I've seen dark skin Somalis discussed quite a lot here on the forum, so even though what I'm about to say maybe obvious to some here, i'd still like to clarify a few things.
Some of you are under two misguided assumptions:
1. That we view skin colour the same way blacks, cultures in Asia and others view it.
2. That our views on the matter have been shaped by Eurocentric conceptions of beauty.
Amongst blacks and many other cultures around the world, especially in the continent of Asia, skin colour is not only one of the main factors in beauty but also one of the main determinants of someones place in the social hierarchy. The lighter ones skin the higher their social value. For example in the 20 century African American institutions and organizations, like churches, fraternities and clubs, had something known as brown paper bag test. This meant that only those blacks whose skin colour was as light or lighter than a brown paper bag were granted admission, while those darker were turned away. Or take for example the obsession of lighter skin in India, to the extent that even their men use lightening creams for social status purposes.
In contrast for Somalis skin colour has no social significance. There is no social divide or hierarchy, even implicit, between light skinned, copper skinned and dark skinned Somalis. You can be as dark as coal, but as long as you're an ethnic Somali your social standing is equal to the lightest of Somalis. This is because in our nomadic society social standing is not determined by skin colour nor by other physical characteristics, but by your clan membership. The only significance lighter skin has in Somali society is its association with female beauty. It's just one feature among many others that are considered nice on a female, such as long soft hair, refined facial features, big eyes, nice smile/teeth, long slender limbs etc. To consider lighter skin on a female to be any more significant or important than having any one of these other features is a non-Somali way to think about the issue. Another distinction to make between Somali and black/asian cultures, especially asian cultures, is that for them darker skin ruins beauty. It's like a disfigurement that renders all the other features a waste. I have an Afghani friend who flat out told me that if an Afhgani girl is considered dark for Afghani standards she'll never be considered pretty even if she has the most flawless features. The opposite is true also, in that an Afhani girl who is very light/white will be considered good looking or even possibly beautiful even if her features are average. But for Somalis, like I already mentioned, skin colour is just one of many features that contribute to a female's overall aesthetics. So if a girl is dark but has amazing features, nice hair and a nice body all Somalis, like 99% of them, will consider her gorgeous and won't even give a second thought to her skin colour. No Somali guy that I know in real life would take a light skinned Somali girl with average features over a darker Somali girl with beautiful features.
The other issue is that some people think that our preference for lighter skin in women is due to an internalization of European standards of beauty as a result of colonization and media influence. This is simply not true. If one looks at old Somali poetry composed before the colonialists had even come to Somalia or at least made their presence felt, we find that the maariin (copper skin) and at times light skin is mentioned among other beauty ideals for a Somali women. A study found that the vast majority of the worlds cultures, including indigenous and isolated cultures who have little to no contact with Europeans/media/hollywood, prefer lighter skin on their women. It's ironic that BLM/SJW Somali girls, who most vehemently object to white supremacy, are the same ones who insist that we adopted these beauty ideals from the whites, indirectly cementing the supremacist position of whites by ceding to them the power to shape Somali conceptions of beauty; a power which they, alhamdulillah, did not have over us. They make the mistake of studying African American history and culture and then proceeding to use the same analytic lens to dissect Somali issues. Because of slavery and colonialism Whites did become the benchmark of beauty for blacks and people form the Asian continent, just look at all the plastic surgery in China and Korea to 'fix' their eyes and other features in order to look white. It's also why for them it goes beyond just beauty and spills over into the social status realm. Alhamdulillah Somali culture and Somali self-worth was left intact despite colonialism.
Lastly, I see many guys here dissing dark skin Somali women. Like I said for Somalis it's just one of many features. So for y'all to bring it up more than let's say eye size and shape shows that this issue goes deeper for u guys. U might wanna ask yourselves why it's that deep for you? Just like how BLM/SJW Somali girls are using an African American lens to dissect our issues, I think some of the guys on here may be falling into the same trap by subscribing to the dark-skin, red-bone, yellow-bone obsessions and neuroses of blacks, which should be a completely alien worldview to a healthy Somali psyche.
Some of you are under two misguided assumptions:
1. That we view skin colour the same way blacks, cultures in Asia and others view it.
2. That our views on the matter have been shaped by Eurocentric conceptions of beauty.
Amongst blacks and many other cultures around the world, especially in the continent of Asia, skin colour is not only one of the main factors in beauty but also one of the main determinants of someones place in the social hierarchy. The lighter ones skin the higher their social value. For example in the 20 century African American institutions and organizations, like churches, fraternities and clubs, had something known as brown paper bag test. This meant that only those blacks whose skin colour was as light or lighter than a brown paper bag were granted admission, while those darker were turned away. Or take for example the obsession of lighter skin in India, to the extent that even their men use lightening creams for social status purposes.
In contrast for Somalis skin colour has no social significance. There is no social divide or hierarchy, even implicit, between light skinned, copper skinned and dark skinned Somalis. You can be as dark as coal, but as long as you're an ethnic Somali your social standing is equal to the lightest of Somalis. This is because in our nomadic society social standing is not determined by skin colour nor by other physical characteristics, but by your clan membership. The only significance lighter skin has in Somali society is its association with female beauty. It's just one feature among many others that are considered nice on a female, such as long soft hair, refined facial features, big eyes, nice smile/teeth, long slender limbs etc. To consider lighter skin on a female to be any more significant or important than having any one of these other features is a non-Somali way to think about the issue. Another distinction to make between Somali and black/asian cultures, especially asian cultures, is that for them darker skin ruins beauty. It's like a disfigurement that renders all the other features a waste. I have an Afghani friend who flat out told me that if an Afhgani girl is considered dark for Afghani standards she'll never be considered pretty even if she has the most flawless features. The opposite is true also, in that an Afhani girl who is very light/white will be considered good looking or even possibly beautiful even if her features are average. But for Somalis, like I already mentioned, skin colour is just one of many features that contribute to a female's overall aesthetics. So if a girl is dark but has amazing features, nice hair and a nice body all Somalis, like 99% of them, will consider her gorgeous and won't even give a second thought to her skin colour. No Somali guy that I know in real life would take a light skinned Somali girl with average features over a darker Somali girl with beautiful features.
The other issue is that some people think that our preference for lighter skin in women is due to an internalization of European standards of beauty as a result of colonization and media influence. This is simply not true. If one looks at old Somali poetry composed before the colonialists had even come to Somalia or at least made their presence felt, we find that the maariin (copper skin) and at times light skin is mentioned among other beauty ideals for a Somali women. A study found that the vast majority of the worlds cultures, including indigenous and isolated cultures who have little to no contact with Europeans/media/hollywood, prefer lighter skin on their women. It's ironic that BLM/SJW Somali girls, who most vehemently object to white supremacy, are the same ones who insist that we adopted these beauty ideals from the whites, indirectly cementing the supremacist position of whites by ceding to them the power to shape Somali conceptions of beauty; a power which they, alhamdulillah, did not have over us. They make the mistake of studying African American history and culture and then proceeding to use the same analytic lens to dissect Somali issues. Because of slavery and colonialism Whites did become the benchmark of beauty for blacks and people form the Asian continent, just look at all the plastic surgery in China and Korea to 'fix' their eyes and other features in order to look white. It's also why for them it goes beyond just beauty and spills over into the social status realm. Alhamdulillah Somali culture and Somali self-worth was left intact despite colonialism.
Lastly, I see many guys here dissing dark skin Somali women. Like I said for Somalis it's just one of many features. So for y'all to bring it up more than let's say eye size and shape shows that this issue goes deeper for u guys. U might wanna ask yourselves why it's that deep for you? Just like how BLM/SJW Somali girls are using an African American lens to dissect our issues, I think some of the guys on here may be falling into the same trap by subscribing to the dark-skin, red-bone, yellow-bone obsessions and neuroses of blacks, which should be a completely alien worldview to a healthy Somali psyche.
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