Black, white, light, mixed, blah blah we all pretty!
Perusing YouTube I often read the comments shyly liking some that I agree with. One running theme that pops on every video from a prominent black/urban (lol) artist is their lack of use of black/dark skin girls in the videos.
Personally as a dark skin girl I ain't really bothered. I'm used to generic men of my same complexion overlooking me so how can I be surprised when they use girls that don't look like me in their videos. Also to be honest, as a dark skinned girl of African origin I'm quite happy that we aren't being sexually objectified as is the norm. Leave them to it I say!
It is not that these guys don't think we are pretty it is just that they can't see our pretty. They have been so brainwashed on the colour, shape, size, hair type etc of the girl they are supposed to look at, just as we have been brainwashed into caring what men are looking at.
Now that Afrobeat music is one of the hugest sounds globally I think a lot of my dark skin sistas were hoping to see girls that looked like them in the videos fresh from Africa. Initially they were there shaking their bum bums but once the artist (typically male) has hit it big he "upgrades" to a girl of light but indeterminate background.
It's not that he no longer loves his dark skinned lady, no in fact he still loves us deeply. Instead it is that he has a chance at touching, dancing and looking at something new. Not to offend any girl of light but indeterminate background, but she is something he has probably only ever seen on some hip-pop music video and now he can see her up close! He may have seen a girl like her here or there in the club or somewhere but has never had a chance to be close to her. And now, he is rich and famous they seem to be everywhere! How can he possibly refuse?
Please also note that a certain image is pushed by the music label and media industry. Remember when Kendrick chose a dark skinned model in one of his music videos. I was surprised that this was mainstream music news but then I remembered a pretty dark skin sister isn't something we generally see on mainstream media so it was right to cause a kerfuffle.
We don't/shouldn't need a singer who only cares about his image and record sales to affirm our beauty.
We don't/shouldn't need a overly sexualised music video to confirm that we are acceptable or beautiful women.
We don't/shouldn't need the music industry to tell us what women should look like to be regarded as pretty or sexy women. All women are pretty and sexy anyway, God made us like that on purpose.
We don't/shouldn't need any media or music or artist to create more racial segregation, people are people regardless of their skin colour.
snowghoul
andulkaphoto
ellievsbear
