How has colorism affected your life?

because i'm light skinned, i've had countless people in my life argue over my ethnicity with me. a lot of people want me to think it's good that i don't look like the "other" latinas. i've had people refuse to acknowledge it so they don't have to grapple mentally with me being latinA so i don't fit into the shitty boxes they've drawn up in their minds.

until i moved to a more heavily latinx-populated city, people wouldn't let me belong. in arizona, i did. people saw it and knew it and never questioned it. i carry an immense privilege due to my skin color and i've never forgotten that, but arizona was the first time i felt like i belonged.

people assume that i was prejudiced against afro-latinxs and would say awful, racist things and expect me to just let it slide.

and finally, when my dark skinned dad was driving with me in the car one day in 1993 NY, he was pulled over and accused of kidnapping me and beaten up pretty badly by the cops. my strong, hardworking father just wanted to take me to see a movie.

/r/AskWomen Thread