light skin Archives - The Race Card Project

Jokes Can Be Just As Harmful

February 12, 2026February 15, 2026 8th Grade Holland New Tech High School, harmful, Holland, hurt, jokes, light skin, Mexican, MI, Skyla Gochenour, stereotype, tacos

Skyla Gochenour,
8th Grade Holland New Tech High School,
Holland, MI.

Every day there are supposed “jokes” batted back and forth between man every day. While many of these jokes are seemingly harmless, they can really hurt people. Especially people like me. Since I have lighter skin it is impossible to tell that I am Mexican, with the only thing to prove it being several of my other family members. I do not speak Spanish, I do not like tacos, and I certainly do not fit the Mexican stereotype at all. Due to my paler skin, people may say a joke or two directed towards Mexicans unknowingly, or in even more serious cases- racial remarks. When I hear this, I always feel upset, they are insulting my mom, my grandma, my grandpa, my cousins and even my best friends. While you would expect them to fall silent in guilt after I tell them that I am Mexican many people do the opposite. A common response would be “Good, I needed someone to mow my lawn.” or, “So you like Tacos?” I have had to deal with this for my entire life and I am sick and tired of it. Even if it may be a “joke”, it is not funny at all. We don’t all eat tacos, we won’t mow your lawns for free, we are not all illegal immigrants. We are all people, we have hobbies, interest, and everything you have. So what makes us so different?

#HollandNewTech

You’re not hispanic your skins white?

January 26, 2026 dark skin, dark spots, darker, Hispanic, Jasmine Dionne, light skin, lighter, Manchester, NH, sun damage, white spot

Jasmine Dionne,
Manchester, NH

I get asked this question a lot, what my race is and everytime I do they mention “no your not, your skin’s white, you can’t even tan you burn that’s how white you are!” This comment makes me instantly sad. I know that my skin is white as white can be, I see it everyday. I tried to tan but my skin doesn’t change drastically, it just burns. My doctor tells me to always use sunblock because I get these white dotted permanent patches on my skin from sun exposure that can lead to skin cancer if not covered. It’s embarrassing especially standing next to my brothers and other darker hispanics. People need to use their heads and think why; like that my entire family aren’t hispanics so I didn’t get the “dark” gene, maybe I have low melanin, or that not all Puerto Ricans ancestors were “dark”?

Poor Wandita she looks very “Indian”

October 13, 2025October 13, 2025 Canada, Chile, Chilean, first experience, identify, indigenous, light skin, mestiza, Wanda Luna

Wanda Luna,
Canada.

Wanda Luna. 41 years old. Mestiza, Chilean born. When I was 4 while playing with my little brother I over heard my aunt say to my mom how bad she felt that I looked indigenous. Many in Chile still favor those with lighter skin and will self identify as white.

I hate South Korean beauty standards.

March 3, 2025March 6, 2025 ally, beauty, bleaching, dark skin, disgusting, hate, light skin, poor, rich, South Korea, stereotype, USA

Ally,
USA.

I know that in the past, it was better to have lighter skin because that meant you weren’t poor, but now, with all that disgusting skin bleaching, it makes me want to rip my ugly dark skin off and bleach it too.

Too tan but not tan enough

January 23, 2025 Asian, IA, identity, light skin, Madison Tounsley, Pleasant Hill, too tan, white, white skin

Madison Tounsley,
Pleasant Hill, IA

I am a 19 year old woman who has battled with my ethnicity/race growing up. I am part Asian and part Caucasian I have been discriminated upon for being too tan or not tan enough. It seems I could not fit in or feel understood or seem as either identity.

Too white to be Native American

May 12, 2024May 12, 2024 brown eyes, Cherokee, Chicago, green eyes, IL, italian, light skin, mom, Native American, Simone, stereotype, too white

Simone,
Chicago, IL.

A lot of people say I look too white to be Native American. It’s tiring that my mom is full Cherokee while my dad was full blown Italian, all my other bothers came out darker than me and had brown eyes, I am the only girl int he family. As far as having light skin, but tan in the summer, dark hair with green eyes. I tell people that i am mixed but seem not to believe based on soley the skin color. To me skin color doesn’t matter on a base of streotyping people, but that’s what you get on people who choose to live inside the box rather than out.

Blacker the Berry, Sweeter the Juice

April 22, 2024 AL, bully, dark skin, light skin, Opelika, skin

Brailynn Billingsley,
Opelika, AL

People judge me because I’m darker toned than my peers. If they were to talk to me, they would understand I am the sweetest seed in a peach. I’m bullied because of my skin, so when i retaliate with my words, I’m portrayed as an angry “monkey.” I’m actually the nicest “human” being.

Mom said brown girls are ugly.

January 24, 2024January 24, 2024 Anna, awkard, beauty, brown girl, CA, compare, dark skin, Family, filipino, light skin, Santa Maria, stereotype, ugly

Anna,
Santa Maria, CA.

I am a 47 year old Filipina. I remember being constantly compared to my lighter skinned cousins and feeling awkward to be among my own family. If I could, I would travel back in time and give my 3 year old self a tight hug and tell her how important it is to love herself and to never believe any of the b.s. her mother tells her ever again.

“But you’re not ‘really’ black, right?”

January 21, 2024January 21, 2024 Black, Danielle Petterson, FL, light skin, mixed, simple-minded, Tampa, you don't look

Danielle Petterson,
Tampa, FL.

I have light brown skin and I consider myself to be mixed. Most people have a simple-minded belief that “mixed” means that one parent is black while the other is white. To me, it runs so much deeper than that. I have 4 grandparents from 4 different countries: Puerto Rico, Curaçao, Guyana, and the US. Therefore, my background is a mix of Puerto Rican, Dutch Caribbean, and Native North and South American Indian: THAT’S what I mean by mixed. However, I don’t speak Spanish, Dutch, Papiamento, or any other languages my ancestors may have spoken, I was born and raised in Florida, I check “African-American” on applications and surveys, and since race and ethnicity are two separate things, yes, I really am black. I am not obligated to answer the question “What are you, really?” with a full explanation of my family background and my many ethnicities. My mother, with skin lighter than me, considers herself to be black and my father, who is darker, considers himself to be black, thus I am black. Yes, really.

The privilege of being white while black

January 20, 2024January 20, 2024 black ski, Joseph Benjamin, light skin, San Antonio, skin color, South, TX, white privilege

Joseph Benjamin,
San Antonio, TX.

I’m a light skinned black man who grew up poor and black in the south, but because of my skin color I’ve always been treated differently from birth to the time when I realized the significance of it being white while black. I went with a dark skinned friend to apply for my first job. I was hired he wasn’t even though he had work experience and I didn’t. Doors were always more open for me because of my skin tone. I was black light culturally black without the dark skin.

Mom said brown girls are ugly.

January 11, 2024 Anna, awkard, beauty, brown girl, CA, compare, dark skin, Family, filipino, light skin, Santa Maria, stereotype, ugly

Anna,
Santa Maria, CA.

I’m Hispanic, stop thinking I’m White

August 29, 2022 complicated, ESOL, Hispanic, Houston, kindergarten, language, Latinx, Leslya Chavez, light skin, not white, TX, VA, Virginia

Leslya Chavez,
Houston, TX

Born and raised on the East coast of Virginia, though was raised in a Hispanic household. Grew up only Spanish till I was placed in Kindergarten and had to teach myself English. Coming from a Hispanic background where Spanish is your main language at home and then your second language is English, even though I was born in America. I still had to make sure my culture continued to grow within me. It got to a point where I became fluent in both languages and even people in the Hispanic/ Latinx Community would see me as a White girl. Just because I’m light-complected and don’t have the features of a Hispanic person. Deep down it breaks my heart when I have people or simply patients that have difficulty getting around their daily lives and I encounter them struggling to try to explain to those around them that they need help looking for something. And when I see them struggling I do the best of my ability to guide them in the direction they are needing. The face of relief they give me when I ask them if they need help in Spanish fulfills my heart each time. Though, it’s saddening that even within my culture I’m just seen as a helpless white girl that doesn’t know Spanish at all. And it shouldn’t be viewed that way, or even simply looking around for someone that is tan or darker complexed and ask them for help. Therefore they should at least build the courage to ask if someone around speaks Spanish and if they could be of their assistance.

Just because I’m brown, I’m different

January 27, 2022January 27, 2022 beautiful, brother, brown, CA, different, Jessica Hernandez, light skin, San Juan Capistrano, sister, what about me

Jessica Hernandez,
San Juan Capistrano, CA.

My little sister were born light skinned versus me who was born brown. My parents like to bring that up all the time, saying that because she is light skinned, she’s going to get all the guys. Because she is light skinned, she will be beautiful. So what about me?

I don’t know where I fit

October 26, 2021 CA, hald white, Hispanic, light skin, Marina, nina, where do I fit in

Nina,
Marina, CA

I’m light skinned, half white, but I don’t feel white. My other half is Hispanic. I ever know what race to put down, so I always pick “other.”

Light girls aren’t real black women.

October 14, 2021October 14, 2021 Black woman, light skin, NY, Pamyla C, real, Staten Island

Pamyla C,
Staten Island, NY.

You’re lucky; you have good hair

July 3, 2021July 3, 2021 African American, Aminah, Black, Columbia, good hair, hair, light skin, lucky, mixed, Race, SC, white

Aminah
Columbia, SC

Being a light-skinned African-American has afforded me the ability to kind of live on multiple sides of the race coin in terms of my superficial assets. Many people assume that I’m mixed; I’m not. Many people assume that I lucky because, since I’m fully black, I have good hair. Man, if one more person, black or white, says that I’m lucky because I have good hair…basically you’re saying that my personality sucks and all I have to fall back on is my awesome hair (I know they’re not really saying that). But really, why can’t we stop looking at the superficial and start looking at the internal? My hair doesn’t make me who I am, nor does my skin, nor does my “race”.

Too Light, Too Dark…Who Cares

June 28, 2021June 28, 2021 Baltimore, can't we all just get along, dark, light, light skin, MD, Rodney King, who cares, Wilhelmina Street

Wilhelmina Street,
Baltimore, MD.

Actually, more people of our very own race seem to struggle with the idea of an extremely light person marrying someone who is extremely dark. Even after 30 years of us being married I still catch racist remarks and side glances from those on our side of the tracks. In my father’s day it was called being “color-struck.” In the words of Rodney King, “Can’t we all get along?”

African American but not black

May 31, 2021May 31, 2021 1980's, African American, Arabic, Black, egypt, Hispanic, light skin, New York, NY, Rewan, What is white?

Rewan,
New York, NY.

I’m 15 years old, and I live in New York. My parents were both born and raised in Egypt and moved here in the ’80s. Let me cut to the chase- I’ve been called white, Hispanic, “light skin,” but I consider my self Arabic, because Egyptians speak Arabic and is located in the Middle East. But in schools, or anything under the city, i have no idea what to put for my race. What even is white?? Does it mean Caucasian? Why isn’t there an ‘other’ for some things? WHY DO THEY EVEN ASK FOR RACE? doesnt everyone like to say race doesnt matter? well, apparently it does if your asking me. can I just put African American? Its true, Egypt is in africa, everyone uses African American as a more polite way to say black. There are light African Americans, just as there are black people that arent African american, like Caribbeans. but i guess thats just the way it is.

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