Woman of color

Hi there,

Over the summer, I researched my interest in make-up. It was a lot of fun and I learned a lot of cool new tips and tricks. The most interesting thing that I learned was that I am considered a "woman of color". I know, don't laugh. Me, Alissa, the busy bee, a woman of color??!!! I used to get picked on and made fun of because of my light skin. Do any of you remember calling me "Powder" or an albino? If any of my readers made fun of me, you are forgiven because it only made me stronger. Anyway, yes I am fair skinned but I do not have the pink undertones of the typical caucasian person. My undertones are brown/dark. While reading this particular book, I learned that if you scar dark (check), have dark elbows(check), dark knees (check), dark nuckles (check), dark circles under your eyes/dark eyelids (check), you are indeed considered a person of color EVEN if you have lighter skin. Interesting. So, what is the point of this little blog? You'll see, just be patient.

Here goes, and I hope that it makes sense. I believe that God created all of us and that we are indeed all beautiful in some way, shape, or form. Look around! Isn't it amazing to see all of the shades that we come in? I think it is. It's especially neat to look at the variations of colors in the skin tones of family members. For example, my grandfather (Poppy) was really dark skinned. My mother is a little lighter than her father and I am lighter than my mother. Despite these skin differences, our hands look so much alike. When he was in the hospital, we were all three holding hands and noticed the likeness. It was beautiful. It reminded me of those flesh colored crayons. They vary in pigment color and intensity. Maybe that is one reason that I love make-up so much...the colors. hmmmmm

I know what it feels like to be different than my classmates so I can only imagine the way that some children and even adults feel when there is no one around that even resembles them. Think about it, look at Barbie. She is blonde haired, blue eyed AND when I was little the only brunette Barbie was Miko or the black barbie. Miko was Asian/Polynesian and obviously the black Barbie was black. Yes, I wanted both of those dolls because they were brunette. Barbie was my favorite toy when I was a little girl. It was also hard to find black haired cabbage patch dolls or even babies that HAD hair, much less black hair like mine. -sigh-

When I married the first time, my cake topper was crystal because there weren't any cake toppers with a brunette bride unless she was Hispanic or black. That bothered me because I am not Hispanic or black. Why not have a brunette (with black hair) bride for the cake topper that is ethnically ambiguous?

Back on point, I know someone with the same dark elbows, knees, and nuckles that got caught scrubbing herself with Comet in the bath tub when she was a little girl. Why? Because all of her classmates were pink skinned, blonde haired, blue eyed "cherubs" and she felt dirty. I can remember feeling "dirty" as a little girl because I didn't look like my classmates. It's not dirt though so it can't be washed off. No child should ever feel dirty because of what they look like or be ashamed of their body/skin.

That make-up book put some things in perspective for me. Do I consider myself a woman of color? No. It was just good to read that I finally have a "category". If I had a daughter, I would teach her to feel good about herself no matter what and to look for the beauty that God has blessed her with. Instead, I have a son. I am teaching him to embrace who he is and to enjoy his freckles. He has dark hair, fair skin with dark undertones, and navy blue eyes framed with long thick black lashes. Personally I think that he will be a "lady killer" when he grows up. ;-) Does it really matter what I think though? Not one bit. It matters that he accepts himself for who he is and learns to embrace his differences.

Well, it's time that I step down from my soap box. Think about this if you will. It really makes good "food for thought". Until you read again...

-the busy bee