hey Tyra,
well to be honest yes skin tone does play a role in different races because like one of models the asian is dark and in her country that looked down apon, thoughout my educational experience and iam in the 12th grade and yet people haven't matured i still get called dirty,black SH@!,blood diamond,go back to africa, or i can't see u u to black. it hurts because havn't really been in a realtionship and i wonder is it because iam dark and sometimes its what causes my down days were i feel iam ugly

Tyra I really appreciate the topic of your show today. I can say that I can really relate. I think I have a bit more of an pow wow though. Most of my life I have been considered the fat one, the darker one, and the one with short hair. I have been told this by people in general and most importantly, my dad. My dad ha always showed my younger sister more love because of those reasons and because she was from a different mother. I am much larger than her so that made things worse on me. He nick named my sister "sexy sexy." I would always think...wow when is he going to find me pretty. When am I going to start getting compliments from my dad. It was really bad when ever he introduced us. He would proudly announce his sons by name and announce my sister as his world but, when it came to him introducing me he would say..." oh yeah, this is my oldest." I am 24 and it still gets to me because I have tried to lose weight and even stay out of the sun so that I wouldn't get too dark. My dad has also made the statement that when he got older that my sister would be the one to take care of him. That hurt because he never gave me a chance to prove myself. When ever I compared the two of us I always thought that I was cuter. But because she lighter complected people consider her to be pretty. I have a younger brother that refuses to date anyone dark skinned. He thinks that their hair is better and that they just look better in general. Honestly, Tyra...the girls are in fact light skinned but they were not cute. I just can't understand what the big deal is. I also have a friend that is lighter than me and she acts as if she is prettier because she's light skinned. She always makes the statement..."why wouldn't most guys like me...I'm red-boned." Tyra I just wish the stupidity amongst ourselves would end. It's truly sad. I am learning to love me, my skin tone, and the extra meat on my bones. Besides I love to cook and I didn't get this size because I hate eating.Thanks for putting this topic in the light. I am persuing a clothing line and I will make sure that I cater to all people of all colors, shapes, and sizes.

To Anyii... Yes, we come in many shades and many pigments. My niece and nephew, who are both black, have sandy brown hair. One has green eyes, and one has grey eyes. They are not mixed. My sister is very fair, and my brother in law is medium brown. She has extremely dark brown eyes, and he has light brown eyes. My niece and nephew got my sister's kin, and my brother in law's eyes.

Read this article
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=46440

Dear tyra,
I have a-lot to say. I'm a 12 year old girl and I'm the same color of that mean woman. I wanted to say that the woman who said that alot of her ex.darker friend did this and that thats and so thats why she says those things, I wanted to say that is so not ture beacause i have darker friends they don't do that pull their boyfriend away. I also wanted to that I don't think that I'm better than darker women or girls, I think we all the same, My mom is lighter than me and her and if my mom was like her who knows what my mom would have done that lady is wrong. I also wanted to that her son is good at least they have somone smart.That women is a disgrace to the blacks period. So shes saying that she don't black grandbabies well my 27 year old brother has a child and shes dark like my brother with good hair and speaks well. So that mean that I shouldn't love her like I love my sister babies who are light skin no. So she needs to step down thats making me shammed of my color.
I also wanted to say that yes lighter women have a little advantage with the whites why beacuse they think we more tlike them. And to the lady who says that she was highly upset because her sister was lighter , to me the darker sister was better looking to me. And I'm not and i repeat not go tell my children who they could date, Yes i may not want him with a white person but hey they can get along with
me so why not get along with them.

Ok I am half black and I look white and I hate when people say that theres no way I am black but sometines I do feel like light skinned people do get more respect then dark skinned people do. And I am only 12 but this dosent mean I cant have say in this because I see this happen almost everyday!!!

-And I love You Tyra!!

Tyra,
Todays show was just like all of your other shows... poor me because I'm black... you need a new topic, your show is getting VERY VERY repetitive!! I hate that you brought up slavery on your show today, I'm sorry, but racism exists because everyone is still holding on to what happened 200 years ago... GET OVER IT we can all just get along NOW IN THE PRESENT if we forget the past. And what is your problem with light skinned people... its sounds to me that you are the racist one because you are hating on the men that like light skinned women and the women that like to be friends with light skinned women. CANT WE ALL JUST BE FRIENDS!!!

i saw this show and wanted to say that it is just not black people. i am a very light skinned indian. a person ignored me for eight years. my best friend made me sit down and talk to her becasue i didn't understand why she hated me. when we where talking she said that i thought i was all that becasue i was so light and pretty. when you are born a very dark indian there are the same problems. mothers and fathers even say it to your face and they will spend a lot of money to try to make you look lighter. because our culture promotes arranged marriges parents are always worried about the fact that you might not get married. my friend is a very drak indian and she always tells me that she has low self-esteam because of this reason. i think that every color and every shade is something to be proud of. it makes us different and it makes you you. for guys however, no one really even cares. i would date a darker guy or a lighter just a nice guy.

Hi, Tyra. I watch your show this morning and I'm so glade that you talk about this topic. It is true that it's a hush-hush thing that should only be in the black community. As a dark-skinned woman (23yrs) I do feel sometimes light-skinned women have more of an advantage. Especially in my family. I have a cousin that is light-skinned and it is sad because my grandfather seemed to like her better because she is light-skinned. It's also sad because she's growing up with this mortality that she is more pretty than anyone else and she thinks that her looks can bring her far.
I was teased for being dark-skinned. I remember this light-skinned boy teased from elementary to middle school calling me burnt toast and burnt pop-tart. I made me feel so ashame of myself and I think part of it I would stay away from black guys. I don't have anything against black guys, I figure well if he and some others think of me, then why I have anything do with them. But of course, I was wrong it didn't matter what I did or try to be different or be myself I would alway be discriminated within the black community and outside .
I just believe that we have only one life to live and we should live it up to its fullest and stop hating each other because of skinned tone. Tyra is right, we are fulling every white master's dream by hating each other because of this. We already face discrimination and racism outside of the black commnunity, we don't need to have it with each other. I think it's sad. I also want to say some people do say that I have pretty smile but I never really hear anyone say that I'm pretty as a person and sometimes I think it's because I'm dark-skinned and I get sad about it sometimes and I think that if I was light-skinned they would of said you have a pretty smile and you're pretty. Now, I don't sweat it. I just think you know this me and if people don't like, tough. I'm living my life. So, thank Tyra for doing your show on this topic.

Do lighter skinned blacks have it easier? In reality that may be the case , but I think it's a discrace to America , no to humantity to judge a person by their color. In the year 2008 we as people should have already moved on and excepted everyone, I personally believe as a 14 year girl that race should not dictate your job, relationships, and or personal well being. I am ashamed when i hear or see people being put down because of their ethnic background or differences. This all comes down to people judging other people, whether they are black, white , skinny, curvey, short, tall, gay,or straight, but above all I really am horrified when humans can't except another humans because they are different.

Thankyou for posing such an important question on the talk show. I hope this is one step closer to finally solve the problems of racism.

I come from a very racially diverse country. I have never considered myself a racist person and still don't. I grew up with friends of different races and different black complexions. My best friend is light skinned, so light she looks white and I tease her sometimes but at the end of the day to me she is still black. Where I'm from once any race mixes with black, you're black no matter what your skin tone is.

My dilemma is that I to feel that light skinned people or females get looked at on a higher scale then dark skinned people. I am the darkest of all my female friends and when we go out they always get the attention or hit on. I started to think that it was because they were light and i was so dark and maybe thats true, I won't know. We call light skinned people "yella" and they have always seemed to be considered prettier, but at the same time guys feel they can be unapproachable, this is a male opinion. But at the end of the day light skinned girls always get more attention.
Watching the show today, made me realize how much of a big deal this really was for me and how much racism within a race exists. I wonder if my lighter skinned friends have similar feelings towards this issue?

I grew up in the south and the phrase is “Light Bright and Damn Near White.” I have a cousin who is extremely light, and she was raised with my mother. I recall my mom telling me that she told her niece, that she shouldn't think that she was cute because she was light. Mine you my grandmother, was also extremely light, but my grandfather was dark as the street. He was biracial, his mother was Indian, and his father was an African minister. As a result he was the outcast in his home, because he was the darkest out of the 4 kids: he took after his dad, while his sister and brothers took after their mom.

Tyra,

When our daughter was born, she was lighter than some of the white babies. She had big blue eyes and super straight hair (with one curl like the Gerber baby). Some said she looked like an Eskimo baby; while some nurses said that they could walk out of the hospital with her and no one would question it. To date, she is almost 3, and she draws attention wherever we go. People continue to make reference to her skin tone; long curly hair or “good” hair as well may categorize it, and her eyes.

Although I don’t have light skin, it courses through my veins, because like my husband our paternal families are much lighter than we are. I can remember at my daughter’s first birthday, my brother in law made an atrocious comment. He said, “I hope I don’t have dark skinned children.” I explained to him that I was insulted, because it should not matter what the child’s skin color is as long as the baby is healthy. When he and his wife finally had a baby, he called to do a comparison of our children…sad.

Personally, it’s my biggest fear to have kids of 2 different skin tones, simply because of what the sisters on your show displayed. I would not allow someone to make reference to one of my kids and bypass the other. I would be a mother on the prowl if someone paid more attention to my lighter skinned child than the one who has a darker hue.

I feel that it is sad that nonone is looking at the real issue. WE are all HUMAN beings made by God.
Regardless of what color skin you have, we should all embrace that we are all unique and special in our own way. Be proud of who you are as a person and not the color of your skin. If men are disrespecting their own race, because of the women that different colors shows his ignorance and insecurity in his own self.

Be proud to be a woman.

I want to thank you for putting on this show. I grew up in a family of little skinned people and being the darkest in the family I was treated differently. Whatever the other kids wanted they got, whatever they said my mom believed. The final straw was when my brother lied to my mom and she threw me out of the house, at 17. And 36 years later I still have feelings of being not loved and an outsider in my own family.

Hi Ms. Tyra im Shyra Lakisha's duagter & i would like to say is i'm sick of tired of being sick and tired and i can't take it. People at school says that i could be taken as a white girl, and i am no where ner white i am an African-American with indian blood and people won't believe me im 14 years old and already being in alot of stress. Today in health class we took a test that said if you have more than 250 points your over stress, i had 968. Alot right!!! i am over stress from school home and with friends. Then people said that i talk white and i am tired of it. When you look at me i am tall(5'11"), a small plus size, and pretty ,but on the inside i am hurt, scared and worried about if i should do something about it. Me and my mom are models. i am a model in traning my mom a beautiful plus size model. Now all i am trying to say is i tired of be called white and tired of being asked why you sisters darker then you, i need some help please Ms. Tyra help me before i exploded!!!!!!!!

Wow
What an interesting show, My 12 year old is a huge fan of yours. I actually was able to see the show today and it blew me away. I really did not feel a sense of closure here. The comments made by you to the VERY ugly on the inside light skinned female really effected me. The women represented the fair skinned females was very unfair and the darker completion was view as the victim. I'm light skinned, I have a daughter society view as chocolate and one that is light.(same dad) I tell them both how beautiful they are and next top model is a great help. Todays show would have devastated my lighter child if she saw the show. Your words were painful and not true for all fair skinned women. Also Bi-racial individuals have a totally different plight/fight in life than light skinned women for them to represent light skinned women is unfair. I know how it feels to be mistreaed in my own family. The bond and friends are greater in darker women than light because light are not allow in the circle of comradery. I never once seen you unbias during the show. There are great women in history of darker completion. Lots more compared to lighter making history now. Tyra you are an awesome women with great influence. Esteem is the biggest factor for these women, please don't put down someone elses. I know strong successful women of both complexions. I hope you have another show with better representation of complexions, nicer people on both side, a psychologist to give steps to heal and change a generation. I realize that willie lynch has succeeded in puting us against each other, but Please we as light people know what we reflect please my little girl doesn't and should not be put down because of your rude guest. I know it is your show but you are in a powerful position an you only defended one side. May God Continue to Bless and Keep you. Please take my comments out of Love.

Hi Tyra I am a 19 year old very light skinned female who just so happens to have lonhg hair. I can not for sure tell you if we are treated better than are more chocolate-skinned counterparts but we have struggles, too. A few guys basically truthfully told me that besides the fact that they considered me attractive, they were even more attracted to me solely because of the shade of my complexion and my preference for chocolate-skinned boys, myself. This offends me and brings up thoughts such as ",what if i were darker? would you still like me?". We have struggles too but I hurt for my chocolate sisters, such as my favorite cousin whom is chocolate skinned herself. Im just really glad that Tyra is doing shows just like this because this issue is still affecting me and everyone of my friends and relatives. I hope one day we can eventually overcome this "new" internal racism. we mus combat this problem now to prevent it afeecting our great great greeeeat grandchildren's future. God bless you all.

Hi Ms. Tyra im Shyra Lakisha's duagter & i would like to say is i'm sick of tired of being sick and tired and i can't take it. People at school says that i could be taken as a white girl, and i am no where ner white i am an African-American with indian blood and people won't believe me im 14 years old and already being in alot of stress. Today in health class we took a test that said if you have more than 250 points your over stress, i had 968. Alot right!!! i am over stress from school home and with friends. Then people said that i talk white and i am tired of it. When you look at me i am tall(5'11"), a small plus size, and pretty ,but on the inside i am hurt, scared and worried about if i should do something about it. Me and my mom are models. i am a model in traning my mom a beautiful plus size model. Now all i am trying to say is i tired of be called white and tired of being asked why you sisters darker then you, i need some help please Ms. Tyra help me before i exploded!!!!!!!!

Hi Tyra! I don't usually watch tv but had enough of my sons cartoons today so i turned to your show. I was shocked as a caucasian woman that african american women judge each other on the darkness of their skin. It shows that african american people are not only hating white people for the color of their skin but hating each other too. It makes me soooo sad. I think it is interesting that white people almost envy other white people whos skin is darker or who can tan better. I live in a small town in Northern California where there are very few african americans and at my daughters school the african american kids are some of the most popular in the school (there are probably only 5 or 6 in the whole high school) and are embraced because they are different. All of humanity needs to stop hating each other for such shallow reasons and realize that there is so much to love about and learn from every race and every culture!

I agree that light skin people have always had it easier in every world. Light skin is like a blond. My comment is that while I was watching, I saw only people of black color, not one white, asian, hispanic, or "purple". What's up with that? I'm from a multi-colored family. We don't see skin until the kids go out and play in the mud, but it mad me mad when the audience was all black. If it would have been about a different race, your show wouldn't have been aired--because of rasism.

Hi Ms. / Miss. Banks

I watch part of the show and it was definitely a very interesting topic. However, I just want to add that this also applies to Asian women’s as well. There are those who are dark skinned and then there are those who have very fair skin.

Growing up I was the darker one and my sisters were always the lighter ones and so they were always praised more. My relatives would always mention how pretty the other ones were and how they were going to get so much further in life. The boys, they would look for the light skinned ones and avoid the dark skinned ones because they were always told by their parents to look for the fair skin Asian girls.

Although it doesn’t seem much of a big deal outside of the race there is this debacle within the race, similar to the dark skinned and light skinned African-Americans. Fortunately, we are in an era where there are so many Americanized Asians that the dark skin color for Asians is now a trend. My hairdresser, she is light-skinned Asian girl, very pretty, she had told me that she went to the tanning booth twice a week because she didn’t want to be “hecka bright!”

Anyhoo, regardless of what I went through because my carmel color, it is a blessing especially since I don’t have to pay for! ^-^


Thanks for reading!!

Hi Tyra,

I love your show, in fact my and my sisters have been trying hard to get on your show. I am one of 6 siblings and not one of us are the same complexion. We range from what our people call high yellow to dark chocolate.

We have this discussion many times in my college. I believe I am what would be considered the middle but my boyfriend says I'm yellow/Light skinned. I think its sad that our people still have these issues. We need to stop looking at our selves throuogh the white slave masters eye. We are beautiful the way GOD intended.

Thank you

Hi Tyra! I watched your show this afternoon and I'm glad that you talked on this issue. I think as Black women,we need to embrace each other and let the skin color issue die amongst ourselves and realize that we have no control over what color we are and that the variations amongst Black people is beautiful.

Black is Black and beauty is beauty and we should embrace all aspects of it, dark, light, mocha, carmel, cafe au lait, etc. The beauty of the black race is the variety within our race. We have been conditioned to believe that Black isn't beautiful and the myth that being blonde and blue eyed is the epitome of beauty.
Intra discrimination within our race is rampant and wrong and yes I believe that those of a darker hue are treated unfair. I agree with you that all types of black should be represented as real beauty is the beauty that radiates from within. Insecurities we have about ourselves often cause bias drawn from individual experiences. In the united states it may not be stated but it is definitely implied that if you have a drop of black blood you are considered black -- love it, embrace and be straight up black up! 365 Black and liking it. Loving who you are and what you represent does not indicate that you are anti-white, anti-asian, anti-latin, anti anything; it denotes that you are proud of who you are.

Thank you Tyra for this insightful show as we as black people need to go beyond color skin and deal with the real issues that's preventing us to move forward as a race of people. It's time for a united front for the United States. However, you must know where you come from in order to get where you suppose to be in the name of Jesus.

Hi Tyra I always watch your show from time to time. Today show i feel we as a black community shouldn't even let issues like that get this far to where we have to pick friends, lovers, etc. just because of our skin tone. It sickens me to think that we as a people are afraid of our on people and how our own people treat each other. I'm brown skin i was never considered black or light skin just in between. I like all complexions. I've had dark skin friends I've had light skin friends. I light all black people features. I just know one thing my lord and saviour JESUS chirst wants us to love one another as we are. I just never could understand racism. If we could make our selves dont people have the common sense to think that the person they believe is so ugly or dont have long hair or have big lips they would have made it to where they could change that? I never had a problem with my features just my weight something i could change. But everything else GOD made i can not change it and i will not change it whether who likes it or not. I just wish all people could come to that understanding.