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Her Standards Are Valid, Regardless If You Don’t Think She’s Pretty Enough To Have Them
As a black woman I can recall the time when the “Light skinned women don’t text back!” running joke made its way to social media. I am not sure who created this quip for laughs, but it was meant to poke fun at the ladies who are the standard of beauty and femininity in black culture.
The underlying theme of this joke was that if you possess a lighter complexion you are given permission to be discerning, and even cold, towards the men who are interested in you. Due to your skin tone and good looks they shouldn’t even expect you to respond to them.
Many darker complexioned ladies weren’t laughing along with this short-lived gag and they shot back, proclaiming that us dark skinned ladies don’t text back as well.
Because I have a dark skin I should have been enraged enough to join in, right? Well I saw what transpired and didn’t think much of it. I am used to the message that is shoved in my face by the black community and society at large, reminding me that I do not meet their requirements to be identified as beautiful because I am darker than a brown paper bag.
I have accepted the reality that I live in a patriarchal world, and so I observe quietly as black women beg their men to have compassion for the suffering they go…
