Rhiannon Watkins,
Centennial, CO.
Why are magazines always filled with white and light-skinned women? I have never in my life had a shortage of skinny, white girls to look up to in the media, but where are all the black and brown models? Why am I automatically considered prettier than any other girl because I have lighter skin than her? Why do people feel the need to put down girls of color to make me feel better about myself? And why is it that when I get a tan, it makes me ‘even prettier’, but when a black girl is naturally dark-skinned, she’s ‘too dark’? Why do I get pushed to keep going out to tan more and more, but when that’s someone’s natural skin tone, it’s undesirable? When do we draw the line on what is considered ‘too dark’? When she doesn’t have ‘White’ features? When her hair isn’t blonde and her eyes aren’t blue or green? Girls with dark skin is just as beautiful as me with my white skin, and they always will be.