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What do you first see
when you look into the mirror? This was
the question a former counselor of mine asked me several years ago. At the time
I was going through an identity crises and my confidence was low. After doing
this exercise two things came clear for me. Firstly, I am a woman and secondly,
I am a person of color. Looking at myself gave me a glimpse of the souls of my
ancestors. I am of mixed ancestry and choose to acknowledge all of heritage. On
the one side, I recognize the color of skin that is equated to privilege but
also the struggles and hardworking nature that these ancestors embodied. On the other side, I
recognize the struggle to move past societal oppression based on systematic and
institutional racism. I am honored to have the physical traits of my ancestors
as reminders of history, however I am increasingly worried about how women,
especially women of color are interpreting their physical traits. Colorism is still
a huge deal globally. Soledad O’Brien of CNN recently talked about this in her
‘Black in America’ series. In one of the recent segments she featured the
elusive ‘brown bag test’ and the ‘doll test.’ Many girls of color often chose
to play with white dolls and responded that they were prettier and better than
their ‘ugly’ and ‘stupid’ dolls of color. In 2013 this is troubling. Growing
up, I was either too light or too dark, depending on who I was with. Everyone
had an opinion of my background and I tried to ignore their comments. Looking
back I realize that it was/is society’s problem and not mine. I was taught to
love myself from the inside out.
In Africa today,
where I live and work, skin color is a big deal. In Kenya, I am often called
half-caste and told women would ‘die’ to have my color. Here in Somalia, I see many beautiful young
ladies carrying scars and skin discoloration on their faces, scars that women
all over the world carry. The industries that are profiting from these creams
and concoctions, especially in the Global South, bombard women of color with
images of ideal beauty, equating beauty to whiteness. In fact in the Global South, it is rare to see non-airbrushed women with dark hues gracing billboards
and media outlets. In India, they even advertise whitening body wash for the vagina area. As if the face is not scarred enough from using whitening
creams/concoctions, we need our vaginas to be white as well? As disgusting as
this is, it is not a new phenomenon and is not going to change anytime soon as
long as social inequality and the industries are profiting. In fact many
celebrities of color are even taking part in this; Sammy Sosa and Beyoncé are
two celebrities accused of skin alterations.
Most recently in the
U.S. a Cheerios advertisement caused enormous controversy as it portrayed a
racially mixed couple and their mixed daughter. This was shocking to me as it
was from a major corporation. I have no allegiance to General Mills, but I
congratulate them for portraying a rising demographic of American society,
particularly my family, and standing by their decision to do so. I am also evermore
happy to see images of people of color in the media. Seeing reflections of
oneself has an impact on the self worth and confidence of people of color,
especially for women and girls. Of course it cannot replace the discrimination
and heal the wounds of the past but it can make a way forward.
As I mentioned
earlier, I was taught to love myself from the inside out by my grandmother.
This did not happen right away and sometimes I still struggle with it. Learning
to love yourself is a long journey that requires small steps. The beauty of
womanhood is that we are all made differently. Everyone should understand the
back-story of their skin to put who they are into perspective. Through
self-realization start making it a habit of loving the skin that you are in. I
make it a habit to genuinely compliment my friends on how intelligent and beautiful
they are-inside and out. Women and girls do not hear this enough. We should all
make this a habit, especially for all the young girls out there. Adolescence
was a period of time that molded my journey to womanhood. Shaping the
self-worth and confidence of your young women should be a major priority. Aside
from being positive role models and providing encouragement, women can lead by
example by taking good care of their skin. Setting examples is important.
I love the skin that
I am in, even in the face of the industries that keep feeding me the opposite
message. I would like to pose a challenge to all women of color. Next time you look into the mirror, look into your eyes, try to see
into your soul and begin to accept the shade of skin that you are in.
-a-
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