#teamlightskin vs #teamdarkskin explained

[aamy811]

If you're a POC you'll probably understand this better because I know in Asian cultures light skin vs dark skin is pretty big; but if not, here's a look into the black colorist divide.

What is light skin and dark skin?

I'm going to assume you can use reasoning to figure it out but obviously light skins are light skinned black people and dark skins are dark skinned black people.

I know many people get confused as to what qualifies as light skin and what qualifies as dark skin.

This shade and above is typically considered dark skin:

How did this get started?

So I could give a whole history lesson dating back to ancient Egypt and colonial powers invading Africa but that's too long and I have too few time. so put into a brief over time and history light skin people where typically nobility and dark skinned people were slaves and pesants (or during American slave trade house slave vs field slave). So at the very least skin color shows status.

This really started to take off, in America at least, during the 30's, through something called milatos. Milato is a person whose mixed between black and white. But has later meant to represent a lightskin black person. Milatos were people who had light skin and striaghter hair and would pass as white. They could walk around a lot of the racial descrimination happening at the time, so light skin became the cheat code to an easier life that everyone wanted.

How it's integrated into modern culture

So now with how it's incorporated into modern culture; with social network only amplifying all of the worlds problems and bringing them to the public eye. I'm not sure who started it or how but it's belived to have all started with #lightskin. Socially light skins are very proud to admit to being a light skin once again it's a status symbol. So page after page of selfies began to be tagged with the #teamlightskin and dark skins finally sticking up decided to fight back with their own team.

The best way to explain it is hair color

If you still don't understand, a light skin is the equavalent to white people's blonde. They are seen as less smart but their attractiveness makes up for it. They are also considered prettier. And dark skins are like brunettes; less attractive but considered more intelligent because they have to rely on their wits.

So...What is the point?

Just like blondes vs brunettes there really is no point. It's honestly bullshit we made to continue making peers and further seperation. I truly think the black community relies on other people's stadards of our own beauty, for validation. I think the only real way to get past it is to realise it doesn't really matter. Others have their own idea of how we look but we just need to choose to not to pay attention to them. Hopefully we can be the first group to understand that the diversity in us is what makes us so unique and beautiful.

The point of this isn't to make anyone feel bad...

So if you think this was an attack on light skin or white people, it geuinly isn't. I'm not blaming anyone because the whole thing is dumb. It's just to shed light on this because I've been asked about it many times.

[CuriousCody]

Genetically speaking, it's ludicrous to compare light skin against dark skin.

Something like 90% of light skin black people are actually mixed. Their phenotype (appearance) is influenced by genes from at least 2 groups of people. Because of that gene combination, they're bound to look slightly more exotic as they resemble a mixture of both.

The U. S. with its one drop rule puts black and mixed people in the same category.

You could apply to mestizos vs native Americans,

Mestizos are half native and half spaniard whereas native Americans (despite being a mixture of different Asian groups) have a consistent look.

Mestizos are thought of as one group (the mixed group)

Native Americans are thought of as another group.

Latin American countries don't put mestizos and native Americans in the same category but America with its one drop rule puts light skin (usually mixed) with black people (strong sub-Saharan phenotype), this causes beef because one believes itself to better than the other.

When you stop looking at things from the U. S. One drop rule, you'll notice it's stupid to compare them both lol. It's like comparing the taste of an Oreo to a regular Hershey chocolate bar. They're going to have different flavors lol

[GoodGirlsFinishLast]

You don't know anything

[Gangstarlicious]

@GoodGirlsFinishLast your absolutely right and correct. As soon as i heard 90% of light skin girls are mixed i stopped reading. When someone spits a claim like that it shows what little they know and how ignorant they truly are.

[GoodGirlsFinishLast]

I think the poster is unaware or uneducated on African genetic diversity and that we are the most genetically diverse in the world, point, blank, period...

It was a very ignorant post and showed the poster's lack of knowledge on our diversity.

[GoodGirlsFinishLast]

I think he's judging us by his own standards, where the majority of them in their race DO have a distinct look to them as a result of their ancestors migrating out of the continent and inbreeding among themselves. Making their small group of migrants that make have started out as a few hundres, or few thousand, spread into millions. This gives Europeans and Asians a distinct look and not too much diversity among themselves, the way Africans vary greatly in looks and skintone, even in our families where certain members could pass for other races, without recent or any admixture.

[GoodGirlsFinishLast]

excuse my typos, and errors. I wish they would let us go back and edit our post.

[CuriousCody]

@GoodGirlsFinishLast
By mixed, I'm talking about DNA, not what their parents are. If your DNA is not 100% sub-Saharan or mostly sub-Saharan, chances are the person's appearance will differ from a normal black (sub-Saharan) person.

I'm very aware how mixed Africans are. It's easily visible from the Berbers to Ethiopians.

And yes I know humans can from Africa and varied in appearance because of location.

But the light skin girls in America are usually mixed most of the time. Their ancestors were usually raped by white slave masters. That's not my opinion, that's history. My own slave ancestors were raped by French men. I have some French family and some recessive French DNA

[CuriousCody]

also I was referring to light skin people on America, not Africa. It's different there cause of the Berbers and the other groups, that's just genetic variety. Very interesting people

[simpleandclean101]

The black community is subconsciously (or flat out consciously) telling dark-skinned women they are not desirable BECAUSE of their dark skin. Lighter women (including white women), are put at the forefront of everything. As a result, tension, hatred and resentment are brought forth between darker women and lighter women in general.
There are numerous flyers for clubs pitting black women against each other based on their shade of brown. Competing for the most desirable in the public eye.
There was a flyer stating, "Light skin women free until 12 AM." As if we needed more proof there was a bias between the two shades of brown.
bossip.files.wordpress.com/.../...stpartyflyer.jpg
So to feel beautiful, dark-skinned women are bleaching their skin to a lighter shade because of the crap like this that goes on. To be "beautiful", and try to win over men who will end up running off after they get her pregnant anyhow.
It's gross.

[Dandeus]

The funny thing about is that while black girls bleach their skin to go light, white people spray chemicals or give themselves skin cancer to go dark.

https://www.badtans.com/

People are generally pretty stupid.

[Mistnigqa808]

"Light skin women free until 12 AM."HAHAHA THIS IS FUCKING SAD #IveSeenItAll

[Creole_Flavor]

"This really started to take off, in America at least, during the 30's, through something called milatos" It goes back farther than that at least slavery times and it mulatto but any way. Since slavery, I'm sure people know that black people and white people made babies whether the women were being raped or they were secret lovers. These mixed children, if they were not killed worked in the house and got special privileges because of their fair skin and hair so they were envied by others because they were not treated as equal or not allowed to mingle with each other by their masters. Where I live, back in the day Creoles were not allowed to date or associate with blacks who were not light skinned to keep the blood line pur which is stupid because we are French, Spanish, African and/or Native American but over time things have changed not all Creoles are light skinned. Let;s not forget about the brown paper bag test used to pick fat brothers and sorority sisters. Even today people sill do this especially in the south along with dancers or cheerleaders of certain HBCU's you will find that the girls are of a certain shade. All of this started back in slavery times when we were not allowed to mix with darker skinned and when we became free, sadly blacks still treated each other this way carrying this colorism because white was seen as pure and the closer you are the better you are so when black people have these preferences for light skin or want to bleach their skin or relax their hair and wear contacts all of that stems from colorism which is the closest thing to racism and I see it as a form of internal racism they are continuing what should be a part of the past and it is disgusting and sad.

[aamy811]

Like I said even earlier this is enervation a and centuries deep but to keep it brief I tried I use the simplest and most modern examples I could. But thanks for sharing😘

[Gangstarlicious]

A common misconception about this light skin dark skin thing is that light skins are closer to white while some of this may be true it is not indicative of every light skin black woman. Many many light skin women reside in Africa with shades as light without having been involved with some white blood. That said with being a black man i tend to find sistas from all light to dark skin shades beautiful i really do. It urks me when i have to see a lightening lotion beside my sisters or mothers bed it urks me when i have to see them use weaves or some artificial additive in their hair to dissolve their natural African given beauty. From the pics you have shown above specially the one with them 4 girls sitting besides each other i prefer girl number one in terms of beauty, Theirs a lot more to speak upon with issues like this that affect the black community primarily skin shade is one so is how our sistas dress and act provocatively that also annoys me. Hit me up if you want to have a discussion on either one. By the way thanks for posting this either way :)

[aamy811]

Your welcome!
By the way the picture of the four women is called Nubian skin. It's a brand that makes nude underwear for POC. You could probably go in and find the model's name.

[koko124]

Very very skeptical of this post. I don't think it has anything to do with status. Men aren't very status conscious to begin with; their preferences are mostly fixed and innate.

If you want to play the status card, then you would expect black men to be attracted to all white/Asian traits, but that's not what we see happening. Rather, black men prefer light skin/hair/eyes, but still want the physical traits that are specific to African women (big butts, thighs, tiny waist, etc)

On average, women of every race have lighter average skin color than the males, and in white people, they have higher rates of light eyes and light hair.

Furthermore, nearly all of the world's cultures associate dark colors with evil or badness. Black cats are considered bad luck, and crows and ravens are considered omens of bad times.

People are more likely to adopt light colored dogs than black dogs. There's actually something called "black dog syndrome", look it up. Colorism affects dogs and cats, lol.

People definitely have something against dark colors, and perceive them as threatening/dangerous, but it's probably mostly innate.

[aamy811]

Well in this case I think it is more of a status symbol. I think other cultures see black as evil but seeing as how we know black isn't evil we've separated it by class, therefore making black bad (not scary but bad). Let's just looks at history in Egypt light skin Arabs were royalty and slaves were black. Colonialism, white people were masters black people were slaves (that breaks down further into house vs field).
In fact I think it's less about status and more about privilege and acceptance. Black is more likely to be accepted when it's less black. Like looking at magazines where they're called beatiful but only when they have straight hair, small noses and more Eurocentric features. So I just think we want to hear we're accepted into a community that pushes us out.
Most black guys I know either want a whopty or just a light skin. There's actually a lot of social power that comes from getting a light skin (or other race person) in the black community.

[HikerDude]

That's very true. Black men mostly aren't attracted to white and Asian physical features, i. e. small butts, skinny legs, etc. What many people don't realize is that colorism was prevalent amongst white people as well. In the Victorian period, aristocrats cultivated pale complexions because swarthiness was seen as a sign of the peasant and low breeding.

[koko124]

"Well in this case I think it is more of a status symbol."

If it were really a status symbol, why wouldn't black men be attracted to everything else associated with white women? They're not, they generally only favor light skin, but want all the other African features.

[aamy811]

@HikerDude yeah I mentioned that on someone else comment. But I feel that that's more in the past now. The sun losses look seems to be what they're going for. Though they pale look really came back in the 90's and is still big due to the resure of grunge fashion.
Like I said (I'm not sure if I said it here) but I feel that most guys like the whooty look or even the asain equivalent. Where they have the bodily straights associated with black girls but facially they're still white. Like Kim kardashian, guys love her because she looks white slash/Arab but comes with the curves.
And as stated here many times guys main priority seems to be face.

[Gangstarlicious]

'Wrong being of African Descent I dont prefer lighter or darker skin. As a matter of fact I usually find myself most attracted to chocolate brown which is darker than light skin. This favoritism is not representative of most Africans or blacks because to do that you would have to cover the whole African Continent and the Carribeans too were black people reside. @Take Owner Generally speaking most black men prefer black women of all colors and shades and sizes.

[Gangstarlicious]

@TakeOwner So if a black men sees that your a black women with either dark or light skin he will still view as the same like birds of the same feather.

[JensonStatement]

I've got this a lot of times. Those lightskinned ni**as feel like they superior or something. Why they doing this shit. And the most fucked up part of it is that social media and the beauty standards for black people is lightskinned. I always see people that they don't eat chocolate women or something but they like eating peanut butter because it's to damn sweet.
Fuck off with this.
We all black. white people would consider you black if you light or dark or blackskinned. We'll all get called n** so what!!

All those lightskinned/blackskinned people who be like #Teamwtfeverskin; they litteraly say what @ThatguyDaniel says: We house slaves and you field slaves.

We can laugh all abouth our weird commons and habits but not this.

Lightskinned people calling darkskinned people "blackjack" or what ever!!!
This is also the reason why i consider lightskinned people white because they try to be white without acting white. Fuck that shit. I hope that those people who choose team will be considered as no skinned and got shot by cops and black people because you shouldn't do this.

Why do people and al those high fashion standard people lay their eyes on lightskinned people and especially mixed babies? Now everybody likes them and they feel all the way high up.

ONES AND FOR ALL; TEAM DARK/LIGHTSKINNED YOU STILL NIGGERS TO RACIST AND BLACK PEOPLE IN THE EYES OF WHITE PEOPLE!!
READ THIS SENTENCE ABOVE AND LET IT SINK!! IF NOW, DROWN IT AND NEVER LET IT COME ABOVE!!

[Mistnigqa808]

You know I love when I hear 2 ignorant ass Black people arguing over this "TEAM LIGHT SKIN VS TEAM DARK SKIN" #BS. Since I guess they FAIL to realise that to the WHITE MAN they're still a fucking #N-bomb. It doesn't matter if you're light as white nor dark as black... in their minds (and you will be treated as such) you're going to be grouped in as 1 via the 1 drop rule #TellMeImLying? i1127.photobucket.com/.../ezgif.com-add-text.gif

#RandomThought I love when I call a girl #BLACK right. And then she says, "I'M NOT BLACK, I'M LIGHT SKIN"... like huh? Ya Black right on pen and paper -_- #FacePalm #RantOver lol

Great take <3

[Mistnigqa808]

they're still a fucking #N-bomb (and you will be treated as such). It doesn't matter if you're light as white nor dark as black... in their minds *

[gapminder]

Well I personally don't believe that black (light or dark)= #N-bomb... just saying @Mistnigqa808

[Mistnigqa808]

@gapminder LMAO of course you and guys like @Phoenix98 + @whitsteve don't... but we both know your average white guy has no problem what so ever spewing the N-bomb if and when he's mad HAHAHAHAHAH. My goddamn GYM int he 4th grade who I respected like hell called me 1 for not picking up a damn dodge ball when it was time to leave class -_-. *goes to tag you ion the post where I told the story LOL*

[Phoenix98]

Uh hi lol.

[Creole_Flavor]

You're right

[Mistnigqa808]

@Creole_Flavor Black people (us) be fucking me up since I guess they (we) fail to realise that no matter how ya wanna cut it is it going to be us AGAINST the world (it's been proven time and time again LOL).

Hell, even if other races in-fight with each other at the end of the day they'll all still have 1 same common enemy it seems aka us as Blacks for some reason #NeverGetsOld HHAHAHAHA.

[Mistnigqa808]

Black people (us) be fucking me up. Since I guess they (we) fail to realise that no matter how ya wanna cut it, is it going to be us AGAINST the world (it's been proven time and time again LOL).

Hell, even if other races in-fight with each other at the end of the day they'll all still have the same common enemy it seems aka us as Blacks for some reason #NeverGetsOld HHAHAHAHA. *

[Creole_Flavor]

Yep we need to be sticking together but instead we are divided by ignorance shit like colorism.

[Gangstarlicious]

This is too true. This was a method implemented by those who wanted to cause further disputes and destruction in the homes of black families. Watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHbvTWccgYE ... I Seen this from the Willie Lynch story.. Check it Out...

[lanternhill]

(As an extremely light white woman)
This is super depressing. I've also heard the idea that dark skin tended to mean tan from working in the fields, therefore dark was associated with poor. I don't know what came first though: poor because dark or dark because poor.

Also, I've heard about the house slaves (and children of the whites, with special privileges etc.).

Not sure what to add here except that I think in any country people tend to want to resemble the group in power. See India for example (British colonial history). I'm not sure what lightness vs. darkness was like pre-Raj but yeah.

[aamy811]

They didn't really get special privileges but light skin slaves were considered more civil, white, and attractive so they we're house slaves

[theccanyon]

Holy krap. Last pic, woman farthest to the left = one of the most gorgeous human beings I have ever seen.

by the way, I am Asian and can attest to the light/dark obsession within the traditional, far Eastern community. This is a phenomenon that is prevalent all over the world and therefore cannot be explained by isolated events, like colonialism. Due to its widespread nature, the media would be a better explanation. However, light worship has existed in many cultures for centuries. I wonder why that is?

[aamy811]

Yup I just used black people because I feel like for us it's super serious because ideal that our colors vary the most (from having basically white skin to very dark brown)
But it's just amazing how many cultures are effected by it.
Also that picture is from a company called Nubian skin. They make nude colored undergarments for black women. So if you want to find the model you can probably find her that way.
But I seriously think she's flawless, she's so gorgeous.

[Lolomon]

I think categorizing people by race is racist being race isn't real , only race their is the human race. Second, mixed people, shouldn't have to choose to identify with either side of their mix they should be able to identofy with their own mix people. Third, skin color has been something prevelant in all cultures Asians, arabic, Asian, African. Europeans even preferred white skin, if you had a tan it means you where poor and had to work. Thats why so many queens used toxins on their skin to keep it white. White skin means you where young and youthful , when it darkened you where old. Yes, society has a problem accepting one ethnicity more than the other. And hollywood and media is the problem.

[aamy811]

Yeah I mentioned in other cultures that dark skin vs light skin exists. I just know this one best because I'm part of it.

[SakuraChii]

Did you watch the documentary light skin girls and dark skin girls? It gave a personal view for both skin tones. A dark skinned woman talked about how she felt undesirable while A light skinned woman talked about how she was constantly fetishized by her family members, raped and was in human trafficing. There can be cons to both, and actually some people view light skins as more intelligent, soft spoken and proper since they think that they are closer to white, I think that was explained I'm the documentary as well. It happens to Asian ethnicities as well.

[aamy811]

Yeah I mentioned other POC at the beginning because I know it happens to them too.
It depends where you go. Because they're always jokes where a black person does something dumb and they say "you pulled a lightskin" or "I had a lightskin moment". So by white people I think they're seen as more well spoken. But by a lot of black people it's the equivalent of being blonde. It really depends on the moment.

[springocelot]

What's a POC?

Well I'm Asian, and I can also attest this is true in the country I'm originally from. There is no in-fighting between the light and the dark though. It's just generally accepted that if you're dark you will have a lower lot in life than those who are light - not as good job opportunities, romantic partners, etc. barring some exception. That's why whitening products are such big business over there.

The media there says it's because of colonialism. But I think it goes way past that. Like another said, people just have this innate association of light being "clean" and dark being "dirty." I notice it in the media over there. In dramas, the bad guy usually has dark skin whereas the main character is light. In the music videos, the girlfriend is light while the side jobs are dark.

[Mistnigqa808]

poc
people of color, as in everybody except caucasians
Why is economic and political power in the hands of white folks if poc together make a majority?

[aamy811]

@Mistnigqa808 colonialism white/European countries population initially grew faster and their industrial revolution went faster. So when they invaded other countries people where sill fighting with spears while they had already developed guns.
Also they just had masses of people, so they'd send in wave after we've of people until they area was conquered.
In cases like native Americans they were taken by force but because they hadn't built up disease immunity for new diseases they hadn't faced they were wiped out when settlers brought over thins like small pic and plague.

[Mistnigqa808]

Crap I forgot to mention that i copy/pasted that from Urab Dictionary

[Mistnigqa808]

Urban *

[Anonymous]

I've never heard people think light skinned black women are less intelligent.
Anyways, this is stupid. Our skin color or shade doesn't make us worse or better. More or less stupid. It is stupid to be proud of being light skinned or dark skinned. This who #team shit is just bringing more hate between women. This whole Us vs. Them mentality is pain in the ass.

I have always thought light skinned and dark skinned black women are just as beautiful. But I do get dark skinnwd women get more shit. Which is fucking stupid.

[GoodGirlsFinishLast]

I think that colorism among people of African descent needs to stop...

It's sad. We are all the same rather we be as dark as night, a mudium brown tone, or ridiculously pale, we're all still African. Rather than fighting and hating each other for our diversity, we should be proud that we are the most diverse in the world, not only when it comes to skin color, but phenotypes and facial features as well. It's really sad, and it needs to stop. It looks pathetic, and soon we'll have a colorism issue as bad as the one in India if we keep this up.

[HikerDude]

First of all, the antiquated term for a mixed-race person is "mulatto," not "milato."

Second, this kind of thing proves that black people are much more obsessed with race than white people. You know what we think when we see a dark-skinned African woman standing next to a light-skinned African woman? Well, there are two black women. Seriously, this is y'all's thing, and has nothing to do with us.

[aamy811]

The things is just because I don't think where people acknowledge it as much doesn't mean that they don't do racially unequal things. But that's a whole other thing.
But I do think light skin vs dark skin is a thing white people have too. Way back in the day everyone wanted to be a blue blood.
Because most white people I know really only look for Eurocentric features on black people. So they also follow the light skin vs black skin thing but they don't identify on teams. If that makes sense.

[HikerDude]

The Euro obsession with light skin never really made it to America because we were a country of small farmers that never venerated the aristocracy. But that was a fashion trend that died out 100 years ago. White people give themselves skin cancer lying out in tropical sun, so that day is over.

As far as white people looking for European features, I think that's true. I also think it's true that African people prefer African features. That's why Sir Mix-a-Lot was rapping about big butts and largely denigrating the smaller physiques of white and Asian girls. It's why black and white people still mostly prefer to be with people of their own races. Birds of a feather, you know.

[aamy811]

I feel that the only thing that black people really look for is a curvy body. Because it's really common to get mocked and made fun of for having big lips or a big nose. So we like black bodies but not skin or facial feature. And most people are willing to overlook body for face.
And the tan skin is really new actually. It's only wen around since the 70's. And even though they enjoy being tan you never really hear "I want to have black skin". So we want to have light or tannish looking white skin. Not necessarily pale white skin.
Basically we want to look the way you guys want to look.

[HikerDude]

I will agree that things are trending towards a Latin type skin-tone preference, which is maybe why there's been a huge upsurge of Latin people in the media as sex symbols. Pale white people are no more celebrated than really dark-skinned black people, though. We feel bad showing our bodies in public after a winter spent indoors when we're Casper-white. We burn our skin in the sun and paint ourselves to look swarthier, so it runs both ways.

And I do think there's a marked difference in body-shape preferences. Black men like "thicker" bodies on their women, and black women like really muscular men. White and Asian women tend to prefer men a bit slimmer and don't show the strong preference for muscle, especially Asian women. Asian women see overly muscular men as being almost comical.

[aamy811]

I actually have to disagree with your statement about pale not being liked. There are a lot of models praised for their pale look because it gives them kind of a prepubescent innocent look that designers and magazines have been raving about since the 90's.
Also there are a lot of actresses like Emma stone, Dakota fanning, etc that are really praised for their paler looks.

[HikerDude]

Granted, I'm not into high fashion, but I don't know a single white person who's ever said, "Dang, I wish my skin were paler than it is." Don't think you're ever going to hear it, either.

[aamy811]

I think you will if your really into Asian fashion/culture or just high fashion then you'd want the pale look.

[bubbletrouble]

Good take. Colorism exists in every community, true. And I agree its complete bullshit lol. I get slack sometimes because I am blonde so people think I am stupid and I get teased by brunette girls sometimes. But blonde girls sometimes are placed on a pedestal just because a lot of white guys are dumb I guess haha. But yeah good take. I like Keke Palmer. She is a good actress.

[DivaMonae]

I think you've made an error the image of Keke Palmer you said this shade and above is typically considered dark skin...

I believe you meant this shade and below is typically considered dark skin. Or even if you didn't it should've said this shade and above is considered light skin.

[aamy811]

Welli guess I thought of it in a scale going bottom to top so for me it was that shade and above. But thanks.

[menina]

Good take!

When I hear people saying they're this or that because they're light skinned, I just start laughing on the inside.
It's so stupid, they don't understand that in the mind of a person who's not black, we are ALL black. It makes no sense!

[Doffydood]

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.,.,.,.,.

[Anonymous]

So sick of this shit. So what someone likes light skin over dark skin oh well. There's still plenty of people who like dark skin as well. Fuck em and society's standard of beauty because their standard of beauty isn't every person on earth standard of beauty.

[Bards]

Yeah its pretty stupid. My friends and I joke about it but its seriously a problem in the black community.

[powernate]

Things like this is what keeps our society not being one. Some people will fail to not see the bigger picture