Why men dig white skin, and why you should't care.
Think fast, what's the most common phrase that comes to mind when someone says "ideal man"? Of course: tall, dark, and handsome. What about for the ideal woman? Well, there are a lot more phrases to choose from, but a classic one is just a single word "fair." In one sense, it means light-skinned, but in a another sense it means beautiful. None of this is by coincidence.
There was a time long ago when light skin was synonymous with beauty. Wait, scratch that. In Filipino society light skin is synonymous with beauty. More than that, white skin symbolizes the qualities that many people think a woman ought to have. She should be submissive, innocent, meek. God forbid a woman should ever speak her mind to a man on a first date! An opinionated woman is bound to send him running! Yet men can shout from the rooftops, roll in the mud, and they'll still be considered a real catch. Just look at movies, ads, even fairy tales: the ideal man is dark, maybe a little scruffy, a little mysterious. 5'clock shadow? Even better. The lumberjack look is way hot right now. Why do you think the Ken doll is made fun of so much? Because he's so clean, so proper. That's not manly. At least, not according to society's standards.
Like yin and yang, the woman must be the opposite of all that. Innocent, clean, pure. Nothing says all that more than white skin.
But hey, there's nothing wrong with having white skin. Many women are born with it, and they should embrace it. What's uncool is feeling like your brown skin is dirty, that it isn't good enough to attract that ideal man. When you really think about it, what's wrong with a tall, dark and beautiful WOMAN? She sounds strong and independent. She sure as heck sounds more interesting than a cookie-cutter, prim and proper "fair maiden."
She sounds like the type of girl who lets her eyeliner smudge just a little bit. Looks more rock 'n' roll. She's an expert at putting her hair up in a messy bun, and yeah, sometimes she'll have a large burger, with a large fries and coke, consume it in in 5 minutes with room for dessert. Unladylike? What does that even mean anymore? Today's woman is a little good, a little bad. She's a little bit of a b****, but she's got an amazing heart. She loves sky high heels, but would give anything for one more lazy Sunday in her ratty old concert T-shirt. And CarmenClaire embraces those two sides in every woman. The Carmen: who's got a sharp tongue and a little bit of an attitude. The Claire: a girly girl, yet effortlessly elegant.
The point is, gone are the days when Snow White was what every woman aspired to be. Times have changed, people! Today, every woman should aspire to simply be a better version of herself. Brown skin, yellow skin, white skin, and whatever color in between.
Love and smudged liner,
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