Remember when the prevailing argument was that the hershey-toned fellas got all the love, after years of playing second to their caramel counterparts? That line of thinking ushered in the Tyson (still the champ!)-Mekhi Phifer era.
Black folk have a long-running struggle with our complexions. In 2008, you could still catch an episode of "Tyra" during which panelists debated light-skin vs. dark-skin. There's a lot of (American) history and pain running through that discourse.
Remember Kanye famously announcing he only dates "mutts," his term of endearment for girls of mixed blood? The Yung Berg brouhaha, where he practically resurrected the brown paper bag test? So we haven't all transcended the colonial thinking but the culture is moving forward.
Look, my dating past is checkered with melanin-rich guys, well before it was in vogue. That might be more about some Freudian thing (my dad is a handsome man with skin the color of fudge).
But Black men are beautiful for real, in all their varied glory. I feel like these days there's a consensus on that and it's a good thing. Two of my most crush-worthy, Drake and Andre 3000, pictured here.
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