Hello everyone! My name is Nica and I am a woman of color and as a woman of color I automatically have two strikes against me: I am a woman and I am black. Now before you comment telling me why this previous statement is "stupid" and all the other things that you could possibly say about it take a minute to reflect on it. People think that because it is 2013 everyone is considered equal and we have moved passed race and gender problems, but the reality is we have not.
I've had people tell me that I am pretty "for a black girl". Now to you this may be a compliment, but to me it's an insult. By saying "for a black girl" it is as if you're saying that all black girls are ugly. What's even more appalling is that a majority of the time this isn't even being said by someone of a race other than black but rather by black men. It hurts me to see that instead of being celebrated and uplifted by our fellow "brothers" we are instead being shamed and put down. I don't mean to generalize to say this about all black men but from what I've seen the number of black men who do this is at a frightening high amount.
In regards to beauty black women are constantly being penalized and criticized for the things that we do. From the color lipsticks that we choose to wear, to the color of our clothing. Black women are constantly being told what NOT to do. Why should the color of my skin restrict me from expressing myself? If I want to wear bright lipsticks why shouldn't I? If I want to dye my hair blonde why shouldn't I?
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