with looking for pictures, but trust me, when it comes to "world-view of beauty" many would consider Runway Models to set that stage and standard, at least to a degree. More than a few of these Runway Models, purportedly some of the highest paid of any 'models' are from Africa and have the exact African (exotic) features you think the world doesn't consider beautiful. I'm not saying skin-colour doesn't matter, in the ways you are referring to here. I do concede that it is Western Europeans whose influence has shaped many aspects of todays society. I really don't see it as that big of a deal though. Be glad you are in America, a land which is basically a huge melting pot, and the variety of options for what YOU want to consider beautiful is near endless. As long as you know what you like, fuck what anyone else has to say on the matter.

I have never been told I can't do something based on my skin color. When I lived in Germany, no one stopped me from going skiing, horse-back riding, or hiking, some activities you wouldn't typically see a black person doing. When I was in the newly minted Czech Republic (92) on the outskirts of Prauge, which I would visit during the summers, there were still Russian tanks in the streets, mortar holes in buildings and what appeared to my young teenage eyes as general chaos. This was my first time in a 'war torn' envirnoment and I was scared shitless (on my first visit anyway) and intrigued by the people who rose from this chaos. I was always welcomed by a white Czech family who had a farm and we all took part in its upkeep equally. I had a girlfriend there and we would go ice skating and such together. Know who actually gave me trouble? It was a group of Turkish youths that displayed animosity, and it wasn't so much my skin color but my nationality being American and the clothes I wore.

Regarding 'chemical' skin-lighteners, this is a real problem, not so much because some want their skin to be a lighter color, to each their own as far as I'm concerned. The real issue is the health effects that come from these chemicals which while they do lighten the skin they also break down and destroy layers of the epidermis that are critical to a persons general health by making their skin thinner and more susceptible to disease and breakage.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Remy757Photog

You will have to excuse me, as I rarely if ever bother with looking for pictures, but trust me, when it comes to "world-view of beauty" many would consider Runway Models to set that stage and standard, at least to a degree. More than a few of these Runway Models, purportedly some of the highest paid of any 'models' are from Africa and have the exact African (exotic) features you think the world doesn't consider beautiful. I'm not saying skin-colour doesn't matter, in the ways you are referring to here. I do concede that it is Western Europeans whose influence has shaped many aspects of todays society. I really don't see it as that big of a deal though. Be glad you are in America, a land which is basically a huge melting pot, and the variety of options for what YOU want to consider beautiful is near endless. As long as you know what you like, fuck what anyone else has to say on the matter.

I have never been told I can't do something based on my skin color. When I lived in Germany, no one stopped me from going skiing, horse-back riding, or hiking, some activities you wouldn't typically see a black person doing. When I was in the newly minted Czech Republic (92) on the outskirts of Prauge, which I would visit during the summers, there were still Russian tanks in the streets, mortar holes in buildings and what appeared to my young teenage eyes as general chaos. This was my first time in a 'war torn' envirnoment and I was scared shitless (on my first visit anyway) and intrigued by the people who rose from this chaos. I was always welcomed by a white Czech family who had a farm and we all took part in its upkeep equally. I had a girlfriend there and we would go ice skating and such together. Know who actually gave me trouble? It was a group of Turkish youths that displayed animosity, and it wasn't so much my skin color but my nationality being American and the clothes I wore.

Regarding 'chemical' skin-lighteners, this is a real problem, not so much because some want their skin to be a lighter color, to each their own as far as I'm concerned. The real issue is the health effects that come from these chemicals which while they do lighten the skin they also break down and destroy layers of the epidermis that are critical to a persons general health by making their skin thinner and more susceptible to disease and breakage.

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Yes, Remy!

I too have traveled all over the place. While I found Germany to be somewhat distant in social acceptance of me in general, the absolute worse were Italy and Paris, France. Rural France was great!

Nobody feels more fortunate than I do by my citizenship here in America. However, that said, we still have a million miles to go with respect to homophobia, transphobia, sexism, and racism. Are we improving? Of course!
However, our progressive evolution is slow.

Insofar as skin lighteners are concerned, that's quite a different subject for me. Can you imagine a child growing up and actually believing that they are "ugly" because they are "too" dark. The Tyra show aired an entire program just on this issue alone. As it turns out, the mother actually helped to instill this rubbish into their own child's head. What low self-esteem she must have!
How deeply has this child (and million s of other children just like her) been psychologically affected? With what psychopathy has she been afflicted? This will certainly have rippling effects throughout her entire life. Just what might a black person be thinking about themselves and their ancestry, if they truly believe that they are less attractive because they're "too" dark?

We all need to learn that we are all beautiful, just the way that we are. We don't need to try to emulate someone elses features in order to be beautiful!

PS.

The trend of hiring Africans for the runway appears to be fading...

The good thing about this forum guys n gals is it brings us all together because of our mutual love for our beloved black tgirls.Like i said when i first joined and introduced myself i'm here to make friends and get to know people
on a more personal level. I think i can safely say in the small amount of time i've been here that is more than reassured.

Skin color on this forum,brings us together and doesn't divide us. i say amen to that.

Coudn't have had this discussion on hungangels. It would have degenerated into all out war.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TT BOY

The good thing about this forum guys n gals is it brings us all together because of our mutual love for our beloved black tgirls.Like i said when i first joined and introduced myself i'm here to make friends and get to know people
on a more personal level. I think i can safely say in the small amount of time i've been here that is more than reassured.

Skin color on this forum,brings us together and doesn't divide us. i say amen to that.

Coudn't have had this discussion on hungangels. It would have degenerated into all out war.

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It has been an absolute pleasure meeting you here in this forum TT Boy!

You seem like a really good person with a really warm heart and I respect you for being the great human being that you are!

Love,
Koanbred