Girl, there's already somebody comparing this to tanning. *sigh* *walks away*

I didn't say to conform to, I said " to be accepted as "beautiful/successful/desirable" to the western gaze" which you can't tell me that shit isn't true.

That is NOW, but historically it has not been the case. I am waiting to see if she ever gets a leading love interest role or a sexy vixen role. That is the true test of black women's sexual viability on the silver screen. Most of the roles I am talking about go to the light and bright almost whites, if not just plain…

if it makes you feel better, it's actually Vybez Kartel who is described as "dirty sock"-toned.

People are not tanning to look like minorities. There's not the stigma with tanning that there is with skin bleaching and you know it.

It's a big deal because colorism in the media effects everyone. To ignore the effects of white supremacy in many of these places is just ignorant. There is history behind why people whiten their skin and relax their hair. Books are written about this topic. Classes are given on it.

You missed the part where she revealed how she paid for bleaching. Apparently, her boyfriend is a Nigerian oil tycoon. She can play it like it's her decision all she wants but when an African man decides to part with $170,000 for you to bleach your skin, he really really doesn't like your dark skin.

It's just sad to see so many women encouraged to do all of those things to be accepted as "beautiful/successful/desirable" to the western gaze. That's the issue. No one should be denigrating these women for wanting to be that - but the fact remains that it's a bummer.

I'm glad that she came forward so people can see how much pressure there is to lighten your skin. It's insidious. Some of the fashion mags use intense lighting to create a lighter skin color. I wish they wouldn't be so hard on her and save some of that rage for western culture's infatuation with light skin.

skin went from chocolate brown to the color of your boyfriend's dirty sock.

Yes, Mr. Will. Being the victim of sustained emotional and sexual abuse by a partner was ABSOLUTELY the highlight of my college experience! All the other girls are so jealous of the years I've spent in therapy and the PTSD flashbacks I continue to have.

An old high school acquaintance went off on a rant about this last time we were together. He kept going on about the number of girls lying about being raped on college campuses to obtain some sort of feminist badge of honor.

He can't possibly really think this. I mean, come on. It's absolutely insane. You should see how uncomfortable everyone gets if I ever mention my rape—it's hardly like talking about a freaking pool party. You are taught to keep your mouth shut. And, as I've said before, I know lots of women who have been raped. …

he pulled it out of his ass, most likely. just like this:

So he's saying 5,600 of those 28,000 students couldn't possibly have been assaulted because LOLOLOL that number is just too high?

I knew he was bad but this has me floored. You think this is a lark? They never caught the four men who raped me. But I had sooooo much fun pointing fingers. Right.

In fact I was terrified of looking at line-ups since I was roofied and I had few clear memories. I was so scared of pointing out the wrong brothers to a…

The only reason a man could object to women fighting back against rape would be if he were a rapist himself. It explains a lot about George Will, frankly.

Right. What girl doesn't want to grow up to be a rape victim, and the envy of all her friends?

A collection of my feelings, brought to you by pop culture:

This makes my stomach hurt. It's kind of a mixture of hate and nausea with a little fear mixed it.