Thursday, October 2, 2008

More cool poetry, on a T-shirt this time

I recently saw a very pretty girl, her dark complexion unmarred by bleaching cream, and her hair all her very own, wearing a T-Shirt marked:

Chocolate
Ebony
Me

15 comments:

ruthibel said...

Right on.
Chocolate. Ebony. Me!!
Me likey.

Abeni said...

SOunds like a description of me.Lol

Unknown said...

I like it. dark skinned girls need to be proud f their skin and bun this bleach thing.

Jane Turley said...

That's a great slogan for a T-shirt!

I'll be honest; I didn't know it was a trend for young girls to bleach their skin. I'm really quite shocked; it's a great pity (and a damning reflection on society) that social pressures take precedent over natural beauty.

J.M said...

@ Ruth
Thought you'd like it!

@Abeni
Great to have you, I can tell from reading your blog that you are comfortable with you.

@ Stunner
Welcome, you know we dark girls appreciate affirmation from you guys, thanks. Fire fi di rubbings!

@ Jane
It's great to see you. I know people who would rather spend their last dollar on 'rubbings' than on food. I'm serious. And they do this even though it leaves them vulnerable to our glorious tropical sun! And don't think for a momemt that it's phenomenon among the uneducated or poor. It's also among the rich and supposedly learned; they might not 'rub' but they take designer pills to achieve the same effect.

It really is a great pity.

Fly Girl said...

Black is Beautiful, I love it! Unfortunately, not enough of us really believe that. It's not just Jamaica that has fallen into bleaching. The first time I ever saw women with unaturally pale faces and dark arms was on Nigerian and Ghanian women. Even in Africa, light is too often associated with status and beauty. I hope that pickney's atttitude rubs off on many people!

Daisy Soap Girl said...

Sounds like a younger version of me too. I wear my hair natural, now if only I could bring myself to stop coloring it.

Jdid said...

nice and to the point

J.M said...

Fly girl,

The fact that Nigerian and Ghanian women engage in this folly makes the whole thing even more mind- boggling. In my reflection about why we on the west do this, I somehow felt that well our identity got all messed up when we were uprooted so this might account for it, at least in part. But now I'm reconsidering that theory.

neena maiya (guyana gyal) said...

Wonderful. I wish more girls thought this way. I'm sick of the way the media pushes their version of beauty on us.

neena maiya (guyana gyal) said...

P.S. me proper like you blog.

Anonymous said...

Hi Jacqueline,
You know, I used to think the same thing. But since I've made a lot of African friends, I've realized that the uprooting took various forms. Even on the continent, minds were colonized to the point that they believe that Europe and everything associated is better. It's frightening. We must reclaim ourselves...

J.M said...

Hey Del,
I only have a few silvers now and I feel like I am joining dignified company. But that's what I say now, who knows what I'll be saying in another ten years or so.

GG,
Welcome, That's a fine compliment coming from a fine blogger.

Fly girl,
Two factors emerged so far; the Uprooting and the media. I want to add a third; We. To some degree a we pressure we one annoder fi bleach an try all kinda things fi look white. And in another sense those people who do it are just plain weak-minded, and whose fault is that?

Anonymous said...

Fi True. As Nesta said, "Emancipate yourself from mental slavery. None but ourselves can free out minds."

Anonymous said...

That's OUR minds! LOL