Darkskin Black Girl Visibility: On Gabby and Lupita Response
Attention black women! News flash, we cannot be white but fortunately, you can be light. You know what they say, the brighter the better. Or is it? Have you been to the mall or read a fashion magazine lately? Plastered on the pages is the unconventionally beautiful Lupita in all her African glory clad in European clothing. What I am saying is that life is a race and in society, being a female, and especially DARKSKIN, automatically sets you up to begin the race behind everyone else. The fact that public figures such as Lupita and Gabby have catapulted into superstardom proves to America’s minorities that we are one step closer to starting at the same point as everyone else. To black women, Lupita and Gabby mean more than just successful females, that are idols that portrays beauty and grace. They represent every darkskin woman in some way. We have to support them, they HAVE to make it.
Look at Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, and her protagonist, Pecola, who is dark! She refuses acceptance. She turns to white people as her idols—being Mary Jane, a cartoon girl on the back on a piece of candy…Now that to Pecola was beauty. She wishes for blue eyes as if they would open doors for her and make her feel like she was worth something, when that wasn’t needed. Just like Pecola, Gabby, the goddess of big women who’s darkskin and her role in Precious inspired women all around the world, went through a similar struggle. The struggle of being “invisible” or feeling “not good enough”. Now, embracing her beauty Gabby reveals, “If they hadn’t told me I was ugly, I never would have searched for my beauty. And if they hadn’t tried to break me down, I wouldn’t know that I’m unbreakable.” Gabby, is an iconic figure for black women. We are rooting for you Gabourey Sidibe!
Take a deep breath, in, out, once again, in, out. I read a blog that sang to my soul. Dark-Skinned Blackgirl Visibility: On Gabby and Lupita. I want to thank this writer because this is what I went through, and still am going through. I feel invisible sometimes, or even too visible because when people walk down the street they seem so confused to see someone of my color! It’s amazing how something so dark and beautiful is apparently transparent! I feel like Pecola, but the only difference is that I learned to LOVE MY SKIN!
Society reprimands dark skinned girls. They are telling us “No, you’re not beautiful,” or “You need to fix that!” Hearing things like that makes it hard for little girls to grow up and come into their own mentally separating them at a young age allowing them to believe that darkerskin is not worthy of success. Like Gabby and Lupita, achieving your dreams are possible and they are my idols because they set the bar extremely high for African American darkskin girls also allowing America to see that chocolate skin can also win. But don’t get it twisted, we still have a long way to go in order to be seen as equally capable to triumph.
Link: http://www.crunkfeministcollective.com/2014/05/09/dark-skinned-blackgirl-visibility-on-gabby-and-lupita/