Nope, we are not talking about skin acne but rather skin color. Kelly tells Essence magazine that while growing up she was very self conscious about her skin color until Tina Knowles, Beyonce’s Mama, told her how beautiful she was. Kelly laments the problems of being a brown sista and the theory that too dark women cannot sell magazines or music. I agree that there has always been a rule for magazines not to put brown women on their covers for fear they wouldn’t sell, but that wasn’t the case with music, until recently. Remember the 80’s produced Janet Jackson, Anita Baker, Stephanie Mills and Whitney Houston.
It wasn’t until the mid to late 90’s when music videos became the main way in which artists were promoted and music told, that the powers that be decided that beauty trumped talent and with Black folk that meant color, or the lack of, trumped talent because you know when you are Black and female color and beauty are often thought to go hand in hand.
This of course does not mean Kelly can’t get a magazine cover or sell any records because she is brown skin. Some think Kelly’s problems are managment and material related. Who knows? But personally, I think that even if Kelly did have the right management, material and wasn’t considered Beyonce’s boring back up singer, she still wouldn’t sell any records because like polka dots and Kwame, brown skin girls are as welcome in the music industry as Michael Vick is at a Peta convention.
The Dominance of Cookie Cutter R&B Entertainers Hinders the Promotion of Bonafide Artists
Kelly is so pretty. I am glad Tina helped her to see what a beautiful girl she is.
It’s a shame she felt like that. Unattractiveness comes in all skin colors, hair lengths, heights and waistlines. Hard truth.
No comment
My best friend delt with that alot becuase i’m hella lighter than her and I know alot of girls in school growing up did too. Kelly could really witness to some people by telling about her trial with that. Good Girl!!!! Make a diffrence be a Queen!
I feel like dark sister too but i have to comment at one point did they had kelly and the rest of the girl tan and not beyonce come on please u should be happy with your skin color. Where was her mother at telling her she is a beautiful woman. I really getting tired of all this destiny crap.
KELLY ROWLAND IS AVERAGE LOOKING AND I DON’T THINK THIS HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH HER SKIN COLOR. :thumbsdown:
SHE IS AN AVERAGE PERSON AND SINGER. SHE DOESN’T HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO GET PEOPLE TOO EXCITED ABOUT HER.
BUT SHE SHOULD KNOW THAT BLACK WOMEN, ESPECIALLY DARK SKIN WOMEN GROW TO LOOK MORE BEAUTIFUL WHILE EVERYONE ELSE GROW TO LOOK MORE WRINKLED. :lol: :lol: :lol:
sigh…
black people, black people…
why must we draw unwanted attention to ourselves?
just something to entertain the eye of the MAN.
I want to talk but the words don’t seem to come in the rigth order I’M MUMBLING but anyway
i’m so tired of people being unconfortable with themselves and trying to make dark skin people and especially women look like they are disgusting kelly was the last person i tought will make such a remark
she has been in one of the most selling female groups of all time so people know her she could use that popularity to make other people accept their skin and realize how beautiful they are instead of still living in that destiny’s child crap that would never been nothing else but beyonce’s trampoline for a solo career
and sure tina told her how beautiful she is isn’t why tina made everything possible to make her look like she was a menber of destiny’s child rather then a chorist? sure tina told her she was beautiful isnt why her hair was so random when someone else’s hair was flawless? and absolutely sure tina told her she was beautiful isnt why she design such random outfits for her?
Crap it’s all crap my mother is 45 years old she married my dad and had me when she was 19 and she look like she is in her early 30s when some of her homegirls that hate their skin so much bleached themselves and look like they are 70 when they are barely 45
I suggest to miss rowlad that she go and get whatever beyonce got to be whiter from Dc to her carreer solo then she’ll sell her dignity and self esteem to the world
America my oh my such a shadow minded continent in africa we migth be poor but when it comes to people we are so open minded on beauty standards
please…..
I’m a dark sista and I understand her completely. What I don’t get about her is why she has to mention the Knowles family sooooo much. I know they are like family to her and so on…. but when will she start acting like she has a brain? She acts so clueless to me and that’s not very becoming of her. I hope her issues with her skin are resolved, mine are. I receive more compliments and attract more men than my lighter friends. It’s not an issue for me anymore, so I hope she realize that light isn’t always right. There are attractive people in all shades.
TIA is truly a BROWNSISTA i love my skin complextion and i always did kelly rowland is a (dark brown skin) complextion but that does not hurt the fact that she is unatrractive and can’t sell records or be on a cover of a magazine, she can do those things it’s just that their not pushing her hard enough i mean look at janet jackson , amerie and nia long they are beautiful to me. And don’t be alarm but brown is definetly not out of style,cause caramel is gettin’ on my nerves :brownsista: :booty:
I don’t know what it’s like to be a dark skinned woman, but I do know that you can’t go around thinking you are inferior to anyone b/c you REALLY aren’t. Black folks get all caught up in skin color when at the end of the day, really, we were all made in his image. Different shades should be celebrated.
I know light skinned sistas don’t have it nearly as hard as darker sistas, but I can remember spending a lot of time outside trying to get dark so that people would stop talking about me and calling me white. Clearly, I’m not white (check the hair), but as a child I can remember the taunts from darker kids – and darker adult relatives.
The hate goes both ways.
…and I don’t know WHAT color “lady” (above) is, but sista girl needs to back the hell up away from the PC and take some remedial English courses. I dare you to read that ish 20 times and leave with an understanding.
:brownsista: Good question:WHERE WAS KELLY’S MOTHER IN ALL OF THIS? Theory:while the Knowles family took kelly & her mother (she & her mother fell on hardtimes,etc.) into their family ,is it possible that was the time she developed an inferiority complex? She is grateful for the Knowles help but she was kept in Beyonce & Solange’s shadow—-this is not completely the Knowles fault. Kelly’s mother should have been managing & guiding her daughter closer and apart from the Knowles family. The girl group was fine, but Kelly should have had something else going on apart from the Knowles family & Destiny’s child (maybe a degree in business,entertainment business / law,accountant,lawyer,producer,etc.) or play an instrument or as a solo artist do different music styles (jazz,old R&B,neo-soul,gospel pop/comtemporary, etc.). WHY did Mrs. Knowles words have more meaning than her own mother’s words?
:bowdown:
I really wish Kelly would talk about something else other than what the Knowles Family has done for her…..I mean in every interview she finds a way to throw the Knowles family into the conversation. I am sick of her and I cant wait until she sits down too. Kelly gets mad about rumors that she is really a Knowles but can you blame us, I swear she says their name from the time she wakes up in the morning til the time she goes to bed.
:brownsista: This is an issue is not just based in United States but across the world. When I stayed in Italy about five years ago, there was discrimination between the northern italians and the southern italians who looked like my cousins….but I am glad that Kelly kept it real :brownsista:
Yeah people now are more into blond weave light skin girls like beyonce. If you are dark skin and can sing and dance you will never reach pop star status sad but true. There should be no reason why britney and jlo gotten that type pop star status they are not even talented. :stop: :loser: :noway: And why she needs beyonce mother to tell her she is beautiful come on kelly let the knowles go! :loser:
My freshman year of college (um over 10 years ago) someone referred to me as light skinned and a dark skinned friend of mine declared “YOU ARE NOOOOT LIGHT SKINNED”…with an unexpectedly aggressive tone. We began a long conversation about who we considered light skinned, brown skinned and dark skinned, most of which was prompted by my curiosity with her persistent need to DECLARE with PASSION that I was not light skinned. I looked at myself and realized I was not as light as I was growing up. So, I totally agreed with her. We ended the discussion, declaring another friend of ours light skinned, me brown skinned…and I waited for her to declare herself dark skinned. But she couldn’t. Do you know she looked away and said she was brown skinned? Now the two of us are like 10 shades difference. It was like she could not bear to put herself in the dark skinned category. I didn’t argue with her because in that moment I realized she had an insecurity related to her complexion. That was the first time I even realized skin complexion was a painful issue for some. How would you feel if you constantly saw images of beauty that didn’t look like you? By the way Kelly is beautiful and so was that girl, but they were not feeling the love. I completely sympathize with Kelly and anyone who has dealt with this insecurity.
This issue is so tired and needs to be buried. Being a brown skinned sista I’ve never felt inferior to anyone. Perhaps it was my upbringing. My parents always told me I was beautiful period. They also surrounded me with images of beautiful brown skinned women and that remains my standard of beauty. But more importantly they told me I was smart and smart goes a long way. It’s unfortunate that she felt that way but I am glad she is talking about it. Perhaps a new dialogue can help other young girls who feel that way. Forget what the media pushes on us…we have to find our own role models to celebrate, like Kelly, Gabrielle Union, Vivica Fox and the list goes on.
In the end talent always rises to the top. Look at the phenomena of Fantasia and didn’t Jennifer Hudson just win an Oscar and was recently on the cover of a major white oriented magazine. I think it was Glamour. But anyway, if Kelly just did her thing and did it well the media would be running towards her.
Notice: andiechick & meme
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If you believe you are ugly, you are!
i’ll just respost steph :lol:
i don’t know why black people want to pretend that shade racism is dead when it’s still alive and kicking…i dunno, maybe it makes us feel better to bury somethings or pretend that they aren’t there. they are…and there are young girls who go through these things in the 21st century. i come from a mixed heritage family…and my sister when she was younger would always say that she wished she was as light as me…she’s cinnamon coloured and so pretty, prettier than me, and my mother and aunt preached that black is beautiful, but she didn’t hear that. like kelly she overcame that, and is flashing like only her fabulous 15 year old self can. it’s the same with kelly, she had insecurites, and she overcame them, with the help of tina yes…what’s wrong with that? tina spent more time with her than her actual mother…get over it already! i don’t know who we are trying to fool: kelly is pretty much the only dark skinned female making any kind of moves in the music industry. and how many darkskinned females are in a leading role in hollywood’s mainstream? fantasia failed, india.arie failed, brandy fell off, and there’s no one but kelly now. i hope she can be an inspiration for young girls who have the talent but not necessarily the image that is selling right now to tough it out and pursue their dreams, and that you are beautiful once you accept yourself for who you are and sell it. i hope kelly can be a fixture in the music industry, she works so hard, and is trying to make a name for herself. GO KELLY!
One thing:
Kelly…God Bless You.
Okay, so there’s another thing:
There was a comment mentioned above about Kelly’s random hair during the Destiny’s Child days. I’m soooo in agreement! Her hair was always a little ‘off’. WHY? And why that red -ish??? Why Tina, why? :lol:
I’m so glad Kelly finally realized that she’s BEAUTIFUL!
I don’t pay to much attention to skin color. Beauty is more than skin deep and what you and I think is pretty the next person may not. I just can’t wait until we get over the it…or will that ever happen.
But Kelly’s hair was HORRIBLE back in the day. She cleaned that up QUICK!!!!!! :)
SOME OF YALL DON’T LISTEN. KELLY SAID SHE USE TO FEEL LIKE THAT. NOW SHE EMBRACES HER CHOCOLATE SKIN. FEELIN SELF HATRED IS NOT SOMETHING YOU CAN ALWAYS GET OVER. IF YOU AREN’T NOT DARK SKIN YOU WON’T KNOW HOW IT FEELS TO BE CALLED SKILLET OR TAR BABY. PEOPLE ACT LIKE IT DOESN’T EXIST ANYMORE BUT YEA IT DOES. WHEN I WAS REAL YOUNG MY BEST FRIEND WAS A MIXED GIRL AND WAS ALWAYS CONSIDERED THE PRETTY ONE BECAUSE SHE HAD LONG CURLY HAIR AND LIGHT SKINNED. MAN, THAT WAS ONE OF THE HARDEST THINGS I HAD TO DEAL WITH GROWING UP AND KNOWING THAT I COULDN’T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT ONLY MADE IT WORST. SO I REALLY CAN RELATE TO WHAT KELLY WENT THROUGH. BECAUSE OF WOEMEN LIKE HER IN THE INDUSTRY I FEEL GOOD TO BE IN MY SKIN AND WOULDN’T CHANGE IT FOR ANYTHING IN THE WORLD. :brownsista:
I think it’s so nice that Tina Knowles told Kelly she was beautiful. People need that confirmation, especially when they’re young kids. So what if she mentions the Knowles a lot? They ARE her family. Kelly is Beyonce’s cousin and grew up in the same house as them. Also, i am a dark skinned sister and yeah, there are a lot of issues i had to get over. Good thing i had a dark skinned father and a light skinned mother who constantly called me pretty and beautiful so i never grew up with much of a complex. I actually thought it was strange the rejection and names that i was sometimes called by black people- epecially men that were dark skinned as well. I’m 24 now, but when i was 15 i went through a depression regarding this and i had to resolve it. The way i did it was go to the library and tear out all the dark skinned natural hair pictures of women in the magazine, i could only find like 1 every couple of issues, and it was suprising i found most of the pictures in white teen magazines, not black magazines. anyway, i made my own magazine and it was so great when i could finally put my skin next to a beautiful model my skin color and hair texture. I even have a photo shoot of the Williams sisters and that was the best, i think they are totally beautiful women. But honestly, i see dark skin women who look the same as light skin women and the brothas will call the light skin one beautiful and the dark skin ugly. Time need to change. Monica is also a dark skin singer making waves. I alo like Heather Headley. India Arie and Fantasia did NOT fail. They are totally inspiring me and i love their songs. I love light skin and dark skin and white skin and red skin and yellow kin- their all beautiful. But i think all the dark skin female stars had to deal with this, i remember when i was 16 reading an article on the rapper Foxy Brown… she was talking about this issue and i was so glad it got out in the open and i could relate to someone. Also, Lauryn Hill is a beautiful dark skin woman. And so am I. I think people are just beautiful in general- i think everyone is unique and beauty is in the eyes of the beholder and i behold beauty is most everyone- except criminals. anyway, i’m having an issue right now concerning my hair. i’ve worn it natural for years, but i’m finding this overwhelming urge to wear wigs because people call me beautiful and pretty when i do and i like that. I love my hair and i love pleasing other people. There’s a point where i will stop to please other people… but the hair thing is really concerning me. See, i’m 24 and still going through black issues. We all have issues and it shsould be brought out in the open to be resolves and not hidden under a carpet. So, i want to shout out Beuatiful Kelly Rowland and all my sisters, no matter what race and color you are. :)
I have blogged about this issue as well and I just don’t get it. Who has made the rule that darker skimmed women are not worthy of being marketed in the music industry? I guess the bigger question is How can we fix it?? What will it take to change it? It hurts so much to know that our men lament us so much that they continue to perpetuate this behavior. In this case, life imitates art and this type of discrimination will grow and spread like a virus until someone , somewhere decides its time to change. Plus in all honesty..lets get real BEYONCE IS NOT THAT LIGHT!!! Shes light brown..one good tan from being kicked out of the “light” club anyway.