Mixed Chicks supports team light skin on Twitter, experiences fallout

Ambitious_Tiff wrote:@ Indigo.Blue & KandyLandKurls
Y'ALL BETTER PREACH IT & TEACH IT!! YES!!

DITTO!

Indigo. Blue is my chica, you are so WOKE and I dig it Sis. You most definitely know what is up, we will just have to wait for the others to gain more life experience to see and understand the bigger "all-inclusive" picture. All of your responses were golden! Keep bringing the light into them shaded corner perspectives.

Interesting conversation. As someone who lives in Ohio, lives in Columbus where the party that sparked the entire debacle is taking place tomorrow night- I am just saddended that they used light vs dark as a promo. I don't really care about Mixed Chicks products. The name alone suggests it isn't for me, and heck - it's not even sold here! So, really- who cares. But shame on the party promoters who thought this was a fun idea. The light versus dark drama, which is older than everyone on this thread- is not something to perpetuate or be taken so lightly- pun intended.

Ambitious_Tiff wrote:@ Indigo.Blue & KandyLandKurls
Y'ALL BETTER PREACH IT & TEACH IT!! YES!!

I'm cosigning this one....I agree 100%!

Thanks ladies

Very well said Natural 83...my sentiments exactly...Thank You!

@1FlySista, Ambitious_Tiff, and EMarie...THANK YOU! I am happy you understood where I was coming from...also, thank you for commenting and lending your support...

@Spiralos: just to clarify: part is used when the culture is not from mom and dad...ex: if my grandmother was Native American, I will not say I am mixed, I will say I am part Native American. If someone had a Italian father and a Jamaican mother then they are mixed or biracial. There is a difference between the two...

@CreoleBeauty, Nali, and mrscoutrmmm: I really enjoyed this debate and I look forward to our future interactions

OH Boy ! Mixed chicks ! another one bites the dust lol @indigo same here:)

wow. I can't....I just can't even

@ Indigo.Blue i couldn't agree more on everything you said,
Ok so mixedchicks didn't shout out #teamdark skin...so?.. Idk would everything be all roses if mixedchicks did a shout out for #teamworld? ..Nah the world would still be the same n life goes on but idk maybe some people would feel a little better to be included in a group or something? Now if there was any message of hate/ racism/ promotion of violence towards a group...Ok I'd understand the anger but seriously? over a shout out?
I still don't see the problem, But I do see people taking anything on twitter seriously a problem, I'm 21 n I think only middle school/ h.s kids use that crap.

I think the whole situation is about as messy as when Kohls came out with that "Ghetto Fabulous" wig that sparked an outroar on twitter. I believe the PR team definitely shouldve thought about what they were tweeting before they tweeted it. I dont use Mixed Chicks brand so I dont know much about them other than the title, which im indifferent about.

@Indigo.Blue

I know I'm late as hell lol but I went through all of the comments and while you make a lot of valid points, this one statement struck me:

"Why must a 3c deny loving their curls because a 4c may be envious. Do you have to deny having a great relationship with your father if I never had a father? Should you deny having a Masters if I only have a GED?"

This statement amplifies WHY the good hair/bad hair debate is still alive and well. 3C curls are akin to a masters degree, while 4C is a GED? Those two comparisons are beyond insulting. So 3C hair is the Maybach and 4C hair is the hoopty. C'mon son...

Oprah, Condi, Sheri Shepard, ect. are not beauty icons. Yes they are in the media but what little black girl looks at Oprah and says "I wanna LOOK like Oprah"? So, it's not going to be an even playing field until we have as many Gabrielle Unions as we have Lauren Londons. And yeah, people SHOULD be strong enough to be confident on their own, but guess what? That isn't how society works. We need positive images of ALL shades to free younger generations of this garbage.

I think the whole issue with the name "Mixed Chicks" is that non-"mixed" folks can have "mixed" hair. Since when was Carols Daughter non-inclusive to folks with "mixed hair"? I didn't get that memo...

Nobody is saying that you can't revel in whatever grows out of your head, or in the hue of your skin. But don't act like you don't know WHY it's not as big a deal when darker or kinkier-haired sister affirms her beauty.

I'ma shut up now...

@BrownSkinDiva: Mixed Chick is wrong for saying #team light skin...what if they said #light skin divas...would that have been more acceptable???

@choklitgirlwonder: welcome to the conversation...the connection you made between 3c being akin to a masters is your thoughts not mine. That is not what I said nor was that the connection I was making. My position is clear. A 3c is not allowed to say she loves her curls without getting the side eye, yet, 4abc are allowed to scream it from the hill tops. The good hair/bad hair debate lives not because of little ole me, but because people want to deny their truth in attempts to be politically correct...ex: does a 3abc have good hair if it is thin and has lots of breakage? Does a 4abc have good hair if it is full and healthy? So maybe good hair is not a type but characteristics that one may like.

To say that Oprah, Condi, Sherri...are not beauty icons is insulting to those little black girls you referenced and to millions of black people because they do look like me and many people I know. Queen Latifa remindes me of my little sister...and I think Queen is beautiful. I have a friend who looks like Brandy. I do see reflections of myself in the media, but that means nothing. Like I said before, when I was growing up there was the Cosby Show, Fresh Prince, Different World, Living Single, Family Matters...positive black images were everywhere...we had positive songs on the radio like Self Destruction and UNITY...if positive media images were the solution then my generation should be on the top of the world...if tv were full of Gabrielle's we would still be complaining that there is no one to represent us...If you watch the news, there is a beautiful black women (who is intelligent and speaks well) on every time slot. Maybe we should not be depending on the media to teach our children anyway...

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." That quote was not just for white people...maybe if we encouraged little girls to look up to Oprah for the content of her character rather than her physical features (even though I think she is beautiful)...hmmmm that's a great idea if I do say so myself. Lauren London is beautiful! Not because of her skin tone, but she has to-die-for dimples and smile. When it is all said and done, beauty means very little, if it did Halle Berry would have never known the sound of a heart break...

I don't know why darker-skin or kinkier hair is allowed to complement themselves and affirm their beauty while the rest of the world has to stay quiet...help me figure that out...

Indigo.Blue wrote: I don't know why darker-skin or kinkier hair is allowed to complement themselves and affirm their beauty while the rest of the world has to stay quiet...help me figure that out...

I'm sorry everyone I wanted to say one more thing about this if I could.

@Indigo.Blue
Is your comment directed towards the black community in general? Because we've had to stay quiet for most of our lives when lighter skin and loose-to-straight haired textures were complimented by the rest of the world. Pretty much still is that way. It's like your saying that people who are of mixed ancestry ( black and whatever) have a hard time being accepted in the black community and that they are being oppressed in some way by them.
This goes back to the original post. The very reason people were upset at the Mixed Chicks company's tweet was that they were the one's who were doing the excluding. "Those on the darkskin's team can't use our products because everyone knows darkskin=kinky hair and lightskin=bi-racial/mixed hair (whatever that means in their tiny heads). It is fact that all hair types can be found on all different skin tones. The company was wrong.

I understand where you are coming from, Indigo.Blue, but if you don't affirm your beauty for yourself or within your own community who else will?
It seems mixed/biracial peoples are upset that the black community rejects them and at times are angry when we "claim" them. If biracial people want their own community, no one's stopping them. But don't do things like the Mixed Chicks company did and then say the black community is being unfair and judgemental.

I have to say i agree with the two new ladies that joined this thread , light skin beauties mixed beauties closer to white beauties have been praised by our society . Mixed chick company are very ignorant in my eyes because "mixed people'' do not have a designated hair type

I totally enjoy this debate...

@Spiralos: Who made you stay quiet while the world praise the lighter-skin loose-to-straight hair textures??? So it is okay to praise dark, but not okay to praise light??? I cannot change the fact that I am dark just like one cannot change that they are light...so why are light-skinned people penalized for being light when you get mad for being penalized because you are dark...
Here is my problem: You want to deny one group something that you demand for yourself...We all struggle with feeling accepted...I don't care who you are: white suburban kid, black suburban kid, ugly, pretty, fat, skinny, rich, poor...we all want to feel accepted...most of us feel oppressed...google search some forums of other groups...you are just as beautifully human as everyone else...

Who said that just because a person is light-skin, they are automatically beautiful and accepted? I also did not know that just because someone is dark, they are automatically ugly and ostracized...
I think we are projecting our feelings that is not based on any fact. I knew someone who had a nasty attitude, and just-so-happened to be black. She got into an arguement with a white person...her conclusion, the white person did not like her because she was black...
I know a black man who dates white women. He says that black women stare at him when he is with his white girlfriend because they are jealous...it is not possible that the black girl thought he was cute, liked the way he dressed, liked the girl's handbag...the only conclusion is that the on-lookers are jealous...This is what I think you are doing. You are projection you feelings that may or may not be true...
@Spiralos and CreoleBeauty...
I totally disagree that Mixed Chicks decided their name as a slap in the face to dark skin black girls...I am sure they have better things to do...we have already agreed that mixed is a broad category...One of the founders is brown skin...President Obama and Halley Berry are both biracial and brown skin. They simply wanted to make a product that would cater to their hair needs which are quite different from mine. I just learned today from CN homepage that sandy brown kinky hair may have special characteristics, so if they decided to make a product called Sandy-Brown Kinky Chick...will that bother you???

Going back to Lauren London, her beauty has nothing to do with her skin tone, but conversely, Gabrielle Union's beauty is centered around her beautiful skin tone as well as her features...

MIXED chicks for mixed hair my issue with that name has nothing to do with skin tone i still do not understand and was not aware that there was a certain hair type associated with mixed /biracial people and them supporting team light skin on Twitter reinforce how small minded and ignorant to their "own " hair they are
Gabrielle Union Beauty is centered around her skin tone because like many dark/brown women she is probably hit with the notion back handed compliment of all times "you are pretty for a dark skin girl " because people truly believe that beauty is not associated with darker skin otherwise they would simply compliment the woman with you are beautiful and move on i have never heard someone say to a mixed , or light skin chick that she was pretty to be light skin or you are pretty to be white and so on , this issues are not imagination they do exist f one choose to turn a blind eye to the truth that's on them maybe the truth is to hard to handle , i do not dwell on the ignorance and know better but the ignorance within our community is alive and seems to grow daily

Yes...the ignorance is alive...
Let me clarify a little...I totally understand the perceptions and sterotypes...I just think that there is another side...we cannot just focus on one side of the equation and neglect the other...Yes the paper brown bag experiment existed, yes segregation is not in our distant past, yes we can still today touch a person who knew a slave, yes I am annoyed by the "for a dark chick" comments...my position does not deny any of those facts...

I have heard: you are cute for a dark chick; you are cute to be tall; you are cute for an athlete; you are cute for a big girl; you are sexy for a white girl; you are cute for someone with freckles; you are too cute to be working in McDonalds; I can go on and on and on...

Gabrielle Union's beauty is centered around her skin because she has great skin. Not because of some type of self-esteem movement.

If Mixed Chicks were small minded to #team light skin, were they equally small minded with #team natural??? Where is the balance???

I know they supported teamlightskin and not team black or team brown so to me that's not an equal balance even though the whole team light skin vs dark skin was stupid to begin with but by twitting that and choosing a team did they actually help the situation ? i don't find anything wrong with anyone being proud of their heritage whether you are brown, black yellow and so on acceptance and love for self is the first step but i do have a problem at people ( mixed chicks ) and everyone who shares their views they say they want to be black and included and we are all one let's love each other and all that bubble gum music yet they are quick when it's convenient to be whatever is hot I'm a black woman today tomorrow and will die this way my tunes will not and cannot be changed with the weather or trend is what i'm saying is either They're in or out thats my thoughts

But there's the rub...they are in both categories...why must they chose one side? In all fairness, black people have changed their/ our position also: first we want to be called Negro, then, we wanted to be called African-American, now we want to be called black...
I get offended when someone assumes that I am African-American. I think that is very presumptous. Dave Matthew and Charlize Theron are both from Africa so they are African American....so...
What Mixed Chicks did is no different than what we all do as a human race. I will say it again, just in case my argument is interpreted as an endorcement for this behavior...I think the #team light skin is silly, but everyone who wants to boycott or have a bad taste left from Mixed Chicks...you must consider the entire picture and not forget that we do the same exact thing every day...if anyone has ever said I love dark skin guys, team natural, team dark skin, dark beauty,...it is the same thing as saying team light skin...I don't understand how one side is offensive but the other is not...
I don't understand the "I can, but you can't" attitude...I can say team natural because I have such a hard past and was oppressed, but you can't love yourself because all throughtout history, you were favored and admired...
If self love is primary, how can #team light skin be offensive?