Last night, the controversial documentary “Dark Girls” debuted on the Oprah Winfrey Network. Tweets flooded in about the topic of skin color and how dark skin is viewed compared to light skin in not only the African American community, but in other cultures too. The 2 hour documentary generated a lot of conversation on social media. Here is a view of some of the tweets that came in as we watched:
You are ultimately the keeper of your own soul…if you dont love and cherish you, how can you expect anyone else to do the same? #DarkGirls
— The SistahChick (@TheSistahChick) June 24, 2013
Documentaries are not meant to solve the issues. It's merely a conversation starter. It's up to us to continue after tonight! #DarkGirls
— Ty Alexander (@loveTyAlexander) June 24, 2013
Truth is, every girl has a story to tell. Dark Girls who have to defend their beauty & Light Girls who have to defend their race.#DarkGirls
— Hana (@hananatutunis16) June 24, 2013
Black people bleach to look white or light. And white people tan to get darker. The hypocrisy #DarkGirls
— Will Smith Slapped Me (@AshleyShyMiller) June 24, 2013
https://twitter.com/TheBlackVoice/statuses/349000955074859009
#DarkGirls is just an example. It's UP to us to be the solution. EVERY shade of black is AMAZING & stunning. WE define, gorgeous & beauty.
— Yuie (@YusufYuie) June 24, 2013
https://twitter.com/cnwabeke/statuses/348998770832334848
The men that aren't interested in you because of your complexion aren't even worth the time #darkgirls
— Jai C. (@SimplyJaniqueC) June 24, 2013
Let's be clear tho: don't try to make a dark-skinned girl feel better by making a lighter-skinned girl feel worse. #DarkGirls
— fredara (@fredaraMareva) June 24, 2013
Watching #darkgirls with 15 year old daughter. She keeps pausing it with so many compelling questions and comments… @Oprah @OWNTV
— Holly Robinson Peete ???? (@hollyrpeete) June 24, 2013
"Lack of unity" was taught & encouraged from slavery. We never got over it. #DarkGirls @OWNTV
— Reagan Gomez (@ReaganGomez) June 24, 2013
BMWK family, let us know what you thought about the documentary, what you think about the issues that were discussed, and what your replies are to the tweets above.
I didn’t see the doc, but I wish someone would talk about the social preferences for light-skin guys over dark skin guys. It was rought growing up as a dark skin male. All the girls wanted the light skinned guys with wavy hair. My dark-skinned self esteem was shot until the later years of high school. It wasn’t til my early 20s that I stop caring, and stop letting other people’s perception influence how I felt about myself. #darkguys