Women of Color

         Women of color. I know how vague that sounds, but if you look deeper into it, there are many smaller issues that could be addressed more specifically. So let's begin. I watched a documentary on Netflix called, "Dark Girls," (directed by D. Channsin Berry and Bill Duke) and the documentary focuses on dark/black women and girls and the prejudices they go through, how they are treated differently, how some people view them differently, and the lack of self-esteem for some of them. This documentary really intrigued me because I realized that it must be extremely hard for women of color and I wanted to see what life was like/how it differed from mine or others', through their perspectives and experiences. (Of course it must be terribly hard for them! They're women and they're black. Remember, sexism/gender discrimination and racism definitely still exists. Imagine how this affects them.)
       
          Let's first remember the history of African-American people. From 1619 to 1865, they were seen as property, as animals, and they were seen with no value. (Or as Dr. Cheryl Grills—President of the National Association of Black Psychologists—would say, "we were essentially cattle.") Then from 1865 to 1964, they were in a position of post-enslavement. "People without any real rights." In my point of view, during this particular time period, I feel like not many white Americans had enough time to adjust to the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. They felt like things were moving too fast and they were just trying to hold onto their pride and superiority. Then 1965 to present time, there is the civil rights movement. Black people are still fighting for their rights and for equality. "Forget beauty. We weren't even considered humans."

          Present time. While black people are still fighting for equality, they have time to worry about society's of beauty as well. I believe that growing up, a lot of w.o.c have had issues with loving themselves because of their skin color and the discrimination they've suffered through. A lot of these women mentioned this "paper bag test" that really lowered their self-esteem when they were younger. The paper bag test went like this: if you were lighter than a brown paper bag, then you were considered beautiful and smart. If you weren't...well, you get the gist. Viola Davis, an actress, recalls when she went to a welfare camp with other black kids and they treated her badly as well. She says, "They called me a 'black nigger' and 'black, ugly nigger.'" It really made her feel terrible and unsupported. Another woman remembers a shocking moment that left her in tears. "A friend of mine had recently had a baby and I was very happy for her, you know it was my first time seeing a baby and the baby was beautiful. And she said, 'Girl, I'm so glad she didn't come out dark.' And when she said it, it felt like a dagger. Like someone took a dagger and stuck it in my heart because I was used to expecting hearing things like that from other races, but this coming from someone I considered my sister." Lots of these people felt inferior, insecure and they desperately wanted to change themselves. Another woman admits that she once asked her mother to "put bleach in the water so I can get lighter." Another one says that she used to scrub her skin so hard, hoping the color would fade away; "I thought it was dirt." I think it's pretty easy to see how the media and people around these girls, influenced them to think the way that they did. This is still going on constantly and it's terrible. "Go to Ghana today, go to Senegal today, go to The Gambia today, go to South Africa today and you will see billboards promoting skin-bleaching cream." (Fun fact: about $40-43 billion has been spent worldwide for whitening creams/products.)

          Matthew Shenoda, Assistant Provost for Equity and Diversity (Cal Arts), refers this concept of beauty back to when Europeans came over and colonized here. The colonists established a culture/society that had guidelines to beauty. Shenoda states that these settlers were, "shifting the perspective of people and creating a sense of beauty, a sense of identity, a sense of superiority." (Also, remember that people were/are taught that the colonizers are superiors, and you want to look like them and feel like them. So you alter your appearance to look similar to theirs'.) Well, ever since childhood, children are influenced to think about beauty and what it is. They are taught that "black is bad." For example, there was a lady asking a young dark girl to point at the girl that was smart. And there were many girls shown on the paper; they were wearing the same exact thing and they had the same facial expression and same body, same everything except for the skin color. The little girl, who was about 4 years old, pointed to the lightest-skinned girl on the chart. "And why is she the smart girl?" "Because she is white." "Okay, now show me the dumb child." The little girl then points to the darkest girl there. "And why is she the dumb child?" "Because she black." When the lady asks the girl which one is the most beautiful, she receives the same results.

          Another big contribution to the blow of these women's self-esteem, is how men view them. Personally, I don't think a man's opinion should really matter to a woman, but unfortunately it does. Sometimes they just can't help it. When men were asked about dark-skinned women and whether they favored them or not, some men said that they love dark-skinned women. "If you hug a dark-skinned woman, it just feels better." Some even started thinking about reproduction and that's another reason why they love dark girls. "I want dark-skinned babies. I want them to look like pharaohs or queens!" "The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice!" But what was truly disappointing was the other men's opinions. "I don't really like dark-skinned girls. They don't look good beside me." "I would choose light-skinned than dark-skinned." "Why?" "I've met too many dark-skinned girls that aren't too nice." As a matter of fact, 41.9% of black women in America have never been married while only 20.7% of white women have never been married. "African-American women are the least coupled group in the United States."

        In conclusion, women of color should be viewed differently, with more respect and love. A lot of people don't understand how hard they have had it/have it. They've been struggling since childhood. I think this is a major societal issue and I believe that people should learn to be accepting of others, regardless of skin tone or sex. These women are strong for living through these harsh experiences, being bullied both mentally and physically, not being accepted by so many people, being turned away for how they look. Just imagine if you were in that position. Think of everything you'd have to struggle through as a woman of color.

     
*This is from my Social Action Packet. Written on November 24th, 2014*