I myself am lightening for a few different reasons. One of them being, quite frankly, to increase my standing in society. I feel it will be of benefit to my professional and personal life i.e. employment and dating. It is not the main reason I am lightening, but it definitely adds a huge perk. Cutting through the BS that is political correctness, I think we can all agree that lighter skin means a better standing with society. This is the sad truth, but nonetheless the truth. Lighter skinned people are given preference in many different realms of society, from dating, to prison terms, to employment, etc.:
Quote: The study, which sampled over 12,000 black women imprisoned in North Carolina between 1995 and 2009, showed that light-skinned women were sentenced to 12 percent less time behind bars than their darker-skinned counterparts. The results also showed that having light skin reduces the actual time served by 11 percent.
Quote: A 2006 University of Georgia study showed that employers prefer light-skinned black men to dark-skinned men, regardless of their qualifications. We found that a light-skinned black male can have only a Bachelor’s degree and typical work experience and still be preferred over a dark-skinned black male with an MBA and past managerial positions,” said Matthew S. Harrison in 2006, then a doctoral student in applied industrial organizational psychology at Georgia.
Quote: In Oct. 2007, a Detroit party promoter caused an uproar when he promoted a party giving free admission to light-skinned women only. Ulysses Barnes — or “DJ Lish” — promoted a party for “Light Skinned Women & All Libras” but promptly cancelled it after women and activist groups protested the party’s premise.
Source: http://newsone.com/nation/tjstarr/light-skin-vs-dark-skin/
Is this fair? Of course not. But it is what it is. Moreover, lighter skinned individuals are seen as in a better light than darker skinned individual. This has become more of an issue of colorism than racism:
Quote: Voters’ preferences for the lighter black held regardless of the racial predispositions of the subject. Respondents also rated the light-skinned black candidate as being more intelligent, more experienced, and more trustworthy than his dark-skinned opponent. Thus, black candidates were disadvantaged by race, but the support eroded even further when the candidate’s complexion was dark.
Source: http://theboard.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/22/as-racism-wanes-colorism-persists/
Many mothers and grandmothers secretly (or openly) wish for that baby with green eyes, blond hair, and lighter skin. This is what is generally seen, and not the other way around. And this is not to say that everyone has these thoughts. Not at all. And to say IDGAF about what people say, is not a complete truth, for how society sees us affects our perception of ourselves. These conclusions are the result of the work of social scientists and will, as any other conclusion of social science, be generalization with many exceptions.
So I'm curious if there is anyone else out there whom feels the same as I do?
Quote: The study, which sampled over 12,000 black women imprisoned in North Carolina between 1995 and 2009, showed that light-skinned women were sentenced to 12 percent less time behind bars than their darker-skinned counterparts. The results also showed that having light skin reduces the actual time served by 11 percent.
Quote: A 2006 University of Georgia study showed that employers prefer light-skinned black men to dark-skinned men, regardless of their qualifications. We found that a light-skinned black male can have only a Bachelor’s degree and typical work experience and still be preferred over a dark-skinned black male with an MBA and past managerial positions,” said Matthew S. Harrison in 2006, then a doctoral student in applied industrial organizational psychology at Georgia.
Quote: In Oct. 2007, a Detroit party promoter caused an uproar when he promoted a party giving free admission to light-skinned women only. Ulysses Barnes — or “DJ Lish” — promoted a party for “Light Skinned Women & All Libras” but promptly cancelled it after women and activist groups protested the party’s premise.
Source: http://newsone.com/nation/tjstarr/light-skin-vs-dark-skin/
Is this fair? Of course not. But it is what it is. Moreover, lighter skinned individuals are seen as in a better light than darker skinned individual. This has become more of an issue of colorism than racism:
Quote: Voters’ preferences for the lighter black held regardless of the racial predispositions of the subject. Respondents also rated the light-skinned black candidate as being more intelligent, more experienced, and more trustworthy than his dark-skinned opponent. Thus, black candidates were disadvantaged by race, but the support eroded even further when the candidate’s complexion was dark.
Source: http://theboard.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/22/as-racism-wanes-colorism-persists/
Many mothers and grandmothers secretly (or openly) wish for that baby with green eyes, blond hair, and lighter skin. This is what is generally seen, and not the other way around. And this is not to say that everyone has these thoughts. Not at all. And to say IDGAF about what people say, is not a complete truth, for how society sees us affects our perception of ourselves. These conclusions are the result of the work of social scientists and will, as any other conclusion of social science, be generalization with many exceptions.
So I'm curious if there is anyone else out there whom feels the same as I do?