Dear ‘fair skin’ obsessed people,
To begin with, I am not fair skinned as all of you. This statement must have been enough for you to twist your facial muscles in disgust, after all, if I’m dark skinned, I must be dark hearted. In that case, the whole of Africa is home to the greatest miscreants of the world.
You say we are different, of course we are. You are melanin deficient, and we are not (Just for the record, melanin helps protect our skin from sun exposure, so I suggest you to take some soy which helps in the formation of more melanin).
We are very different because even though we have similar eyes, we perceive beauty differently. The 2-3 mm thick white skin is not beauty for me, but that is what you think is beautiful, right? Even though we have the same pair of ears, yours hear ‘dark skinned’ as ugly, mine don’t. Boy, you do face some serious malfunctioning of ears. Even though we have the same kind of mouth, mine don’t utter words like “Kaalicharan” or “Kaali mata” every time I see someone who does not flaunt a flawless white glowing skin. This is because our mouths are connected with our heart and brains, and yours with only your eyes. Even though both of us have brains, I use to know that we’re all the same, no matter what color we are, and you use your brain to create differences on the very same basis.
When I get out in the sun, I do not cover up myself head to toe to protect myself from tanning, and when relatives say, “Who will marry a dark skinned girl like you?” I shout to their malfunctioned ears that my beauty delves beneath the skin layer, where your narrowed vision can never reach.
When I go to a cosmetic shop and the lady on the counter hands me a fairness cream saying, “This will make your skin as white as a light bulb” I reject the offer, because that light bulb will not illuminate my heart, only the skin.
When my friends tease me, call me “Kaalicharan” I laugh out loud, because I know where the real kalicharan resides, not in me, but in them.
Ricky Allen Bright who was wanted for kidnapping, sexual abuse, and rape, or Harry Joseph Bowman, the leader of an outlawed motor cycle gang or the most notorious serial killer in American history, Ted Buddy (who are all, not to mention fair skinned) do not exist because the ‘fair’ race is the best.
And Oprah Winfrey who has donated more than $300 million, or Bill and Camile Cosby who have a long history of philanthropy and a strong commitment to education, or Kevin Liles who founded an organization to provide life changing opportunities for under serviced youths (who are all, again not to mention black skinned) exist only in fables, because the ‘dark’ race is a burden on the society.
No matter how much we say that our society has evolved, and we don’t judge people on the basis of color, it’s just partial truth. The other part of truth is that it’s the fair skin that we actually crave for. The best example for it are the advertisements of fairness creams which shows that you are nothing with a dark skin, but when your skin starts to glow the world becomes a different place all together. It reflects the actual mentality which persists in our minds.
My skin does not glow like yours, but my heart does. I’m not fair but it does not mean I’m not lovely. Yes, I’m a dark skinned girl, living in a world of preconceived notions of fairness, trying to find my place in this world.
Sincerely,
Dark Skinned girl.
