"Black Is Beautiful!" say African American stu

Black Students Still Favor Lighter Skin, Study Finds
 
 A majority of African American students polled at a Midwestern university say lighter complexions are more attractive than darker ones, according to a study conducted by researchers from two Louisiana schools.
 
 The results, taken from a sample of 100 students, indicated that 96 percent of the men preferred a medium to light complexion in women while 70 percent of women found light skin of value in men.
 
 This latest analysis of mating preferences explored a number of probable causes, all of which were rooted in the "colorism" prevalent from slavery through the 1960s, where lighter skin typically meant more privilege. The results were published in 2006 in the journal Race, Gender and Class.
 
 Ashraf Esmail, a sociology and criminal justice professor at Delgado Community College in New Orleans, and Jas M. Sullivan, an assistant professor of political science and African American Studies at Louisiana State University, conducted the study.
 
 According to Sullivan, its purpose was to test whether the color line continues to be a problem for the African American community.
 
 �??We know that there has been a preference for lighter skin in the past as a result of racism,�?� said Sullivan, �??but we really wanted to know whether or not that preference still exists in the 21st century.�?�
 
 The researchers asked 50 African American men and 50 African American women, all students at a large Midwestern university, to participate in semi-structured interviews. The university was not named in the study and Sullivan declined to provide the name for this story.
 
 The students were all between 18 and 19 years old with complexions ranging from light to dark. Each subject was shown pictures of light, medium and dark-skinned men or women from fashion magazines and asked to rate the images based on attractiveness. In addition, each respondent was asked questions about their mating preferences in terms of skin color and about the value of skin color in the African American community.
 
 One reason for the difference in answers between African American men and African American women, according to the authors, is that women tended to take more characteristics into account, such as lips, hair, eyes, height and style of dress, when determining a man's attractiveness.
 
 The interviews pointed to slavery and a social stigma attached to darker skin.
 
 �??I think that people are valued for their light skin,�?� said one student. �??You can take this theory way back to the house slave mentality. I think a lot of people, because that was valued, were taught to value light skin. I think it is still an ongoing type of thing, and society really has not lost that altogether.�?�
 
 Both men and women cited media as a driving force in the preference for lighter skin.
 
 �??When you talk to a guy, he thinks that he wants a perfect girl he sees on the videos. Usually, the women portrayed in the videos are light-skinned and have long hair,�?� said one respondent.
 
 Still, another participant argued that African Americans don�??t divide themselves based on light and dark complexions. Rather, the greater issue is color prejudice in the United States as a whole.
 
 �??Black people just see all black people as black no matter if they are light or dark. If you have any black in you, the black community considers you black.�?�
 
 Analysis for the Esmail-Sullivan study took place in 2000. Though it is the most recent on the subject, its results differ dramatically from an earlier study of African American college students conducted in 1997.
 
 Louie E. Ross, then associate professor of sociology at Fayetteville State University in Fayetteville, N.C., interviewed 149 African American men and 236 African American women for his study, "Mate Selection Preferences among African American College Students." His research was conducted on the campuses of two historically black institutions in the Southeast; one public and one private.
 
 The Ross study indicated that only 16.4 percent of women would prefer to date a person of a lighter complexion and 16.8 percent of women would want to marry a person with light skin. The study showed that 33.3 percent of men preferred to date a person of a lighter complexion and 38.3 would prefer lighter skin in a marriage partner.
 
 Taken together, the research by Esmail and Sullivan and the earlier research by Ross indicate that colorism does have some impact on the African American community.
 
 Esmail and Sullivan concluded that, �??Further research in this area is needed. Clearly, colorism continues to plague the African-American community and we must first accept that claim and begin to find solutions that would ameliorate the superiority of light skin color to dark skin color.�?�
 
 Sullivan said there were plans to expand the research to other schools and to include historically black colleges. One of the issues he and Esmail plan to address is that colorism isn�??t unique to the African American community, he said.
 
 The New York Times reported on May 30 that the most popular cosmetic products among modern Indian women are those that lighten the skin. Didier Villanueva, country manager for L�??Oreal India, said in the article that "fairness creams" account for half of India�??s skin care market.
 
 In the 2005 book "Fair Women, Dark Men: The Forgotten Roots of Color Prejudice," Canadian anthropologist Peter Frost reports that lighter women were preferred in medieval Japan, Aztec Mexico and Moorish Spain, even before there was significant contact with Western ideology.
 
 Sullivan said, �??What we sought to uncover in this study is whether or not the preference for lighter skin still exists" in the African American community. �??Clearly you could make the connection between the preference for lighter skin and the past, but the deeper question, the question that needs much more observation is the why. Why does the black community self-select? Is this preference a dormant trait, is it something psychological, or is it just that light skin is all we see in the media and that affects our choices? These are the questions that still need answering.�?�
 
 Other studies published by Esmail and Sullivan include: "Black Candidates in Search of Electoral Support: Is Success Dependent on Residential Integration and Social Interaction?" (2003), "Interaction Patterns between Black and White College Students: For Better or Worse?" (2002), and "From Racial Uplift to Personal Economic Security: Declining Idealism in Black Education" (2002).
 
 
 Kai Beasley is a May graduate of Emory University. To comment, e-mail Black College Wire.
 
 Posted June 11, 2007
 
 
 I'm Light-Skinned But Prefer Darker Women
 I read your article about the preference of lighter-skinned individuals and I totally disagree. Since the '80s, darker men have been the choice of women, and that includes white women. A lot of comedians joke about it, but it's very much true. I am a lighter-skinned male, and lighter-skinned women don't find me very attractive. I guess it's the individuals of the opposite skin color who have that curiosity about the other. I would much rather have a darker-skinned woman, because they are not as materialistic. I may like a darker-skinned lady as a lover, but not as my wife. It all changes as the wind blows.
 
 Gordon Spencer
 Killeen, Texas
 June 14, 2007
 
 
 A Lot of Black Women Discriminate
 I can tell you from firsthand experience that the color code that has existed within the black community is still alive and well in the 21st century.
 
 I have had a number of black women tell me to my face that the interest was there but that I was too dark. Because I have always been secure from childhood about my smooth, milk-chocolate complexion, I did not internalize it or allow such comments to negatively affect how I view myself.
 
 I have to thank an aunt (one of mom's sisters) for always complimenting me as a child about my handsome looks and beautiful black skin: "You are your mom's best-looking child with your black self." I knew that she loved me and that she was not being mean or cruel. I also dated a woman whose previous relationship was with a white man, and her mother told her that she went from one extreme to the other. Go figure. No one defines me but me.
 
 A lot of black women want to curse black men when they date outside the race, but they discriminate all too often against dark-skinned brothers like me who have extra melanin. It's sad, sick and ironic, but it is what it is and life goes on.

[Charlie Nakatestes, Japanese Golfer]

Hey Dupek, what's your opinion on Amy Winehouse's second album?
 
 I always found darker skinned black people more physically attractive. But that's just a generalization. Having a white parent didn't hurt Halle Barry so much.
 
  As the born again Christian intern from our office who married a much older black man and got a black lab puppy said, "Once you go black, you don't want to go back."

[nkotb]

I'm with Rhett...something about the way light plays on darker skin is really attractive, in my eyes.  But then again, like he said...Halle Barry.
 
 Dupek, which would you pick?  I'd guess you'd be more into the person, rather than some silly physical trait.
 
 

Originally posted by Charlie Nakatestes,Japanese Golfer:
 I always found darker skinned black people more physically attractive. But that's just a generalization. Having a white parent didn't hurt Halle Barry so much.

Originally posted by Charlie Nakatestes,Japanese Golfer:
  Hey Dupek, what's your opinion on Amy Winehouse's second album?
 
 I always found darker skinned black people more physically attractive. But that's just a generalization. Having a white parent didn't hurt Halle Barry so much.
 

Halle shouldn't have gotten a nose job, IMO.  But she does get major cred points from me for being a superb Bond girl.  Dark/light skin?  I suppose this isn't really a deciding factor in physical beauty. Good looking or not, there are way more ugly motherfuckers like me out there.
 
 I have never heard Amy Winehouse's music.  No opinion.  Last two albums I bought were by jpopsters, eX-Girl.  What do you think of them?

[Frank Gallagher]

They're all pink inside!!!!!

[Jaguar]

When it comes down to it, I think that having really nice clean and healthy skin is more important than the color itself. Some people, of any color, have an incredibly gorgeous healthy skin glow that looks great in any shade. Some of it is genetics and the rest tends to be the result of good nutrition and just the right exposure, or lack of, to the sun. Having small pores and a good hormonal balance helps too. I really envy these people.
 
 I was absolutely appalled the first time that I heard that some Blacks look down on others with very dark skin. At the time, it was from a girl I went to skin with who was very attractive with this incredibly gorgeous dark skin. The really healthy kind with a bit of a blueish cast. In fact, I found it rather upsetting especially considering how naturally gorgeous this girl was, partially because she had this lusterous skin.

[Frank Gallagher]

I have been blessed with good skin, my wife hates me for it....but recently I started to get little bumps under the skin on my forehead.
 
 Any suggestions how I can treat them?

[Charlie Nakatestes, Japanese Golfer]

Grow bangs
 
 

Originally posted by Roadbike Mankie:
  I have been blessed with good skin, my wife hates me for it....but recently I started to get little bumps under the skin on my forehead.
 
 Any suggestions how I can treat them?

[Celeste]

Originally posted by Jaguar:
  ...At the time, it was from a girl I went to skin with...

was you skinning rabbits, or is this meant as a euphemism for some kind of girl on girl action?

[nkotb]

Man...the first post I read this morning made me actually LOL. I'm going to do my best to add "go to skin with" into my daily vocabulary.
 
 

Originally posted by The Vessel:
   

Originally posted by Jaguar:
  ...At the time, it was from a girl I went to skin with...

was you skinning rabbits, or is this meant as a euphemism for some kind of girl on girl action? [/b]

[Frank Gallagher]

Originally posted by Charlie Nakatestes,Japanese Golfer:
  Grow bangs
 
   

Originally posted by Roadbike Mankie:
  I have been blessed with good skin, my wife hates me for it....but recently I started to get little bumps under the skin on my forehead.
 
 Any suggestions how I can treat them?

[/b]

I thought you're response would've been to tell me I need to be facialized....or is that have a facial!!!!!  
 
 BTW, Bangs??? Is that not the most retarded name for a fringe?

Originally posted by Roadbike Mankie:
  I have been blessed with good skin, my wife hates me for it....but recently I started to get little bumps under the skin on my forehead.
 
 Any suggestions how I can treat them?

Retinol creme.

[bull930]

You guys are hilarious! Asking about Amy Winehouse and skin color. To me it is a fact that there are issues of color between Blacks. Lighter is considered better than dark but I don't think that is the case. It just depends on what you perfer. Just like some people like skinny versus fat and vice versa. Beauty comes in all forms. I think if you take care of yourself you'll project a healthy appearance and that what really matters.
 
 And to the person with the breakout. Use some lemon juice and drink H20.

Minorities do not discriminate on the basis of skin color. It's a scientific fact like global warming.

Self-Hatred Leads To Skin Bleaching
 
 
  The Statesman (Kokomlemle, Accra, Ghana), June 20, 2007
  �??When you are lighter, people pay more attention to you. It makes you more important and the rich men find you attractive,�?� the sentiments of an Accra-based woman with light skin and dark knuckles.
 
 Yet, the self-hate phenomenon of skin-bleaching is not limited to black women alone. The music fans of men like Michael Jackson and the famous Lumba Brothers, Charles Kwadwo Fosu (Daddy Lumba) and Nana Acheampong, have seen the skin of the stars go lighter and lighter with every album hit. Through multiple surgeries, Michael Jackson has arguably become transracial.
 
 Bleaching is often attributed to extreme low self-esteem, and a misplaced desire to be better appreciated.
 
 But, there is a growing repugnance within black communities worldwide against bleaching.
 
 �??Skin Bleaching�?� is the term applied to the process of cosmetic methods used to whiten the skin. It has for a long time been considered a common practice in dark skinned women in sub-Saharan Africa although increasingly, some dark skinned men have also taken to skin bleaching.
 
 The ideology and implementation of �??Skin Bleaching�?� has been highly criticised throughout its existence as it has negative connotations related to image, identity and race based aesthetics not to mention certain severe skin conditions associated with the long term use of skin bleaching cosmetics.
 
 According to a report last July by Ibram Rogers, however, the European aesthetics of beauty and social rank have reached the shores of Africa, and are wreaking psychological and physical havoc on residents of Accra, Ghana, two studies suggested.
 
 In two examinations conducted in 2005 by Jocelyn Mackey, an assistant professor of psychology at Southern Connecticut State University, more than 200 Ghanaian students aged 8 to 18 consistently equated attractiveness, opportunity, power and acceptance with lighter skin colour.
 
 �??The results from this study speak to the impact that the social and cultural climate has on the self-esteem of the Ghanaian students,�?� Mackey says.
 
 Another study reveals that many Ghanaians are turning to harmful skin-bleaching products to lighten their skin in hopes of being perceived as more attractive and successful.
 
 Yaba A Blay, a doctoral candidate in Temple University�??s African-American studies department, conducted a study last summer in which she surveyed approximately 600 residents of Accra and interviewed another 40 who reported bleaching their skin.
 
 Blay also interviewed government officials, medical personnel and product merchants, and reviewed public documents and media materials as source material for her dissertation, �??Yellow Fever: Skin Bleaching and the Aesthetico-cultural Gendered Politics of Skin Color in Ghana.�?�
 
 �??Despite attempts by the Ghanaian government to ban bleaching products and the extreme health risks including skin cancer, brain and kidney damage and sometimes death, the practice of skin bleaching is seemingly on the rise,�?� says Blay.
 
 �??It appears that in the context of global White supremacy, skin bleaching represents an attempt to gain access to the social status and mobility often reserved not only for whites, but for lighter-skinned persons of African descent.�?�
 
 This psychological phenomenon of extolling lighter skin is prevalent in black communities worldwide.
 
 �??These perception are the result of learned behaviour and beliefs due to social factors and opportunities,�?� Mackey says. �??Many Ghanaians who I spoke with believe that lighter skin is associated with wealth and power.�?�
 
 In the study on skin bleaching, Blay found that Ghanaian women tend to bleach their skin at a disproportionately higher rate than Ghanaian men. That�?�s because the white ideal is consistently promoted to female consumers, Blay says.
 
 Furthermore, Blay says the rational for skin bleaching is different for Ghanaian men and women.
 
 �??Ghanaian women often admit to bleaching in order to look more beautiful, noticeable and fashionable, while Ghanaian men who report bleaching do so as a means to appear of higher status and to gain more respect,�?� she says.
 
 Ultimately, Blay says that a form of �??commodity racism�??the practice of using Whiteness to sell products to predominately Black consumers�?� is the underlying reason for the practice of skin bleaching.
 
 �??It has greatly influenced Africans�?? perceptions that with the assistance of particular products�??bleaching creams�??they can approximate Whiteness, and as such reap all of the benefits, whether actual or perceived, afforded to Whiteness,�?� she says.
 
 The origin of skin colour derives from a substance known as Melanin. Melanin determines areas of uneven pigmentation. It affects most people, regardless of ethnic background or skin colour. Skin may either appear lighter or darker than normal; there may be blotchy, uneven areas, patches of brown to gray discolouration or freckling.
 
 Such skin pigmentation disorders occur because the body produces either too much or too little melanin. Melanin is the pigment produced by melanocyte cells and is triggered by an enzyme called tyrosinase.
 
 Increasingly, people are becoming preoccupied with blocking the production of Melanin, thus are finding treatments which inhibit the production of tyrosinase, namely Hydroquinone, steroid and Mercury based treatments.
 
 Hydroquione treatments are considered safe, however if too much is applied, then irritations on the skin can be caused. However, in countries such as France the use of Hydroquione has been banned due to the fears of cancer risk that it can potentially cause.
 
 Although highly popular, the use of skin whitening products has come under heavy criticism due to the results that they can cause. One of the most detrimental effects that skin whitening products can have is the effect towards ones IQ. Skin whitening products, often contain neurotoxins such as Mercury and the aforementioned Hydroquinone as the main active ingredient.
 
 Some bleaching creams also contain steroids of medium-potent to potent strength such as betamethasone or clobetasol. These steroid containing creams tend to cause thinning of the skin, making it more prone to disorders and breakage on parts of the body where friction occurs.
 
 In some cases, skin lightening creams have been reported to cause acne and caused skin to become so delicate that it could be damaged even through a simple scratch. In other cases, these bleaching agents have ironically turned the skin black when applied over a long period of time.
 
 Although skin whitening may provide personal satisfaction in the form of perceived beauty, what should perhaps be readdressed is the negative effects that they can have both on body and mind.
 
 If they must be used either to treat skin discolourations, tone down dark spots or to cure other disorders, then users must be cautioned to keep off skin lightening products with hydroquinone, mercury and steroids and to apply only to affected areas of the skin.
 
 www.thestatesmanonline.com/pages/news_detail.php?newsid=3866&section=7