I did not know how else to title this thread, but I am hoping it communicates the spirit of what I am about to attempt to explain.
Have you ever encountered some black folks who seem to have a skewed idea or perception of what their color, hue or complexion is? Clearly, we come in all shades (in fact, years ago I believe it was determined their were more than 60 shades among African-Americans). That being the case, it is not unusual for us to mention our skin color when we describe ourselves or hear others mention it when describing us. For example, imagine the following exchange:
Person 1: "You know John?"
Person 2: "Which one? There are two Johns in my class."
Person 1: "Aw, that's right. The dark-skinned John, ya know, the one with the cornrows and gap in his teeth?"
Person 2: "Oh, okay. Yeah, I know who you're talking about."
So I believe that describing our skin color is not necessarily a pre-occupation for most of us, but it is something that we tend to include when we're describing how another black person looks.
That said, do you know of any black people who have the wrong idea of what their color is? Typically, I have noticed this with medium-brown people (I'd say in the color range of someone like Toni Braxton or Oprah Winfrey) who will describe themselves as being light-skinned. As a matter of comparison, I have seldom - extremely rarely - known of black people who are lighter and perceive themselves as darker-skinned. However, for some of our medium-brown brothers and sisters, they seem to have a desire to be lighter, if not see and perceive themselves as lighter than they are. This, I think, is a sign a color complex.
Just this week, I was reminded of this phenomenon when an individual I know swore they were lighter than me. "You're darker than me, aren't you?" they said. I started to say, "No, you're darker than me." But instead I just left it at, "Well, maybe we're close." This person is in the same shade family as the sister from the group Kindred the Family Soul. I am along the lines of Sophie Okenedo or Corinne Bailey Rae, so there was a clear difference in my opinion.
This latest incident just screamed color complex/I-have-a-negative-connotation-of-dark-skin to me. And this is not the first time I've encountered it.
Have any of you observed anything similar?
Have you ever encountered some black folks who seem to have a skewed idea or perception of what their color, hue or complexion is? Clearly, we come in all shades (in fact, years ago I believe it was determined their were more than 60 shades among African-Americans). That being the case, it is not unusual for us to mention our skin color when we describe ourselves or hear others mention it when describing us. For example, imagine the following exchange:
Person 1: "You know John?"
Person 2: "Which one? There are two Johns in my class."
Person 1: "Aw, that's right. The dark-skinned John, ya know, the one with the cornrows and gap in his teeth?"
Person 2: "Oh, okay. Yeah, I know who you're talking about."
So I believe that describing our skin color is not necessarily a pre-occupation for most of us, but it is something that we tend to include when we're describing how another black person looks.
That said, do you know of any black people who have the wrong idea of what their color is? Typically, I have noticed this with medium-brown people (I'd say in the color range of someone like Toni Braxton or Oprah Winfrey) who will describe themselves as being light-skinned. As a matter of comparison, I have seldom - extremely rarely - known of black people who are lighter and perceive themselves as darker-skinned. However, for some of our medium-brown brothers and sisters, they seem to have a desire to be lighter, if not see and perceive themselves as lighter than they are. This, I think, is a sign a color complex.
Just this week, I was reminded of this phenomenon when an individual I know swore they were lighter than me. "You're darker than me, aren't you?" they said. I started to say, "No, you're darker than me." But instead I just left it at, "Well, maybe we're close." This person is in the same shade family as the sister from the group Kindred the Family Soul. I am along the lines of Sophie Okenedo or Corinne Bailey Rae, so there was a clear difference in my opinion.
This latest incident just screamed color complex/I-have-a-negative-connotation-of-dark-skin to me. And this is not the first time I've encountered it.
Have any of you observed anything similar?