Wise & Young

Friday, December 16, 2005

Is Lightskin making a comeback

Is Lightskin making a comeback?!?!?!?!!?

“Watch these rap niggaz get all up in your gutsFrench-vanilla, butter-pecan, chocolate-deluxe Even caramel sundaes is gettin touched And scooped in my ice cream truck, Wu tears it up”

Man, I am not even going to lie to people in the blog world & state that I am the biggest Wu-Tang fan ever, because I’m not really into getting hemmed up in cyberspace by some 12 year old fanatical fan that has devoted their entire life to all thing Wu. But I remember when I was in high school or middle school, I’m dating myself I know, when that song came out. It was crazy girls would get so hyped over this song saying “Nah, girl you too dark to be caramel you chocolate.” Even the white girls got to be proud and say there were “French Vanilla.” But for guys there was not this same sort of all colors are acceptable. This was definitely the era of the thug, hardcore Black man; with this ethos there became a movement that in order to fit this complexion had to be dark. Preferably darker than Chocolate but lighter than Midnight, I mean come on now who ever heard of a light skin thug, short of them good hair havin’ fools in Bone Thugs N Harmony and Ice Cube. All the portrayals of this urbanized exoticized eroticized during this time all displayed the beautiful shades closer to the darker spectrum of Black. Even Black male models for the most part fell in line with this “Black the Berry the Sweeter the juice idea.” I can remember going to the same club and people treating me totally different, because I’m a card carrying member of

Chocolate Brothers of America, Incorporated,(note not me in the photo) when I dressed in sweats timbs and a do-rag I would get more attention. But let me slip up and break the stereotype and dare to wear some boot cut jeans, a Diesel T shirt and some squared toed shoes I’d get no love. Hell even some of my friends would go on long tangents about the virtues of the ebony Adonis who’s complexion was the color of earth and his body looking as if he was crafted from clay by God’s own hands. Whose masculinity was beyond reproach and who could kick it in the hood w/o anyone testing his thugness and scare white people in their own neighborhoods. Then when the notion of dating or even talking to someone who was light skin their faces would get chopped and screwed and say something that all light skin people remind them of raw chicken when naked.

But the tides are a changing; light skin brothas are coming back, and coming back with FIYAH!!!!! I’m not really into the whole “I prefer any specific complexion” I take whatever I can get. But all of a sudden after a long period of dormancy the new breed of lighter than a brown paper bag brothas are so serious! I was on facebook just browsing and noticed that the kids at the Mecca are doing it so big, granted all of them seem to have been born in 1986 them light skin brothas are doing it up. Like it crept up on me without me even noticing, it started off as a hmm he’s fine on the low. For clarification fine on the low is someone who you keep looking at and they become more attractive to you as you look at them. But what really hit me was when

I saw Daniel Sunjata let the church say amen. I don’t know what type of miscegenation combination made him but it was worth it!

Look around you’ll see the beginnings of the new light skin wave; no longer will light skin be relegated to S-curl kits and subject to El DeBarge jokes.

No, they are coming back finer, more thug, and dropping the pretty boy look and trying to diversify. Michael Eley is holding it down showing that light skin brothas aren’t afraid to show some pseudo thug appeal, hell he even took over the role in “Their Eyes were Watching God” where the skin complexion was supposed to be an integral part of the storyline and got the producers to omit it.



Granted there will always people who favor one complexion for one reason or another. Some people light skin will always be placed on a pedestal and will never be removed; others love all complexions that are dark for that is what there are familiar with. Personally, the body, mind, and actions mean a hell of a lot more than some melanin. But to each his/her own.

Just my thoughts

4 Comments:

  • It's hard to determine what is out and what is in. Personally I don't have a preference...a good man will do (lol) don't get too thugged out AG I don't think they ready

    By Blogger Ms.Honey, at 1:43 PM  

  • I lucked out and fit in the middle of the lightskin/darkskin war (lol). But come on now, we still know ligthskin guys can't fight, j/p. Preference in the ladies skin tone is just and obstacle to bypass when getting to know them for me. Like honey-libra said, for me a good woman will do.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 2:09 PM  

  • Yeah, I thank God that I don't have a preference either. Funny though...I usually crave darkness when I'm in the light and vice versa. I know, it's a sickness. I just love the sistas...period.

    By Blogger Stephen A. Bess, at 2:18 PM  

  • Ooh, maybe I'm glad light-skin is coming back. I can use all the help I can get lol. But what if I'm a light skin guy who's really attracting to those with dark skin. Mmmmmm.

    Me.

    By Blogger Unknown, at 7:36 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home