JaNasha Sisco

Professor Cope

September 9, 2017

Light Skin is the Right Skin?

As we shift from childhood to adolescence, many of us formulate a sense of identity and

who we are, by enacting as a social sponge. We develop self identity and an overall psyche

through forms of media, peers, culture, family and so much more. At the age of 13, I was

completely unaware of who I was exactly. Being a 13 year old girl, my only concerns were

ultimately to strive for popularity, good looks and boys. As a result, I generated self imagery

based on only the regards of my friends and peers at school.

Around the time that I was in middle school, much praise was directed towards the girls

who were either one of the two; Spanish or black with fairer skin. All because I fit this physical

appearance, I was automatically presented with preferential treatment. I would notice that boys

would do things to show favoritism, such as letting me cut the lunch line, or giving me the

answers to last nights homework. I was even referred to as The light skin cutie. The girls too

showed partiality. Being that the overall dynamic of girls who were popular was Spanish or light

skin, they only recruited their kind. Eventually, I became one of them myself. We soon became

intertwined as one. By becoming part of a clique, I immediately felt a sense of superiority and

importance towards people I didnt even know. At this point in my life, I had achieved what I

though would be notable and a social accomplishment. Little did I know, the cost of maintaining

popularity, was selecting between what was important to you and what was important to

everyone else.

GEOLOGY 101 REPORT 1

 As said before, my friend group was predominantly hispanic or light skin, but somewhere

along this school year, that soon changed. I had met a girl named Kyra who was far from a social

butterfly. She was usually bullied by the boys in the class for the texture of her hair, and the fact

that she didnt really wear up to date clothes. To me, she was absolutely stunning. She had kinky

long hair, oval brown eyes, smooth chocolate skin and a great big smile that could light up the

room. We had met after being assigned to do a project together for our second period history

class. After having a few conversations, we began to create a wholesome bond. I never met

anyone who was so genuine. She helped me with everything from school work and projects to

family problems at home. Regardless of the situation, she was always there whenever I needed.

Because she was such a great and friendly person, I thought it would be a good idea to bring her

around my other friends too.

When I finally got the opportunity to unify my other friends with Kyra, to my surprise,

the occurrence went completely sideways. I decided to invite Kyra to my lunch table and

introduce her to everyone. Before I could even open my mouth, the words, Why is she sitting

here? emerged across the table. This remark was followed by,Why is your hair so nappy?

And You need to stay out the sun. Embarrassed, Kyra packed her lunch and left the table in

humiliation. Despite Kyras embarrassment, I myself felt way more humiliated. I was humiliated

that I befriended people of such poor character. I was humiliated that I had friends who were

overall just so full of ignorance and ultimately, I was embarrassed that I had allowed myself to

lose who I was, to such a superficial group of people.

Kyras humiliation at the lunch table was the gateway to a major eye opener. All this

time, the attention I had received from students, friends and peers was pure negativity. I was not

being recognized for who I was internally, but I was being recognized for what I appeared as.

GEOLOGY 101 REPORT 2

Unfortunately, people around me commonly used this concept to perceive pretty much everyone

at our school, including Kyra.

I soon realized, colorism" was the overall origin of this issue. Colorism" is the act of

being prejudice towards individuals of darker skin tone, usually within the same ethnic group or

race. The students at my school had unconsciously expressed this type of bigotry mainly due to

the opinions of what the next person said. I myself did this as well. Come to find out, I never

thought that darker skin was any less deserving of special treatment, social appreciation and most

importantly respect. I followed the ideals of everyone else and almost ended up loosing someone

very important to me.

Colorism is overall equivalent to racism and has no place in our world. The exposure

from media, social networking sites and magazines have formulated a world where only lighter

skin is correlated with beauty. Looking back on my middle school experience, it has helped me

shape myself into a woman who looks past shallow beauty standards and has created awareness

of the discrimination between my own racial community. There is no right or wrong tone or

shade of skin. The importance of who we are, solely relies on our ability to connect with others

and most importantly, connect with ourselves.

GEOLOGY 101 REPORT 3

GEOLOGY 101 REPORT 4