I love the way my skin looks when it has been sun kissed.
The various shades of brown that I can produce boggles my mind.
The reddish gold undertones that somehow seem to glow when light hits it. I am not vain, but I can stare at my beautiful brown skin for a long time when it is summer time. I even love my tan lines.
Brown skin is so beautiful.
It truly hurts me to hear people still in this day and age talk about they won't go outside in the summer or when it is sunny for fear of getting darker. I cannot count on 1000 foot-long paper how many times I have had to have conversations with students and grown-ass people about why they feel brown skin should not be darkened. The internalized racism is alive and ticking. It is pathetic, and it is detrimental to the acceptance of the beauty that is within all of us.
There is just so much beauty in brown skin.
Only thing I don't like about getting darker is that regardless of how much time I spend in the sun, my feet still seem to remain light. I remember in high school someone saw just my feet under a table and was shocked to see the rest of the colors of my body.
At least I go through the foot thing with all my sisters and brother. We all have my father's fairer feet.
Check India Arie and John Legend.
Oh, and I am also not my hair. I missed my one year nappiversary, but am still loving my short hair. Over a year since the last relaxer, almost a year since the clippers came to my head. I went almost completely shaved a couple weeks ago and am loving it. It is weird how many people have complimented me on it saying how my head is the perfect shape for it, how not many people can pull it off like I can. I hope I can convince others to just go natural or cut it all off. If I can't, hopefully they just recognize the beauty that is them beyond what their hair looks like.
So much easier to manage, also. It's like this is how I was supposed to look all along. People I haven't seen in years and people I just meet say they can't even imagine me looking otherwise any more.
Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThere was once a time when women saw it fit to bleach their skin tone. I always wondered how they would explain the two tone look to like a boyfriend or somebody they're "with" for the first time.
ReplyDeleteI would advocate for not exposing your skin to the sun, but only because it can lead to skin cancer!
ReplyDeleteThanks Kathy. I've actually been getting really good at using sunscreen more. I applied it about 5 times during the day on Saturday and Sunday and was sure to stay under an available umbrella throughout the day to keep the sun off when I was not watching a race. I just had to make sure I was not blocking anyone's views.
ReplyDeleteI've seen and heard of too many people getting skin cancer to want to go through that.
Rippa - can't imagine what that discussion must be like. Perhaps similar in part to what a discussion must be like for people who use those crazy padded bras and then undress and are about 3 cups smaller than they appeared. Only difference is that the bra-wearers are not doing permanent damage to their skin.
microbrother - Thanks for stopping by.
i like your stories and topics..
ReplyDeletegood work...create