Are You Just “Pretty for a Black Girl?”
Why can’t Black girls just be told they are pretty? Period.
Is being told you are “pretty for a Black girl” almost like a right of passage? It is another backhanded compliment that I am not sure white people understand. It’s almost like they find ways to trigger you even when they want to be nice.
Why can’t Black women just be pretty? Why is it that we have our own lane for beauty standards? We are beautiful. That’s it. That’s the end of the sentence. Black women are pretty regardless if we are compared to other Black women or amongst the women society holds as the Eurocentric beauty standard.
If you have ever told someone they are”pretty for a Black girl,” ask yourself why you said this and really dig deep into why it is simply problematic and unnecessary. You ultimately think Black women are not pretty and if you come across one that you believe is pretty it’s somehow unique. Similar to if you ever told someone they are “pretty for a being dark skin” or if you only think women with light skin are attractive.
In this episode of the So-Called Oreos podcast, the hosts discuss getting the so-called compliment, “you’re pretty for a Black girl.” The conversation dives into how colorism impacts the way we perceive compliments. Kia, Janae, Rachel and Amari touch on the fact that compliments on light skin can come off as a fetish while compliments on dark skin are more likely to be received in a positive light.
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