Missed the Q&A with Glam Twins Kelsey & Kendra?  click here! 

http://forbrowngirls.com

http://forbrowngirls.tumblr.com/

(Source: forbrowngirls)

What inspired you to start your YouTube channel?

I don’t know necessarily if I wanted to start a YouTube Channel initially, but I know that I asked my sister for a long time to make a tutorial on how she grooms her eyebrows and that conversation eventually lead to creating a YouTube Channel. After watching several Gurus on YouTube, I then realized that with our personalities we would be able to captivate an audience by simply being ourselves. -Chantale Chan

I was inspired by watching a Guru on YouTube. Chan actually recommended watching her channel. She was acting silly with her sister and I was like, “Wait a minute! My sister and I can do this naturally with a different twist.” Then I came across my #1 favorite Guru. His name is  Kain Carter.  I seriously think he’s my long lost twin and I’m really thinking about reaching out to him so we can collaborate. – Karen Kay

If you could describe yourself in 3 Words, what words would you use?

Driven, Passionate and Sensitive- Chantale Chan

Motivated, Strong and Silly. – Karen Kay

How do you decide which topics to vlog about?

Some topics are art imitating life or vice versa and others are just random ideas that seem to come to us at 3:00 AM in the morning. -Chantale Chan

Ultimately, I try to stick to topics that I feel passionate about. I don’t want to force the video because it will show on screen. When an idea pops up, I immediately make a note in my phone. – Karen Kay

What is each of your ventures/interests outside of Siblings Swag?

Fitness is always big on my list! I am currently a free lance writer/ghost writer; however, my ultimate goal is to be a columnist, screen writer and an author. - Chantale Chan

Fitness, bowling, naps and hanging out with people that can appreciate laughter. I am also passionate about theater/acting. That will always be my first love! – Karen Kay

You ladies are really fun to watch and relate to. Have you always been close?

That is a hard question to answer because we have the same mother and father; we were raised together up until the ages of 4 and 6. It’s a complicated we did not become consistently close until 2009. - Chantale Chan

The only reason why I know we actually lived together at one point is because Chan told me. I was too young to remember. Let’s just say: From what I can remember, I was not raised with my sister. Our close relationship was developed recently. You would never know considering our gestures and personalities are practically almost identical. – Karen Kay

You both are so beautiful and full of personality.  Have you always been this confident?

My confidents level have come a very long way, I did not become comfortable in my skin until I turned 30. On this journey of on being confident I find that until you know who you are and comfortable with whom you are confidents is impossible to achieve. Consistent Confident can be a struggle for me sometimes, but I find its all part of building character. - Chantale Chan

Thank you for the compliment Karyn! I relied heavily on my personality to get me through the early part of my childhood. My confidence on my physically attributes was zero to none.  In the basement!  I became more confident a few years after high school. I believe I was 21. I started developing my own sense of style and performing on stage with a theater group most certainly help with my confidence. – Karen Kay

Have you ever dealt with any insecurities regarding your skin complexion? If so, how did you get over it?

Growing up I received an unspoken and always silent message that light skins girls are prettier and if they had “good hair” Oh boy they were hot commodity. As I got older, especially in my thirties I realized then that black chocolate women are sexy as hell and with all honesty I love my complexation. The parts of myself that I am not happy with can be taken care of in the gym. Nobody has ever told me to my face that my complication was a factor, but it seems to be in the past when I got dumped it was always for a light skin girl with good hair. But at 37 I look at it like this, it’s there’s lost because black is beautiful sweetheart. NEXT! – Chantale Chan

When I was younger, I was much darker than I am now because I used to tan out on the beach with my light skin friends thinking it was cute…LOL. It’s funny that you ask this question simply because I did not get teased on my complexion during my childhood.  However, when I became an adult that is when things became more evident. Guys would bluntly say they were more interested in dating light skin women. Which seemed bizarre to me considering they approached me to take me out on a date. Later on, they would mention that I was the exception. My pay back was to immediately place them in the friend zone and keep them there! –Karen Kay

What is your advice to young girls trying to find confidence?

Confidence comes through trial and error (life experience). Never try to be anyone but yourself! There is nothing wrong with admiring someone else’s attributes, but you have to embrace who you are by not being a follower. If someone find that your corky personality to be weird and not normal? That is their problem not yours, you continue be you. The worst thing that someone can ever do to you is not allow you to be yourself. Surround yourself with people who embraces the core you. – Chantale Chan

Find yourself! Once you are found, embrace who you are! If you are big girl, OWN IT! If you are a darker tone, OWN IT! Everyone is great in their own way. Figure out what that is and capitalize on it! – Karen Kay

A HUGE THANK YOU TO CHANTALE CHAN & KAREN KAY! 

SUBSCRIBE TO THESE LADIES ON YOUTUBE: http://www.youtube.com/user/SiblingsSwag10

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/#!/siblingsswag10

“LIKE” THEM ON FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Siblings-Swag/123278531066755

(Source: forbrowngirls)

If you could put it into one sentence, who is ‘Sheerene Whitfield’

I am a PERSON – flesh, bone, and blood; body, mind, and spirit; heart and soul – a mere VESSEL.

How long have you been an actress? What are your other talents/interests?

I believe I was born with the gift.  I started acting in elementary school and throughout high school.  I have been doing professional acting jobs for about 17 years now.  I most recently appeared in Dreamworks film The Help.  I am also a sketch artist and a professional caricature artist.  I write and perform poetry and songs, including Hip-Hop music.  I am a playwright and director as well.  And I’m a pretty good hair braider too! 

What do you love most about acting & writing? 

I LOVE the creative process.  It is spiritual, gratifying, exciting, and exhilarating.  When in the midst of this process, I need NOTHING else – not food, not sleep, not companionship – I am completely at peace. 

Was there one specific experience that inspired you to create your one woman show- I Wanted the BLACK Doll? 

Yes, indeed.  My mother tells this story, and I vaguely remember it, of one Christmas long ago when I was maybe 4 or 5.  I had wanted a particular doll, the Black version.  She was unable to find it at the last minute and ended up buying me the White version instead.  I pitched one!  I was NOT having it.  She searched and searched and eventually found the doll I wanted.  Over the years, she and another relative have retold this story so much that it stuck in my mind.  On occasion, I would ASK to hear it again because it is so funny the way they tell it, and I always knew that I would do something creative with this information, but never knew what it would be.  Then a couple years ago (2010), a fellow poet and friend had come up with a concept for a show involving storytellers in which 4 performers would take to the stage telling interesting stories in a creative way.  At that point, “I Wanted The Black Doll!” was birthed.  It was first performed in January 2011 as a 25 minute set, and has since evolved into a full one-woman show.    

How have your encounters with colorism differed from when you were a young girl, to now that you are a woman?

They are far less now, of course.  As a child, my peers were children; and we all know children can be ruthless.  My peers now are adults; and adults tend not to speak out loud everything that they think of.  I will say that when it comes to “the fellas”, I am still largely viewed and/or treated as a mere sexual conquest rather than a potential girlfriend or wife.  And to that I say, “Their loss!”  However, I must tell you this:  When I was growing up, boys would ALWAYS, when given a choice between myself and ANY lighter-skinned female, choose the lighter female to court; but now, as an adult, I have FINALLY experienced actually being CHOSEN over a lighter-skinned female.  It may seem such a small thing, but I tell you … at the moment when it happened, it touched me in a way that brought me to tears.  It was like … something old was released; and … at the same time, something new was planted.

When did you decide to be confident in, and embrace your brown skin?

I always have.

That is so beautiful! :) What do you tell to young girls who wish they were lighter or are just aren’t confident in their skin?

Put that bleaching cream down, heffa!!  Put it down, I said!!  Oooh … don’t MAKE me come over there!!! LOL.  No, seriously, I tell them:  You are beautiful just the way you are, created in God’s image.  Your skin is gorgeous and ENVIED BY BILLIONS of people.  It is important to know, however, that your “outer” does NOT define who you are.  Nor do other people or media define you.  (Nor should you SEEK for them to.)  You alone are responsible for defining and presenting yourself to the world.  You CAN choose not to accept the negative perceptions others may have and keep your head up and love yourself ANYWAY.

 Do you think that colorism will always be an issue in our society?

I’d like to think it won’t.  I believe that with all the recent exposure and discussions around this issue, which has been swept under the rug for so long, a large-scale purging of old ideas about skin color will occur in – perhaps not all – but many of us. 

What steps do you think we need to take to make color discrimination less of an issue?

It starts at home.  Parents, please teach/encourage/affirm/love and prepare your young! 

I also think we have to COUNTER the bombardment of Eurocentric images of beauty that our kids experience through various mediums with an even BIGGER bombardment of beautiful BLACK images.  And we must take care to not promote one shade of Blackness over another.  Every color we produce is AWESOME.  

Where can we see your play?

My ultimate goal is to tour the play all over the U.S.   I’d also like to have it professionally recorded, packaged, and sold as a DVD.  As this is a “newborn” project, still in the early stages of development, there are many steps to making this dream manifest and much help is still needed.  It IS open for booking.  Churches, schools, universities, community organizations, and anyone interested in commissioning me to perform this show, please contact renesworld@hotmail.com. 

*To stay in the know, PLEASE SUBSCRIBE to www.facebook.com/IWantedTheBLACKDoll.

Check out the trailer & some more of Sheerene’s videos here > http://www.youtube.com/user/225supreme

(Source: forbrowngirls)

KAY: What made you want to start this organization?

MIERRA: Good Question, but it’s hard to answer. As a child I’ve always been geared toward community outreach and public service. My father is from Sierra Leone, a third-world country that benefits from the kindness of others (in the form of US & UN aid and other private charitable donations) my mom has been involved in non-profit work for the better part of her adult life. My paternal grandmother was politically active when she lived Sierra Leone and secured immeasurable aid for the deaf and blind in the country. I guess the short answer is, it’s hard to realize that people need help and that things need to be done and I’m capable of helping, but I decide not to. I think life is about finding those who need, and helping them; I think it’s that simple.

KAY: Parts of Peace is for an amazing cause and will serve a great purpose in the community. Are you the sole founder are you a part of a “team”?

MIERRA: I am the sole founder, it was initially my idea but a number of people helped me develop the idea and put things in motion. These people include my parents (Julius & Angela Pratt), and friends (Brittany Williams & John Bonkowski) and my younger sister Jai-landa Pratt. Now I am lucky enough to have team to help me develop ideas and implement our collective plans. 

KAY:Love the name. How did you come up with it?

MIERRA: It was my basic idea to spread “peace” around the world; but it’s a lot harder than you think. I knew that perhaps I couldn’t change the whole world, but I could do my “part” in my community. 

KAY: Why is this cause important to you?

MIERRA: The cause is important to me because I was lucky enough to grow up a great family that could care for me, and I have been afforded opportunities that many people dont have access to; I think it’s important to be grateful for what I have and to do my best to help others in anyway I can. 

KAY: What are your goals for Parts of Peace? Monthly? Yearly?

MIERRA: Well, my ultimate goal would be to recognized in Baltimore as a friend to those in need. As far as monthly and yearly goals we generally come up with our events on a quarterly basis. At the moment we’re working on an event planned to January to distribute care packages. We haven’t planned our next event, but when we do, it will be posted on our website and our facebook page.

KAY: What does one have to do to get involved?

MIERRA: We have open membership to any college student or grad to be on our core team, however anyone is able to volunteer or help out by just sending an email and letting us know they’re interested. 

KAY: I appreciate your support for my project & it’s cause! You are very inspiring & definitely motivate me and others to go out and make a difference. Who is someone who is inspirational to you? 

MIERRA: I think I have a few, Gandhi, Buddha, Nelson Mandela, Sister Sharon Kanis (SSND, NDMU), Dr. David Hoovler (NDMU); anyone who understood peace and nonviolence and worked to make things better for those in need.

*FBG would like to thank Mierra for her support and this great interview!

Check out Parts of Peace @ http://www.partsofpeace.org

Follow Parts of Peace on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/PartsofPeace

Mierra Pratt is a  junior at the College of Notre Dame majoring in Political Science/ History, minoring in Prelaw. Find her on Facebook! > https://www.facebook.com/MierraorMariah

(Source: forbrowngirls)

FBG: When did “RashidaGurl” officially open for business?
RG: I guess you could say that RashidaGurl officially opened for business at the completion of my very first sale. It was about 10 years ago…one of my Empire Beauty School classmates, Toya, purchased a pair of my handpainted guitar picks.

FBG. What inspired you to start making jewelry? Had you always been creating other things before?
RG: I had been experimenting with jewelry making since I was about 6 or 7….I used to create different shapes with aluminum foil, steal all the twist ties from the boxes of sandwich bags my Mom would purchase and peel away the paper. …then I would shape the wire into hooks and attach my foil shapes.I absolutely love doing nails…designing clothes…anything that allows me to express myself creatively.

FBG: What inspires your designs? What was the first piece you made?
RG: My designs are inspired by so many different elements…I wouldn’t know where to start! I’m most inspired by bright colors.

FBG:How did you initially market your products? Did you just wear them out and people started asking about them?
RG: That is exactly what I did. I never imagined that I would eventually earn my primary income from jewelry design. I was doing it because I loved to do it and I enjoyed expressing myself with my designs. I began to get so many inquiries everywhere I’d go that I finally decided to begin selling them…in the beginning I was so shy that I’d have my Mom or my friend Shari do it for me…we would post up on Chestnut St or South St here in Philly. 

FBG. How long does it usually take to make a pair?
RG: Depending on the design it could take anywhere from 5 mins to an hour

FBG:Wow,that’s no time at all! What are your favorite pair?
RG: That’s like asking a mother who her favorite child is…lol

FBG: What is your favorite part about being an entrepreneur?
RG: Independence!

FBG: What three words would you choose to describe your designs?
RG: Spontaneous…Bright…Crazy

FBG: What should we expect to see from you in 2012?
RG; Collections….necklaces….bracelets….and I may be introducing a line for Lil’ Gurls……I just hope you see me in 2012.

FBG: What top 3 celebs would you like to see wearing RashidaGurl?
RG: Sophia Grace Brownlee, Rosie Grace McClelland and Nicki Minaj!!! lol

You can follow Rashida on Twitter here :http://twitter.com/#!/rashidag url

& on Tumblr: http://rashidagurl.tumblr.com/

Like her on FB!: https://www.facebook.com/rashi dagurl

Purchase RashidaGurl on Etsy!: http://www.etsy.com/shop/rashidagurl

(Source: forbrowngirls)

Q. What inspired you to create this site? Had you been a blogger before this?

 My inspirations to create Natural Hair Community were all of the women I have met that said that they would go natural but [insert excuse]. I think if some women were only more informed, that would greatly reduce the “I would go natural” and increase the number of women who can say “I am natural”.

 No, I was not a blogger before Natural Hair Community. I wish I would have started sooner.

Q. One of the things that really stood out to me when I first visited the site was the logo! I love purple and there is a purple and blue butterfly with “Natural Hair” in purple and blue also. Is there a meaning or story behind that design?

 Yes, when you see our logo, initially it appears to be a butterfly. However, our logo is a metaphor that represents the transformation that women must go through to become natural.

Q. For what reasons do you support one going natural or having natural hair? In what ways has embracing your natural hair texture changed you and/or your life?

 A running joke between Kenneth (husband) and I is - if I could help every woman in the world achieve a level of confidence of their natural hair, I would. Honestly, I simply want to help. I want to give every woman a platform to tell their story and help those who need encouragement. This is the purpose of Natural Hair Community. Some women have never seen or have very little remembrance of their natural hair as children.  When most of them choose to re-discover their natural texture, it is frowned upon. I don’t think it should be. I want to give women a place to come, where they will be in the company of other like-minded natural haired women.

 Not having a relaxer has definitely given my mission of wanting to help women a greater purpose. I have become more aware in the difference of how I was viewed when I relaxed and the difference now that I am natural. I won’t say that if you go natural that you will have deeper relationship with Christ. However, I will say that because I do have a relationship with Christ, I was able to lean on to Him for understanding when I didn’t understand people’s behavior.

Q. You have said that your daughter’s hair is natural, also. How is she doing now with her hair? How old is she? Has she learned to embrace it?

 She is 14 years old and her journey is going well. She has gotten more comfortable with detangling and washing. Both are a huge plus. I would say that she has learned to embrace her natural because she has stated that she does not want a relaxer any more. But hey, she is 14 and in the years to come that may change. Lol!

Q. Running my blog and getting to have dialogue with all of these happy black women with gorgeous natural hair including yourself inspired me to go natural. I just want to embrace the authentic me, and feel even more confident so I can further inspire others. People in my life have been supportive of my decision but what advice would you give to a girl whose parents aren’t so accepting of natural hair?

 Although I am a blogger, I am a parent first. I would give the same advice to a girl that I hope someone would give my children. Because you are a child, you have to respect your parent’s decisions. One piece of advice that will help in all walks of life is to: present your case, identify the issue, and propose a solution and most of all be willing and ready to discuss more. Do your research, have sites ready to show if they ask. This will show that you gave the decision some thought and you are very serious.

Q. Which do you think is the easier way to go natural? The BC or Transitioning? For those transitioning, what styles do you suggest?

 I personally think big chopping is by far easiest for the following 1 reason:

1.       You only have to handle your natural texture only.

 For women who are transitioning, I would suggest curly styles and buns, if possible. If flat irons are used, I would highly suggest using it on the lowest temperate possible, in an attempt not to damage your new growth which will be your new natural hair.

Q. Fave Products?

 My favorite products as of lately has to be Hydratherma Naturals.

Q. What is your goal for this site? What do you hope to accomplish?

 The goal of the community is to give women who are natural, thinking about becoming natural or who just curious about natural hair a place to gather information, meet other natural women and to share their stories.

Make sure you check out and register on www.naturalhaircommunity.com!

Check out these links !:)

Jael’s article on her natural hair journey: http://www.naturalhaircommunity.com/natural-hair-journey

Another interview with Jael on newlynatural.com!:http://newlynatural.com/blog/2011/07/a-natural-story-jael/

 *As a young adult making a conscious journey to go natural in a society not so accepting of natural hair,Jael’s site is a both a great resource and comforting reassurance. I am even more inspired to embrace my original hair texture. I love the articles both she and Kenneth write as they really draw me in and keep my attention. Great tips & blog posts! Very relatable and I love that there are forums for readers to share their stories, hair tips & to encourage one another. Thanks Jael!

(Source: forbrowngirls)

*We tried to record it on Ovoo at first , but the connection kept messing up :/

K: What do you consider your color to be?

A: Light Skinned/Tan

K:Has someone ever thought you were another ethnicity? If so, does it bother you? 

A:Yes, People have asked me if I am Asian and black, white and black, or mixed. when they ask me once it doesn’t bother me I simply reply I am african amaerican.. then when they ask me are sure ur not mixed? I get mad and I say no I’m black I told you lol my mom is a light skinned black nd my dad is dark brown they are both african american SO THAT MEANS I AM TOO !

K: Lol yea I understand. I would get upset too if people didn’t believe me & thought I didn’t know who I was. Or if they want me to be something I’m not, like what I am is a problem for them or something. It’s frustrating when some people want you to defined by your skin color.. which brings me to my next question : Has anyone ever made fun of your complexion, said hurtful things to you?

A:Yes, in middle school I went to an all black school and majority or the girls were brown skin and they would call me “White Girl” “Casper” “Spongebob” Stewart Little” anything they could think of. I was very hurt, I would come home everyday crying to my mom.

K: Wow.Words definitely hurt. No one should be demeaning anyone’s skin tone. Yea a lot of girls sometimes “hate” on each other for no reason as all, just because they are nasty . Most times, it’s how they deal with their own insecurities, hurting someone else to make themselves feel better. They don’t realize that that’s not the answer & it’s sad. Darker skinned girls sometimes will envy lighter skinned girls because they believe that they are better. Have darker skinned girls ever been mean to you or thought you were ’ stuck up”?

A:Yes, plenty of times and honestly for no reason at all, I’m a laid back person, and nice to everyone.. drama is really not my thing.. but I’ve had girls try to fight me bc I’m light & they thought I was stuck up but I’ve never given them a reason to believe that.I know color prejudices exist within the black community. Is it right? NO.. & its sad.

K:Yes, it is sad. And it needs to stop. What message do you want African American girls to know and receive?

A: I want girls to know that.. when everyone is born we don’t get to choose the color or shade we are born with, God does & we are all unique and beautiful in our own way. And we should all embrace who we are instead of hating it and we need to all get along and RUN THE WORLD like beyonce said. But most importantly LOVE YOURSELF!  God Bless.

Aja also doesn’t it when guys seem to put her on  pedestal because of her light skin tone. She says.. “That’s when they get cut off lol” & another tip guys: Don’t call Aja a redbone or yellowbone. She finds that offensive as her bones are not yellow OR red . 

I want to thank Aja for taking the time out to be interested enough in my blog to agree to interview with me and answer the questions I had for her. She is in great support of it’s cause & I appreciate her very much for that. An amazing friend, love her! 

Aja and I met at the Disney College Program last spring in Florida! We were roomies for 4 months. It was alot of fun & I’ve been missing her ever since May :) She is such a positive & uplifting person. FUNNY for days & very ambitious. Not to mention she has the most beautiful singing voice. (lookout for her YouTube videos soon) You can follow her on twitter @AjaMariex0

rawrevol.tumblr.com

Q.Hey girl! I love your blog. How old are you now, and how old were you when you first began to write and /or draw?

 I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember.  Arts and crafts were something I found a comfort in, and something my mom would do with me when I was younger.  I haven’t taken any professional courses as of yet, but hope to be doing so once I get my hands on some cash!Right now im 18, turning 19 in a month and a half!  Haha funny thing is, the response everyone else gets to that question is “im turning 19 this year” as if I don’t want them to undermine me or something, just because im not legal yet (I live in Canada!).

I can’t remember when or why I began to write, but I began to perform spoken word when I was around 16 or 17. 

Q. What made you want to create this blog?

I’ve always wanted a platform for free expression, so I decided to create one.  I didn’t want just any blog, but one where other individuals could use as a tool of relation and inspiration.  I realised one day that so many people around me were so very talented, but for some reason, so few of them decided to share that with the world.  So, my one goal in creating this blog was to inspire others to share.  For them to realise that their views, ideas, passions, hobbies have a lot of worth.  I wanted to inspire them to do what they’re passionate about, and that too, with pride.  

Q. And the name of your blog is RawRevol which stands for Raw Revolution. How did you come up with that title? What does that mean to you?

I have had a couple of blogs before this one, and the most important part about a blog to me, is the name.  It’s what gives the blog personality, character, and I never found that with my older blogs.  Now though, I knew I wanted a blog to share my ideas on social conflicts through art and writing.  I lay in bed shouting out names, while my sister yes and no’d.  Revolution had to be a part of the title, because that is the one thing I aspire towards with my work.  The youth of today is so strong and empowered, we are a force to be reckoned with.  I kept on telling my sister, I want a word that’s raw, something so freakin’ raw, that it’s outrageous!!!! And a half hour later my brain finally decided to put the two together, 5 minutes after realising that revolution was too long word, so we cut off the unnecessary letters J 

Q. Well you know what my blog is all about and that is mainly how we were able to form a connection. How did you come across my blog? I’ve always wondered how people find me lol

After much speculation my friend, I have come to the conclusion that I have no idea.  There are two possible options, I was searching up “freedom, slavery, revolution..” or something of the sort in the search bar, and a post of yours caught my eye OR, you liked one of my posts and therefore I clicked your name to check out your blog.  But that doesn’t even matter, because once I was on your blog, I instantly fell in love.  I just LOVEEE when I see such strong and powerful women of colour.  It’s sad to see so many ethnic women feeling inferior here in the western world,  so when I see one as confident and aspiring as you, it really brings a tear to my eye.  You were an instant follow, I had to look at about 2-3 posts before I clicked the follow, and spent more time looking through everything else you had up. 

Q.Wow thank you :). I admit when I first received a message from you, it was hard to believe that you’d faced discrimination, because of the lightness of your skin. Here in the U.S. , your skin tone is acceptable and sometimes desirable. I’m sure many of my followers who are African American are unaware the affect colorism has on other parts of the world, on other cultures. Unfortunately, there is discrimination based on skin color rampant in different cultures all around the world. How has colorism affected you?

 The colour of my skin is accepted here in my community in Canada, but it isn’t loved.  Of course, its not a major deal that comes up in everyday life, but it is an underlying issue that we are dealing in a very passive manner.  I’m of Indian descent, and I am on the darker end of the spectrum compared to the other girls in my culture (Punjab, state in the northern part of India). In the Indian culture, the lighter you are = the prettier = better marriage proposals.  That sounds funny, but a woman’s marriage is a big deal in the Indian culture, because once a girl turns a specific age (mid twenties), marriage is something that she HAS to do. I know about 2 or 3 women that are unmarried over the age of 30, and they are definitely frowned upon or pitied.  The way we look is a huge deal because it is important that we find the perfect suitor.  The other family will not want a girl that isn’t attractive because that foreshadows how the offspring will turn out.  We are held back from getting darker as much as possible, “you’re going to turn black”.  My aunt recently asked me why my colour had got so ugly and dark, had I spent a lot of time out?  And of course, I’m past the phase where I’d be disappointed, so I blatantly answered with an “of course!” I am the darkest out of 4 children, and was always told how dirty I looked because of my dark skin.  I would always be told not to wear certain colours, or wouldn’t be able to purchase certain colours because I was too “black”.  I was told my relatives to perform certain beauty routines, etc etc.  I was young, I didn’t know that I was supposed to be ashamed of being “dark”. So as I grew, and the comments continued, I naturally began to associate the darkness to being ugly.  (However, the colour of my skin wasn’t the only thing that contributed to me low self esteem, it was one of many) I hated it, I thought my skin was ugly, yellow, sickly. 

I tried masks, and one cream I would like to mention in particular.  In India, there is a cream that is probably in every household, and about 50-70 percent of every Indo Canadian household.  Called “fair and lovely” a skin lightening cream.  A link to the ad: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIUQ5hbRHXk
When I first watched this, it looked like a miracle product to me, not the propaganda that it really was.  It is leaching off millions of women who are led to believe that light is better, forced to feel insecure about the way they look.  Guess who created the Fair and Lovely product? Unilever, the same company that created Dove.  So as Unilever endorses self esteem and to “love the way you are” to the woman in the west, they are making the women in the east feel anything but beautiful.  Do the women of developing countries on the other side of the world not deserve to feel beautiful, like the ones in the west?  If that isn’t proof of the corruption these big corporations are causing I don’t know what is. 

Q.That is very interesting. When did you finally decide that enough was enough and that you weren’t going to give in to that kind of criticism anymore? 

 My self esteem went from zero, to healthy before my senior year in high school.  It was probably the biggest break in my life, and my own little miracle.  I had hit rock bottom, and there was nothing left.  I realised that if I wanted any chance of being happy I had to start thinking differently.  I had a lot of consoling from friends to help me with everything I was dealing with.  One day, one just began yelled at me, she went on and on just screaming at me about how I needed to change quickly, before I really threw my life away.  Through her rude words and insults, I saw love and from that day, I have never looked back, never been happier.

Q. Yes, a lot of times a loved one or close friend can make you see and realize things you never could have imagined. I’m glad you were able to make that breakthrough .What advice would you give to younger girls who are feeling insecure about their skin tone?

You are Beautiful.  I don’t care if you don’t see it, you are beautiful, If you don’t see it, believe it.  When you begin to believe it, you will finally begin to see that beauty was there all along.  Life is too short to be lived with insecurities and low self esteem, I was like that for a huge chunk of my life, so I would know.  When you finally begin to have confidence in yourself, and begin to love yourself, everything turns around automatically and no one but you reaps the awards.  I would urge younger women to embrace themselves, and all the things that make them different.  There are so many things about myself that are imperfect, and I hated them to the point where I was willing to go for plastic surgery to fix them. However,  today I am thankful for the way I was born.  I am glad that I wasn’t given the perfect face, or body, but rather one, with many imperfections, so that I can have the chance to flaunt them and prove that they are beautiful.  Women are so beautiful, there is no skin colour that is “ugly”, and if you think it is, you’re probably the only one that thinks so, because everyone else just sees a pretty face. 

* I want to thank Rupi for taking the time to answer my questions and for being such a beautiful person inside and out. Please visit her blog to check out her artwork and inspirational words.