White supremacy in today's society

Can anyone offer a solution to this problem that is reflected in today's black womens self image? The fact that white features (straight hair, thin nose, colored eyes) are held in such high regard among the african american community) troubles me......

It seems like the less educated members of my race feel like to be beautiful you have to have good hair and be yella or white. What can I do to change these deeply ingrained fellings of self-loathing???

To answer mandyloo:

In the days before the proverbial white man came to africa most blacks considered themselves beautiful or werent concerned with beauty at all. A first hand account from a first generation slave said that the tribalsmen thought that the whites were the ugliest creatures they ever saw. (To Be a Slave by Julius Lester) 600 years later the same features that were believed to be hideous are now held in high regard and coveted.
My theory: (just a theory but I have many who agree with me)
In the days of the slave-master relationships the yella slaves were often given the jobs in the house as servants and cooks because they were obviously the daughters of the slave masters. These yella slaves were often envied and even killed out of jealousy (by the mistress and the legitimate children of the master too) The fairest of these mulattos could even pass and escape to freedom. I believe that had an effect on it.
Up until recently blacks in America have constantly been told that we weren't good enough simply because the color of our skin. I believe that had something to do with it.
Come on Mrs. Loo you are an intelligent woman. You cant seriously tell me that you believe 5 centuries of degradation by the Supreme white man would have no effect on the black communities self-esteem and values. Values that are passed down to the children and childrens children of the people who were told that their dark skin made them sub-human and lesser beings...

I don't see how that has anything to do with white supremacy honestly. Straight hair is not only a white feature, along with thin noses, etc.

I don't see the problem with making yourself happy with your appearance - that goes for anyone of any race.

U can't do anything. It will never stop. Far too many people are racist to get rid of bigotry completely. It's just not gonna happen, but what you can do is talk about it w/ people and try to change a few people's minds about it. The reason I think some black people believe all those things you listed is b/c they don't have those things. Eveybody wants what they don't have. If you have straight hair, you want curly hair. I f you have curly hair, you wish it was straight. If you have blue eyes, u'd rather have green. If you have black people's texture of hair you wish you had white people's texture and the list goes on.

It's not just limited to the african-american community. Women on the Indian subcontinent are often held to the same standards -- IE, those with fairer features are often deemed more attractive than those with duskier skin.

But this has nothing to do with white supremacy or racism. It's simply cultural preference. The appearances of the overweight are also judged more harshly, along with the short, the bald, the acne-riddled, the disfigured, the stooped, the elderly, and so on, and none of those has anything to do with race, just culture (and, to some extent, our DNA trying to find the best genes to pair itself with). To point out a few items that our society tends to find more attractive and point to racism as the reason is...well, racist.

It sounds ridiculous and cliched, but learning to happy with yourself whether others are judging you or not is the fastest way to change perception. Self-confidence is always hot.

what are you talking about? you're beautiful! im white and I know there a lot of people out there that make blacks feel bad =[ but dont worry you should be proud to be black

Aw thanks teachel! Youre a bit dog-faced but generally cute. jk! lmao! get it? you have a dog as your pic! ha ha ha ha ha! I crack myself up!!!

You can't. Everybody has low self esteem now a days. Everyone wants something they can't have - that's life.

It is not just people from your background- it's in every society. It will never change unless the media stops pumping the perfect girl with the prefect figure and gorgeous hair. Internationally we all have to come together and remind each other that these perfections we strive for are not even real and definitely not reachable.

I don't sorry. Blacks are not the only people with insecurities that want to change things about themselves - white people do to? How do you explain that - it has nothing to do with race. I PROMISE you that even before the white man came to africa as you say - there were still women who were not happy with their looks.

Did you read Mikeh's post at all? He explained it very well.

Incidentally, the preferred term is cracker, not supreme white man.

yes I did mrs. loo and I know that this is not limited to the black culture. I do believe however that it is more prominent. how familiar are you with the hip hop culture? have you watched bet lately? listened to any rap songs? If you did youd see that there are exactly 2 dark skin women who are featured in rap videos out of all the thousands of video vixens out there. In rap songs all they talk about is getting a bad yella dime or another type of woman outside of our race. In fact I have also noticed a trend among today's comercials. (on 3 mcdonalds commercials 1 huggies commercials 2 tyson chicken commercials I saw that a the child playing the role of the child was obviously biracial when the actors playing the parents were black. Last time I checked two nappy'-head black people cant make a curly haired mixed kid. I dont see any commercials where two obviously white actors playing parents have a little black baby or hispanic baby) I know in the end its all about finding love with whom you find attractive but please dont blame me for wondering why less and less black men find darker skin black women less and less attractive each day.

ty thank you for not being blinded by biased. anyone who is actually involved in the situation can clearly see that this is more than a random insecurity. No I dont think that it reflects current day racism or its even something that is consious. I think that it is passed down from days of slavery and racism. It is one thing for everyone to have individual insecurities but when a whole group of people hold one thing above others then it must be a reason. I dont know if my theory is correct but it has to come from somewhere.

I agree with you to a point - I'm just saying that calling it White Supremacy is not exactly the the right wording.

I don't know, maybe I'm too white to answer this question. (just kidding).

To me though, it just seems as if it's another trend, something that has come around now and it popular. Give it a few years and I'm sure that it will change - and darker skinned women will be seen as more beautiful.

To me it's just like the fashion trend of pale skin vs. tanned skin. Tanned skin was SO popular and if you weren't tan you weren't seen in any magazines at one point - now women with pale skin are getting more hype and attention.

I could be completely off on this ---who knows.

I know that in our society there seem to be a preference for blacks who have more Caucasian looking features. If you look at pictures of Michael Jackson when he was a kid and today it looks like his own insecurity caused him to go under the knife to look more Caucasian.

One think I would like to toss out though is that Oprah Winfrey was told early in her career not to expect much in the way of media success because she looked too black. This hasn't seemed to have held her back.

that pissing me off too I see a lot or black women with funny,fake yellow hair its awful ! weather your black white or something in between be happy with who you are
and dont bothh those silly women that thik that white features are the only pritty features ! K ?

All I can say is the
Past is history
the Future is unknown
and righ now is a gift that's why it is called the present.

Embrace yourself and who you are and love it with every breath you take, I do feel we can break out of this mold.