“Your epidermis is showing!” That is one joke I credit my middle school science teacher that has stayed with me all these years. Apparently he was on to something, your epidermis has a great importance not just as being the largest organ in your body but it also determines how society will perceive you. Well at least your skin color does. In a society ridden with the allure of beauty, we often fall victim of being categorized by our skin color. On the supposed spectrum of beauty the lighter your skin, the more attractive you are. It is ridiculous but it’s the reality we face.
My sisters and I have the same mom and dad. Our skin colors all vary. I am the tan one, my oldest sister is lighter and my youngest sister is the lightest (born with blonde hair and all). I can recall numerous times when family, friends, and strangers flocked to my younger sister praising her for her Caucasian features. As a child, I associated white as pretty for that is what I heard from my immediate surroundings. It is harsh but that was a chip on my shoulder since I am a tanned brunette with dark eyes. So many persons around me treated the light skin, blonde hair and light eyes like it was hitting the genetics lottery and I was far from that. My extended family is a mixture of skin tones as well. I saw the favoritism and compliments lean towards the lighter tones. I saw the darker tone family members even bleach their skin ( I even remember doing this). While their intentions were not ill willed, the behavior rooted from a dark place that marginalizes dark skin. In my 20’s, upon meeting with a family member that had not seen me since I was a kid, the individual stayed amazed how “white” I had evolved to “look”. It was super crazy for this individual kept touching my arm in disbelief that I was lighter than her skin tone. I felt so scrutinized. Talk about weird.
The further I ventured out in life, the more I experienced remarks of my skin color. It extended past my family. From coworkers, to a seamstress, to friends that pointed out how tanned I am or how white I was to their comparison. I have been referred to as “morenita” (brown skin) from lighter skinned Hispanics and as “white girl” from Black Americans. (I can get dark, I have proof in pictures for when I was 17 and did back to back car wash events for my church in the summer - I looked Jamaican. And I enjoyed it!). Again, their intentions were not harmful but it created a deep discomfort to be placed in a category based on the color of my skin.
Very often we receive judgement from our own ethnic groups. Is it right? No, hell no. We are supposed to lift each other up and embrace beauty in all forms and colors but we are plagued with this obsession with white equals beauty. Light-skins are favorable in society (as much as we hate to admit). Look at magazines were models and celebrities are photo-shopped to appear lighter. Lighter skinned individuals are propelled into stardom faster than a darker skin ones. Not to step into politics but white supremacy is not something we just tapped into recently. The ongoing epidemic of local terrorism is often based on a superficial belief system of superiority. This past weekend a 21 year old kid killed Hispanics as an initiative to prevent an invasion of Hispanics to a country he beliefs should be inhabited by whites. Black Americans fear of being stopped by police even for something as small as a traffic violation for most authority figures automatically categorize them as threats based on their skin tone.
It is apparent in our history and in our present that we are still at war due to skin colors. I believe we are still striving to reach the dream that Martin Luther King Jr. fought for. His speech where he stated “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character” should still be the goal. We have made great improvements but still need further action to implement judgement only to the content of our characters. Segregation is in the past but we still deal with remnants of a society that lets skin color dictate their behavior.
What color is my skin? What box do I mark in forms to describe my skin tone? Why I am treated differently for the color of my skin? As an artist and a devoted consumer of Sephora I have learned the complexity of my skin color. I have gold undertones when I do not take sun, I appear “whitish” (whatever that is). When I do take sun, the olive undertones take over and I become a bronzed goddess. I am Hispanic in all my features and I am proud. My tanned skin is beautiful. It is me and I accept it. I had to learn that through uncomfortable and unfair situations others imposed over me. You do not need to mention my skin color to compliment or insult me or define me. My skin is irrelevant to who I am as a human. I will not let others push their racist hidden agenda on me and you shouldn't either. Skin color does not determine my worth or yours. Underneath our epidermis, we are all the same. If you want to color me, color me human.
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