Aline Andreolla Feijo

            Never have I before stopped to think about the Color Complex. I’ve heard about racism, and issues people have with darker skinned folks and even lighter skin ones, but I never stopped and notice how the darker skinned side of the spectrum felt like. I never thought a little black girl would hate her long straight her that her dad liked to show off so much, because her other sisters hated her for it.  The Color Complex goes deeply into the issue with not just merely race, but skin color, and how different shades or dark skin are portrayed.  It has been made to believe by men and women in the black community that being with someone with lighter skin will raise your standards, if a black man is seen holding hands with a light skinned woman, people will look at him and think, “he made it”. It is also interesting to observe the insecurity that rises along with marrying a lighter skinned woman. Men feel intimidated, almost as if they could be too much for them, too good. But the main point is, interracial marriage’s been on the rise, both black men and women are seeking for lighter skinned partners, and it is not because of a matter of race, but a matter of skin color related to social status. Since the end of slavery being with a lighter skinned partner symbolizes some kind of acceptance, almost as if it puts you in a better spot in the society. The lack of acceptance of being just simply black, or thinking it isn’t the norm, has increased, which leads us to wonder, will the black community just decrease along the years, and when I say black community I don’t mean only the race, or even the darker skin, but black practices, black hair, or even more ethnical clothing.

I find it fascinating how the article Yearning for Lightness shows that the issue isn’t necessarily the race, but rather the skin color someone has. I can easily relate this issue to what I see in Brazil, and what even the article talks about, that many times darker skinned people are seen as dirty, less fortunate, and not as well accepted because or mere assumptions on their skin tone. Because of the strong level of superiority Europeans had over African slaves for decades, being or becoming whiter was a way of purifying oneself, and this belief has been carried along with people ever since. The main point it, colonialism has spread this idea that white skin, per say, is seen as superior, and people with lighter skin will automatically be related to a greater amount of power in the society. In African, Latino, and Asian societies, people not only bleach their skins because they want to look more beautiful, but because they want to be better accepted, they want to fit in, they don’t want to be seen as part of a less privileged class when they have good well-paid jobs, only because of their skin color.