SKIN WARS

 

 

 

 

 

Keep It Oldskool realizes that there is a serious issue of dark skin versus light skin in the African American community BUT this column is all in fun and by no means do we want to demean a real issue.

 

 

 

 

In the 80s (when this author was a teen) there was the skin wars. It was waged by both sexes and both fell victim to this practice.As a dark skin male in the late 80s you had to work extra hard to get the attention of a female. This we can call the “B-Sure Syndrome”  Because of Al B Sure and Christopher Williams etc that girls wanted a “light skinded” guy. It was no one fault and just like there are always fads the “B-Sure Syndrome” was a fad that was killing us dark skin guys. The dark skin guys had to work harder to get the attention of girls. They had to be flyer then average  or be able to sing or have “good hair” (which is a topic for another column) The females did not have it much better. Guys at that time were after “red bones” or “light skinded” females. This left many dark skin girls out in the cold like their dark skin guy counterparts.

 

 

 

Suddenly in the 90s like the Sam Cooke song stated a “change came” thanks to dark skin dudes like Wesley Snipes dark skin guys made a comeback. Women had become cured of the “B-Sure Syndrome” and suddenly us dark guys were the new fad. That is not say that it was written in stone as I have had plenty of women say and will say “ I never liked light skinded guys” (writers note I am aware that I am spelling skinned incorrectly I am using for dramatic effect) Movies like Spike Lee’s School Daze also focused on the skin wars. As we are in the 2000s it is pretty much a toss up meaning sometimes the B-Sure Syndrome appears and a quick shot of “dark skincycline” like Idris Elba or Tyrese clears it right up .

 

 

Again this column was written in fun from a dark skin guy perspective who grew up the 80s and 90s. This does not mean that everyone has or had the same experience and I really tried to steer clear of the female perspective.

 

 

KEEP IT OLDSKOOL