Dear Tyra, I am mixed with black and white my skin is light brown in the winter and I am dark brown when it's summer time. my mom is white i have her hair type.Long hair but I just like being called mixed. Because i am usually mistaken for an indian or a mexican. it was kind of flattering at first but i am tired of hearing it now. I am not mexican I am not indian I'm mixed. That's my color and I appreciate it. some people would love to be my color. In Hannibal white girls (most of them but not all of them) use spray tans and come out orange looking not to be mean but it's kind of funny because they can't get my color or a darker color than that. That's a big part of mypersonality i don't like copycats. i Love my individuality it makes me who I am.

light skin black women don't have it easier than dark skin black women.

I'm black and light(yellow)skin.I had lived in Philadelphia(7th poorest US city,blacks are the majority)for many years.In Philly many brown and dark skin black young adults prefer brown and dark skin blacks.I lived in cities that weren't like this.My light skin and my brown skin black young adult cousins lived in some zipcodes in Philly that have many sex offenders and none of the black men would date my light(yellow)skin cousin and many black men wanted date my brown skin cousin.There are few light(yellow)skin and brown or darker skin black young adult couples in Philly.

I am an Light skinned African American female and I am all black.My mother is black as well as my father. I do not understand why skinTONE is a problem. I understand the diffrences in th blacks whites mexicans,etc. etc. but that all has to do with culture. If we are in the same race, braught up in the same fashon why does my TONE matter? I am exactly like any one of my african american piers but I am segrigated from them and I hate it. I only have ONE dark skinned friend, all of the others see me as 'snooty' and call me red boned(whatever that means) and all of the darker boys see me for a phisical beauty I dont even see as opposed to these darker skinned girls whom I think are much more beautiful than I.
I am 15 and I have experienced things that people in their 30's go thrugh so I know it's now a phase this is a real problem that many women need to understand by segrigating your own race your sending a ripple thrugh your bloodline that says "Those who arent like me and that are prettyer in my eyes should be cut off from my friendship because I am intimidated by their confedence and beauty and I am too insecure to look past that and into their kindness thats in their heart"
I will not accept this And those who do are idiots in my eyes.
Sorry for the brutality but it just shows how passionate I am about it

Well, I would say that in the African American communties lighter skinned people has it easier. For some reason blacks see lighter skinned as more attractive, more educated, and more presentable. Often within the workforce you will get hired faster if you are lighter because lighter skinned is associate with passiveness and more friendly while dark skinned people are look at as more aggressive or unfriendly. However in the eyes of white people we are blacks and that's that. With myself being a light skinned girl inside of a mostly white workforce I still have to prove myself more, but the funny thing is that some of the white girls feel envious because I am light skinned with features that America view as beautiful. So they feel that they have to continue reminding me that I am black and I shouldn't feel as attractive as them because they are white. So with that being said it all balance out no matter what tone of black you are.

I only watched this show tonight as a repeat because of it being a topic at the office that everyone is talking of constantly.
The show was really amazing but felt it could have been in two parts as 1 hour was not long enough. As a black person I am light skinned black woman. The color of my skin has been my story for people more than who I am as a person inside with personality.
As a child being light skinned, people always built me up on my looks calling me a beautiful red skin person or always telling me that my skin was ripe as a paw paw. The sad thing of it all, is that I have a brother who is darker than me. He is extremely dark and I mean dark. When we go out together as a family, people are shocked to know we are related. From the time I have known myself people have been telling me that kind of stuff and today as a 24 year old woman I still get people telling me the same thing over and over.
But for the show I found the lady that was derogatory towards dark skinned black women as someone who has identity problems. Looking at her she is not even near light skinned. But to answer the topic, I say no that light skinned women do not have it easier than dark skinned women. We go through the same problems as them and face the same challenges that they deal with. I can tell you, with that paper bag experiment and if i was alive 200 years ago, I would have been granted access to a party. But do I care? No. One thing I shudder is how my child is going to feel when she comes to realising that her color is played against her. I rather not go through the same cycle of crap with her that I have to go through in telling people I am related to a dark skinned person no matter me being light skinned.

Hi Tyra
I am a dark-skinned black woman and I remember as a child being made fun of because of my complexion. My mother and brother are lighter skinned than I am and I use to (and sometimes still) get questioned on why I am so much darker than they are. In high school, when I told people who my brother was, they immediately say "oh well yall must have different daddies".

My brother, like I said before, is light skinned with green eyes and is always being complimented for being sooo hansom. When I get complimented, I get that infamous "you're pretty for a dark skinned girl" comment. My brother and I went to a model search event one time, and he got chosen and was doing modeling for awhile. I wasn't chosen. When I went to school and was telling one of my "so called friends" about not being chosen they said it's because "his skin is prettier than yours, your too black". Growing up I had self esteem issues because I was constantly teased about my skin. I’ve always felt that I wasn’t pretty enough and all of the boys seemed to like the lighter skinned girls when it came to dating. I am now in college and I get complimented and hit on all the time and I act shy around boys because I never felt as pretty as they say I am. Even though I am older (I will turn 20 soon) and feel more comfortable in my skin, I still have issues about my color. For example, I live in Missouri and during the hot summers I avoid going outside during the day so that I won’t get darker. I've also discussed with my mother about having biracial children, just so they wouldn't go thru what I went thru growing up.

My mom's side of the family is darker skinned and she is constantly asked why is she so light compared to her brother's and sisters. On my dad's side, they are primarily lighter, have reddish hair and freckles. I was once told before that I look like a darker-skinned version of my daddy.

I found it interesting that other women of color face the same light-dark issues. I also find it interesting that in the white community, its better to be darker. I hope you do a follow up to this show Tyra, and when you do I hope to be able to be in the audience. TO ALL THE DARK SKINED WOMEN OF COLOR KEEP YOUR HEAD UP BECAUSE WE ARE BEAUTIFUL TOO! AND TO THE LIGHT SKINNED WOMEN WHO ARE TEASED KEEP YALLS HEADS UP TOO BECAUSE NO MATTER WHAT SHADE OF BLACK, INDIAN, HISPANIC, ETC YOU ARE, YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!!

Tyra, My name is Jamie I'm 25% native american and 75% white. My boyfriend is black he is actually from Africa born and raised. I get a lot of people that look at us when we go out somewhere. I don't get it why does it matter. I kinda think to myself does it hurt your feeling that I am with a black man? You can not help who you fall in love with. So I was watching the show on how light skin black people have it made I guess you could say the darker skin black people I can't really say much about that beacuse I don't know about that. I just know that we are all people and it should not matter if you are dark or light skined or white or hispanic. inless that person has done something to you that you did not like you should not take it out on all the other people like them just because that one person hurt you dose not mean they are all like that... I like everything but right now i'm kinda stuck on the saying once you go black you go back... lol my parents love my boyfriend a lot and even if they didn't I wouldn't care because it my life and you can't change it. We are even expecting our own baby... my baby will be half black and I am sure my child will have some problems with this contoversy but they will have to deal with it... I don't know if he or she will be dark or light skinded because he pretty dark and thats more dominate but eather way I will love them no matter what... Thank you for hearing me out... Sincerly, Jamie Martin

I just want to say that was very interesting to watch this particular show. Also as sad at the same time since it really is a problem. The lady that wason the show stating that she did not like dark skinned women should be ashamed of herself. To me, complexion really should not matter.

Hi Tyra I am a 23 year old black female i wouldn't consider myself light skinned but i'd say i'm caramel...but the reason ive felt so pin pointed out is because my skin tone is a little different...i wear my hair jet black most of the time and my eyes sort of slant so if i have a long hair weave or if i just wear my natural hair out curly i will get are you mixed and what are you because you're not just black...my late grandmother was indian, white, and black so i guess i get a lot of my characteristics from her...and when i flat iron my hair i get a lot of you got white people hair, which is really dumb to me and the guy i am currently dating calls me white girl...but i'm not light!!! lol well thats my story i just find it amazing that after all we've been through as a race we can be racist against each other because believe me my friends can make up the rainbow, i hang out with light, dark, asian, etc i don't care...as long as you are real and true to yourself....oh yea i love you tyra!!! lol thanks

PS-Isn't it interesting that in the white community the darker your skin is the better, and in the black community it seems the lighter you are the better? Maybe you should do a show on tanorexics next, because that is becoming a huge issue in America

Tyra,
Honestly I don't know the black womans struggle because I am white, but I do know what it is to be hated for my skin color. I don't know how many times I have been judged for my skin tone by many people of different skin tones and usually I get blamed for what happened in the past. I have also been put down by white people because in the summer I tan and get a darker skin tone that of a light skined black female. So, I have gotten it from all sides and I think it is sad. I am not completely white I am many types of indian and thus have the chance to tan rather dark. I think it is wrong to judge on skin color it is the person you are not what color you are. I have many black friends both of the darker and lighter skin tone who I love dearly they are real and honest with me and so are my white friends. So with me it doesn't have to do with skin color it doesn't have to do with what kind of hair you have what facial features you have etc. It comes down to the respect you show for yourself and the people around you. I think it truly comes down to people hating others because they hate themselves and they put someone down to make themself feel better or bigger. Whatever it is it is a lack of respect and self-esteem that it comes down to. I think if anyone puts someone down for their skincolor they should feel ashamed of themselves because it isn't about the color of the skin it is what is on the inside.

I am a 20 year old white female personally, but I still feel I can relate to this issue. I am naturally very fair-skinned and I have heard many remarks about my skin tone as well. Even from the age of 12 I remember girls telling me to just go to the tanning bed. Even now at almost the age of 21 I recently had an adult male tell me I needed a tan. I have learned to accept myself for who I am, even though society tells everyone they need to be the perfect skin tone, with the perfect body, and the perfect hair color. I think that we all need to step back and look at what's most important, which is who we are as a person,and not what we look like.

I think that skin color plays an important role in all races and nationalities when judging other races. But in the African American communtity it's worse because we judge the varieties of skin color within our own race. The lighter the better it was that way in slavery times and that's the way it is 2008.

Hi Tyra,
I was intrigued by this show. I'm really glad you did this show despite the controversy from the African American community. Growing up my mom told me that my real dad actually said I was the post man's baby because I was light-skinned and he is very dark complexioned. He was never really apart of our lives but when he would call/write he mostly addressed letters to my sister as he knew she was definetely his child because she also has a dark complexion. This has always bothered me, but I don't let it run nor ruin my life today. Thank you for bringing this topic out of the shadows and into the forefront.

hi tyra. i am of middle eastern decent.yes olive skin is pretty,but i dont feel good inside. after 9/11 people that are muslims and are middle eastern are ridiculed. just waliking in the mall where primarily white people are is hard because randomly people tell you, "go home" home where? i think in my head. my mom wears a head shall. its almost a like a red flag to point and make racial comments about. not only white people make racial commments but african americans do to, yet i dont thimk they under stand more than half the black people theat are in africa are muslim. i have never seen black on black muslim, just other races on middleastern muslims. you certinly dont see white on black muslim. because it almost is like white people fear making black people upset because black people stand up for them selves now just somehting to think about

Hi Tyra! White women have their issues too...Growing up I was always told by my grandma and mother that I was "too white." They told me to lie out in the sun with Baby Oil and try to get a tan so that I would look "healthy." All that did was make me burn to a crisp and get blisters...but they said that was okay because after my skin peeled it would be tan. I grew up all of my teenage life being told that tan was beautiful and white was ugly. I've spent countless dollars on tanning salons, trying to achieve that beautiful golden brown color, but always ended up being burned as red as a lobster. Now I am in serious danger of having skin cancer. I just wanted to let the incredibly beautiful black girls know that they were not alone in how they felt growing up. I've always viewed black people as gorgeous and I always envied them for their silky, smooth beautifully dark skin. The grass is always greener on the other side I guess.... :)

Hi Tyra! I really enjoy watching your shows! You are an inspiration to all women! I am a (really) white woman who wishes she was darker. I think black women and men are incredibly gorgeous and wish I had more "color" in me!! I HATE being so pale and pastey white...Maybe you should have a show on white people who do not like being so white...There are A LOT of us out here!!! :)

My boyfriend is African American and I am Caucasion. I have to say, I have never been attracted to a black man before. I was not attracted to him when I met him, but as I got to know him I saw what a wonderful person he was. We've now been together for almost a year. I have to say that times have been hard. Society doesn't accept our love much. I would love to be able to adopt an African or Asian child. I find all races beautiful. I could never have my own Asian or African child, obviously, because I am Caucasion. I hate that people of different race feel like "white people are all the same.. white people are all so privileged." Life is easier being white.. I see the advantages. But by being with the person I love instead of with someone who is just accepted, I gave that easy life up. I'm living a more complicated lifestyle because even though it is hard sometimes, socially, I know he is my best friend and it would be harder without him. I wish people would see that instead of our differences!

Well tyra I am of African descent and i am light skined or what most call it high yellow. I do believe that light skinneded people have it easier in most cases i actually speak from experience. all of my friends are darker than me and majority of my fathers family is dark skin and i see a difference in the way people treat us when we go to different places together. they usually speak to me first or give me first pick on things. they look at my friends differently especially men. Men that approach me may tell me that man ur friends is thick but shes too dark for me.my friends personality has to speak for her sometimes. as far as white women i dont think they have it hard at all rather they have darker skin or not just by them being white they get an advantage i think.Some ma disagree but thats my perspective on things from experience and my surroundings.

Hi Tyra!
Im so glad that you decided to touch this topic on your show! My Mother, Sisters and I have all been victimised by this un-nessesary segregation. Growing up we were constantly called ugly, because of our dark skin. Where I live, they make me feel like in order to be excepted in the black community, I have to fit the stereotypes.Which I don't!So even as a dark skinned african-american, im still out casted by my own kind. So that misfortune goes both ways.
Im engaged to a vietnamese man and we've been together for a few years. We now have a beautiful baby boy.But when we first started dating I remember a comment his mother made about me. She said:"She would be pretty, if she wasn't so dark". This coming from a vietnamese woman, that speaks NO english, and spent the majority of her life in Vietnam. So that shows how far this DESEASE has spread.
My mother always wanted us to be proud of our dark skin and always feel beautiful no matter what. And I truly am PROUD of my dark skin. It adds to my unique personna.

Hi Tyra, I love you and the show. But if I did not respond I would be very upset with my self tonight. I am a very, very, BLACK woman. And I can remember as a young girl, being told I would never be nothing because I am to dark,well those words only fuel my fire, and me to dress a certain way, and look my best at all times. I have been blessed to have 3 very Beautiful Dark skinned children. My Baby-Boy 6'4 200 ils of of muscle, is a fine as they come. And my daughter, stands 5ft weights 110 lbs, and every where she goes she turn heads. I have raised all three of my children never, ever date a white person or to marry outside of the BLACK race. WHY? because it's people like "JULIANA' posted at 11:14 am, that makes me proud to say I am all BLACK.I have the attitude of people who think because you're light, bright and darn near white, that you're better than me or any of my dark skinned relatives. Juliana was probably picked on due to "NASTY ATTITUDE" rather than the color of the skin.Lately it seems to be the thing to do, to have mulit-racial children, so they WILL NOT have kinky hair, big noses, wide lips and/ hips or BEAUTIFUL CHOCOLATE SKIN. SKIN so BEAUTIFUL, THAT YOU WONDER HOW A PERSON, COULD BE THAT AWESOME TO JUST LOOK ON. I AM GLAD THAT I AM ON THE DARKER END OF THE SCALE, AND THAT I HAVE TIRED TO KEEP MY RACE PURE. TRUST ME WHEN I SAY, I DO NOT HAVE ANY THING AGAINST BI-RACIAL PEOPLE. AS LONG AS YOU RESPECT ME, I WILL RESPECT YOU. BUT AS FOR THE PEOPLE WHO THINK LIKE JULIANA, THE NEXT TIME YOU LAY IN THE SUN, TRYING TO EVEN UP THE SKIN TONE, I HOPE YOU FALL ASLEEP AND WAKE UP THE COLOR OF A COCO BEAN. EVERYONE HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY.

Hey Tyra!

I just have to say that I'm a dark skinned young lady, and I constantly have to take verbal abuse from guys AND girls about my skin. And to be honest, I can't say who has it worse because I've never been light. All I can say is that hearing "OOO, that girl is burnt and crispy." or "Damn girl, you dark." or "Hey, blackie." or "OOO girl, you need to get outta that SUN!" doesn't quite make the day go any smoother.

I also have to say that I have contemplated using bleaching lotion or using lighter makeup, but I just can't. I feel like me smearing that lotion on my body is just strengthening all of those people who have the ignorance to say those horrible things about me.

Well, I consider myself to be light skin. My mom is byracial and her and my older sister are really light and my mom calls me dark and blackie. But, growing up biracial i was always too black for my white family and too white for my black family. i do have a problem with dark skinned people because they would always pick on me and pull my hair in elementary. I'm 17 now and i still have a problem but i know it's not okay i just dont know how to stop it.

well I live in Jamaica, and even thought majority of population is of african descent, we have this big issue about light skin and dark skin. I believe that in not all cases but some that light skinned black people tend to have a better advantage than a dark skin girl. But to honest with you disgust me because whether we are light skin black are dark skin black we are still black people and alot of the time it makes me become so irate to see a race that as such strong history tear down each other about who is better than who because of our skin tone. My role model marcus garvey says: "emancipate yourself from mental slavery none but ourselves can free our mind" and he also said that: "do not remove the kinks from your hair remove them from your brain"