Let's Stop Idolizing the 90's for Dark Skin Representation.. That Time Period was ROUGH!

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#colorism

[@Earthomo]

The light skin girl not protecting her dark skin friend is not a “bad”friend, she’s simply NOT a friend at all.

[@cadyg2531]

PREACH

[@IOU88]

!!!!

[@sharons5221]

!!!

[@jenne_afiya]

THIS!

[@dvmn444]

🤌🏾🤌🏾🤌🏾

[@tybooskie]

The 90's laughed AT us; the 00's erased us.

[@TheSweetestCocoa]

And the 2010's imitates us 🤷🏾‍♀️. Everyone wanna have black features but nobody wanna be black.

[@mayowasworld]

that part!

[@mayowasworld]

@@TheSweetestCocoa yup!!! I wonder what this new decade has it store for us

[@TheSweetestCocoa]

@@mayowasworld hopefully something better than this, cause shit is ghetto. 🥴

[@a.barrie]

Exactly!!

[@ToyaF82]

The 90s was full of normalized colorism, texturism, sexism, sexual harassment, and fat phobia. Such a weird time.

[@mayowasworld]

yupppp and we not even touching on the sexual harassment because didnt Martin also get caught up in things...? I need to double check. it was a strange and difficult time.

[@mynameispeaches]

comedy in general does not often age well. It's pretty typical to look back at things we thought were funny and now it's offensive. What baffles me with black culture is how many BM and male identified BW double down and insist that we just need to learn to "take a joke". And an inside joke among us can be one thing. But once white people feel too comfortable laughing it should be a red flag. But these foul black "comedians' often take that as a thumbs up to do it even more.

[@SOULarLioness]

@@mayowasworld Yup towards Tisha Campbell...and it was weird between them for YEEEAAAARS. But I suppose it's all "water under a bridge now" since they have since made up and they all did that Martin Reunion Special on BET...

[@neftana8]

​@@mayowasworld yuuuuup literally to his costar, they say that's the reason why the show ended

[@roots4140]

@@mayowasworld You are correct. Tisha Campbell, who played Gina, was sexually harassed by Martin Lawrence. While they were still filming the show. It is well known... She, like so many women back then, and to this day, suffered through it and continued to show up for work in spite of it.

[@Jewel296]

And not to mention how that effected how black little girls were treated in their own homes or how they heard the black men in their families speak about other dark skin women. All of a sudden black boys/men are dogging their sisters or aunties. There was literally no escape

[@mayowasworld]

thats how I remember it too!!! It felt like such a terrible time to be a black girl growing up. that was also the time of "yo mama jokes", it was hell.

[@lemungagenu5103]

Easy there! It ain't like dark skinned sistahs were/are falling over themselves talking great things about, and/or desiring dark skinned brothers. Modern black women are a trip! Y'all ruin a perfectly legit observation about the 90s' white supremacy promoting sitcoms, by focusing/targeting on black men. Why?, is it because black men are the easier target, targeted by everyone, including/especially the "Radical Black Feminists" (RBF~DR. Umar, 2022)? ... Thnx for the video sis!

[@miram2053]

Yup!

[@kathleenking47]

Willie D, rap about dark skin BW in 89 was horrible I didnt like rap, but after that song, I hated it..and stopped listening entirely At the same time it was out, country music like FOREVER AND EVERVAMEN was aliso out

[@mel9823]

@Realitychecks who is y’all? Because I’ve been called the nastiest things by black men but I still love dark skin men. Hell I’ve been with a dark skin black man for 5 years. And so? How can you blame some women for finding comfort in those men when dark skin black men aren’t always the safest to be around just by this example alone? Martin was a dark skin man degrading a dark skin woman. After a while, a woman don’t wanna deal with that & she will go where she’s appreciated.

[@veesancez]

They replaced aunt Viv and all her power and substance went with her

[@jamilljones2264]

Cuz da darkskin one was crazy

[@jamilljones2264]

@@sydneynicole5240 obviously I was talking about outside of the show

[@jm.4699]

@@jamilljones2264 always hearing this comment about her.. But why?? replace her with a bland lighter actress. Trying to convince us that there weren't ANY ds actresses that could replace her..pls

[@jamilljones2264]

@@jm.4699 o well. It is wat it is

[@marajones1828]

Oh! I want to mention something too with the lightening. As a kid I LOVED Strawberry ShortCake and there was a character “Orange Blossom” who was originally a dark skin girl (the only real black character) with Afro textured hair. It broke my heart as a kid in the rebooted show they did where they made her so many shades lighter and loosened her hair. I was a child and I NOTICED that and that HURT. The lightening of dark skin characters in reboots was such a problem for animated and live action shows/movies growing up.

[@ArtisticApothecary]

So true. they want to do this with a different world reboot. All light skin femmes and dark skin masculines.

[@Maki-00]

I just Googled it. That’s so whack! The skin color is bad enough, but why did they have to straighten her hair? They just can’t stand black women and girls who actually look black!

[@aviatress5643]

YOU DON’T HAVE TO TELL ME TWICE 😩 i will always be mad at hasbro for the blatant whitewashing of orange blossom in that horrid 2010 remake. like why just why did you have to do that?! couldn’t even recognise her when i first watched the show and apparently neither did countless of other parents and children who reportedly thought she was a new hispanic character! ludicrous i tell you! look how they massacred my girl 😭💔💔

[@chiu8159]

yeah, i think one of the reasons they did that was to make it easier to make the dolls, since that way they'd all have the same hair texture and they'd only have to alternate the colors(skin & hair) basically they were just lazy honestly, they made all characters have the exact same template- it's boring. but even with that excuse, they still lightened her skin unnecessarily

[@kathleenking47]

The 70s, showed more darkskinned women like lola falana, grace Jones, Dionne wareick , gladys knight than any other time Strawberry shortcake and orange blossom came out tgen. Much if the REBOOT colorism us coming from DSBM rsppers

[@tatiyanab8758]

I remember House Party as well. It was blatantly obvious in that movie. Darkskin girl lived in the project's with a bunch of family with a fat man on the couch. A kid pouring all that sugar in the kool-aid. The lightskin girl had both her parents whom were successful and owned a house. She had her own room. It was clean etc. Class Act as well.

[@rogerclarke5129]

I also noticed how the light-skinned people were kinda middle class and the dark-skinned were working class including Kid's father. Also, Why were the light-skinned characters (Kid and Sydney) portrayed as good and virtuous whereas the dark-skinned characters (Play and Sharane) had questionable morals.

[@LookoutYoru]

In house party the light skin girl is POOR

[@tatiyanab8758]

@@LookoutYoru did you watch the same House Party lol? The lightskin character mother and father had money. The dark skin girl lived in the project's. Go watch the movie love.

[@rogerclarke5129]

@@LookoutYoru You need to re-watch the movie.

[@s_impeccable3872]

@@LookoutYoru Sydney’s parents owned a chain of grocery stores I think.

[@Maki-00]

Funny how Martin was always talking about Pam’s hair texture when he has the same hair type! I remember the show My Brother and Me in the 90s. There was a whole ass black family, but the sister was played by a little mixed girl. 🙄

[@ArtisticApothecary]

So true, always dark skin men hating on dark skin women. Seems like dark skin men have self hate

[@mayowasworld]

lol very true. its usually like that!

[@lucindajones701]

Yes, the sister named Melanie, played by Aisling Sistrunk

[@TheLoveweaver]

Her hair was straight though, so how did he know what texture she had? I hate it here.

[@Maki-00]

@@TheLoveweaver It doesn’t matter what hair texture she had when her hair wasn’t straightened. The point is that a man who has kinky hair was making fun of someone else’s hair texture as if he has silky Ken Doll hair or something.

[@MCECRG]

Watching insecure made me cry because if I saw this when I was young I wouldn’t have had so much hatred for my blackness. Absolutely have never felt represented in a desirable way on tv before then

[@mayowasworld]

yeah it was definitely a cultural reset.

[@maggiepabellon5635]

@@mayowasworld there’s another part of colorism that other people are not addressing when the dark skin person is replaced by light skin person the light skin person is often dumbed down or softer or completely separate from the original character. Please don’t attack me that is my opinion

[@marajones1828]

I was the dark skin sister like Pam and my sister was the light skin one like Gina and I remember watching that show as a kid wishing I looked like Gina. My brother was like Martin and would call me “blackie” and my (light skin adoptive) mom would always joke and rate my siblings and I as which kind of slave we would be: my light skin sister got house slave, my slightly darker brother got field hand, and I the darkest child got field slave who would be SA by the massa. My mother said this to us as CHILDREN!!

[@mynameispeaches]

That’s awful

[@mayowasworld]

ugh im so sorry this happened to you, that is so traumatizing. that kind of colorism is hard to forget and you didnt deserve that. I hope youre able to find things and content that affirm your complexion and who you are as a person. you deserved to be protected instead of made a mockery.

[@JulianSteve]

That’s disgusting, Mara. I am sorry to hear that and thank you for sharing this☹️💯

[@yamomma6479]

My in laws "play" that same " game"...uggg🙄

[@theinfamousjellybean467]

I thought I was the only one to experience this “what kind of slave would I have been” game. Yikes on bikes.

[@candipurple4405]

I am so thankful Tichina Arnold was able to overcome that Pam character. Her career is thriving.

[@Morenita570]

Yea, but she’s a male identified pick me even though the father of her child didn’t marry her.

[@mayowasworld]

@@Morenita570 yeah I heard some of the things she said and cringed lol

[@blackolantern5666]

@Candi Purple. I've always like Tichina (aka "Pam"), more than Gina. Especially when they did that skit, "Don't You No, No, Good" Pam was thick and sexy asf! 😀😆

[@SOULarLioness]

@@Morenita570 Huh??? What did she do or say?

[@KevinSamuelsPowerBottom]

@@Morenita570 What can we do as BW to uplift BM?? That one (or something along the lines) had me like "carry them on our backs?" 😅 b/c at this point, that's exactly what they want

[@mynameispeaches]

A while ago i made a comment under an article about a Martin reboot about how problematic he was. Someone said Oh Pam was giving it right back. They roasted each other. But it hurts me how we as DSBW have to become hobo clap back artists literally from the age of 5 or 6 because we are so used to getting clowned.

[@mayowasworld]

lmaoo!!!! TRUE!!!! YESSSS, I had to learn so young how to quickly defend myself because it was very real growing up. and pam would make fun of martins height while Martin would literally call her an animal. 💀

[@suncoco6495]

Never really watched the show, but didn’t he play Shenene ( I’m not if I spelled the name right) too in the show?

[@mynameispeaches]

@@suncoco6495 yes he did

[@MzCrayKray]

And this is what happens to black women. In an effort to defend ourselves we learn to clap back. We learn to give em heck right back. Problem is we end up having to do that for the rest of our existence. Now they complain that we are not feminine. We are aggressive. Miss Sophia said "All my life I had to fight." Listen to what she is saying. She has had to fight all the men in her LIFE. Now they are expecting her to be a feminine wife. She has NEVER seen it. We were really watching these shows and movies and did not understand the dept of what we were watching. We were not connecting the dots.

[@mynameispeaches]

@@MzCrayKray you said a word. BM torment and make us feel unsafe in our own environment, until we are embattled and defensive. but then want to date women from other races who were surrounded by men who allowed them to be vulnerable and happy go lucky. They ruin the women they grow up around but then want access to women who other men nurtured and put the work into.

[@sashapierce4121]

I remember in highschool I had a friend who was mixed (mom black dad white) and she had these two guy friends. One was Latin (x,o,e) and the other was mixed too (white mom, black dad). I remember going over to visit and her Latin friend was complementing me and calling me cute. Out of the blue her mixed guy friend starts talking about how ugly I am, how dark I am, how unattractive he thought I was. My friend she laughed and laughed and the Latin boy kind of chuckled and changed his mind about liking me. I'll never forget how I had to defend myself and ended up just going home. It really does play out like it did in Martin and it's very true. Edit: Wow!! Thanks everyone for all the love, kind words, and affirmations! It means everything to me!🧡

[@princesschanel469]

That’s why I don’t deal with non black men who befriend majority black guys. They always have an influence on the way they think, talk, act and it’s so ugly to me.

[@indiald3373]

Please feel these virtual hugs.

[@sashapierce4121]

@@indiald3373 I definitely do. Thank you❤

[@ghettogreenbeann]

Well I'm sure that mixed guy was homely lookin himself. That's sick. Idk why someone really has to chime in and do that, it's so weird and demonic. People really hate it when a darkskin woman receives positive attention or something, it makes them so upset.

[@sashapierce4121]

@Ell - Thank you.❤ I know I'm not the only one. We all have stories to tell.

[@thediscustedkitty6348]

The Wayans Brothers were ALWAYS degrading dark skinned black women in their movies. I graduated from high school in 97. Colorism was very much alive and well in the 90s. Jokes that wouldn't be tolerated now were the norm. Calling someone black and nappy headed was fine. The love interest was almost always light skinned. Songs were still talking about light skinned girls with light eyes. The 90s was when you saw a lot more black sitcoms start showing up which was awesome. Sitcoms about black folks that were middle class and not in the hood. In the 80s there was really only The Cosby Show and A Different World. It might be why people are so nostalgic about that decade.

[@estherbalogun8092]

Yeah! I watched the Wayans Bros. and while it had its funny moments, those little comments about nappy head, etc. rubbed me the wrong way

[@UdochiOkeke]

I'm glad somebody else voiced that Martin is problematic. I've always felt that since I was a child, but people raise it up like it's iconic.

[@true4585]

I stopped liking Martin. It’s so derogatory.

[@rhondaherbert9282]

I didn't really care for that show. All the negative stereotypes was overboard in that show.

[@mywigflewtoasia1300]

On gawdd

[@mayowasworld]

I remember everyone loooooving the show in school, I felt flabbergasted lol

[@Maki-00]

@@rhondaherbert9282 I was 19 when that show came on and I was embarrassed even back then, especially by Shanaynay! I only ended up watching it because my friends and cousins were really into it.

[@renaissancewoman100]

Tichinia looked and still looks better than Tisha. I hated how Tichina character couldn't keep a man and they made her masculine. I hated the Parkers, specifically Nicki Parker. She chased the professor until he just gave up.

[@jamilljones2264]

Stop it😂

[@SuperMiIk]

The Pam jokes are so fucking cruel... I don't think that's me being soft that shit was so vile how can you talk to someone that way?

[@estherbalogun8092]

Fr

[@aiden877]

Pam dogged Martin just as hard and not to mention all the characters dogged each others damn near every episode. Pam and Gina were girls for life and yet they dogged each other but it was love at the end of the day. I mean the golden girls dragged each other but because these characters are two different shades of black we have to think its colorist? I mean Tichina and Tisha don't look back and think it was colorist but the fun they had and how it made them grow as actresses and people.

[@GreenGorgeousness]

​@@aiden877 the culture of meanness in the black community is sick.

[@nes96]

​@@aiden877 Pam called martin short, that wasn't anywhere as hard

[@aiden877]

@@nes96 they all dogged each other, this show was never meant to be like the Cosby show. it was always about Gina being light skin or big head, to cole being dumb, Tommy being bald and no job, or martin mouth and height. they even had episodes where they got along or admitted they didn't really feel those things to each other.

[@cocoagorgeouss]

I've always said that the term nappy was very offensive and I remember a bunch of other black women arguing with me over the fact that it wasn't. Yet every time it is used it's in a demeaning way. Like, make it make sense lol, I don't use that word at all.

[@LuckyLucky-yh7xd]

Exactly. Lol

[@operation2mil242]

oh my God, you are Gorgeous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@ArtisticApothecary]

Yes! And on fat phobia... Kim Parker on Moesha was a cheerleader and the only one that did not wear a uniform in every scene. I love Maxine Shaw and Erika who plays her. Season two she lost her job because she was so great at it. Was unable to find a job for at least 6 months and had to take a "crappy legal job" to make ends meet after being arrested. She was unable to start her own firm. All very unrealistic with her drive and talent. Regine also belittles her. Calling her roach and such. I will totally watch the Maxine and Pam show!!

[@asanitheafrofuturist]

As much as I loce Living Single, I feel like they purposely had Maxine and Kyle, the 2 most dark skinned characters insult each other almost every epispde

[@ArtisticApothecary]

@@asanitheafrofuturist every scene. Even after they become lovers and parent together. Think of growing up in that household

[@mayowasworld]

its sad how Kim Parker was treated because I feel like her talent is truly out of this world. not even just her acting, her singing and dancing, she's also someone who was a triple threat. and yeah I remember not liking how Regine would talk with her! lmaooo imagine how epic it would be to have a show with Maxine, Pam and Kim Parker and it shows their dating lives in the city and they're all besties and treat each other well lol. id love that show

[@mayowasworld]

@@asanitheafrofuturist yup!!!!! I think it also created this weird tension between dark skin men and women because the only depiction of us being together was when we were insulting each other.

[@mayowasworld]

@@ArtisticApothecary chai! I didnt even kno they had a baby together! I think I must have missed the last season. I just remember him getting a job to england or something

[@Hyperfofistic]

Bad representation is worse than no representation. I personally grew up watching those Disney Chanel sitcoms and I don't have the smallest idea of ​​American sitcoms that haven't been popular in my country. Anyway, at least I'm glad I didn't have to watch shit said about people like me on tv. Love your videos!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@mayowasworld]

thank you boo!

[@mynameispeaches]

I agree and people say oh black actors have to work. I used to support it because of the limited roles for black women. But now it’s like they don’t have to live with the impact of what they are pushing after they cash that check. Now I would rather they don’t work.

[@vicj330]

@@mynameispeaches Exactly! Perfect summary right there x

[@Cosmicles]

Colorism was real and rough is the mid to late 90s

[@TheLovesnowangel]

The 80’s too. There was a whole team light and dark skin then too…honestly every generation since sl@very suffered from colorism. Remember the paper bag test they had back in Jim Crow days and house/field sl@ve?

[@MIA-fq1di]

​@@TheLovesnowangelcoming to America is literally the first example coming to my mind the love interest of the prince who was Biracial was being made to play as desirable and her dark skin sister was made to play a role of the ugly sister that's jealous of her sister

[@QueenMufasa552]

On a personal note, i had a light skinned friend (who made her skin lighter by using skin lighteners) who told me to bleach my skin because it would make me look prettier. She loved dark skin men but she hated dark skin women and the things she said about us, i ended the friendship. I couldn't stand it. We are all beautiful, regardless of our skin tone.

[@trudiamond30]

Seems like she was well aware that DSBM worship whiteness or as close to white as possible.

[@xolam4259]

Same. I have a crazy story about a “friend” from college definitely happy I got rid of her smh 🤦🏾‍♀️ way happier without the ignorance

[@calit5861]

Well that's going to be awkward when she has little dark skin girls by her dark skinned husband lol lol

[@QueenMufasa552]

@@calit5861 like Dani Leigh, yeah!? 🤷❤️🙏

[@almondiefrancis9451]

@calit5861 Yep! My mother is multiracial and she married a dark skin man. We all came out different shades of tan, BUT the youngest came out dark skin. She was not expecting that. She told me that when she gave birth and they gave him to her, she was shocked and tried to wipe his skin, thinking it was something on him. She was never close to him. He felt unwanted growing up.

[@zheahra]

I'm glad you've highlighted the problematic issues in these shows. I remember a co-worker telling me she didn't watch Martin. We accept and perpetuate these stereotypes of dark skin women. It's sad. All in the name of comedy. It's like constantly picking at a wound that's trying to heal.

[@mayowasworld]

yup and we're never given time to fully heal from it either.

[@chocolateladycap2773]

I didn’t watch Martin either!! I thought I was the only one

[@senoracheapee1864]

I knew that you were going to say ‘Martin’ was the worst before you even said it because I thought it was the worst too when I was a teenager! The funny thing is that I was the only one saying this about Martin and most of my friends thought I was just being extra… it was just jokes. Also, traditionally, black American sitcoms have a black Dad, a light/Brown skinned Mom, black sons, and biracial daughters. The messaging I got from black sitcoms as a black American child who’s that black men and boys could be black but black girls needed to be light skinned or biracial

[@kathleenking47]

It's similar with whites..just a tad Dad, brown haired, mom blonde You rarely see the blond man and dark haired woman, among the same group together. Blond men darkened their hair, like elvis

[@AfroLatina3]

@@kathleenking47 Hence the phrase: Tall Dark and Handsome… 🧐Interesting

[@Ejejesksjs]

Facts.

[@Ejejesksjs]

@@kathleenking47 I’ve seen that in movies so many times with the mom being a “fake blonde”.

[@noble604]

The older girls ... the girls of sexualized, quote unquote “atttactive” age where boys like them were usually cast as biracial/ racially ambiguous. The younger daughters who were still “kids” were cast as Black girls. Generally, also the little Black girls are the “sassy” ones and the older “pretty” ones are softer, well spoken and/or ditzier... Biracial Hillary vs Ashley Banks (the exception was Ashley wasn’t loud mouthed ...living in Bel Air had much to do with that) ... Cosby Show (Sondra and Denise as opposed to Vanessa and Rudy... a quietness and refinement of the older two even when Denise was getting into all kinds of trouble) and all the shows following all the way to today Blackish - Zoey /Diane It’s really rare (The Bernie Mac Show) that the oldest daughter is the darkest daughter but even rarer (as in: I can’t think of a show off the top of my head) where the baby girl is the biracial/racially ambiguous one and the older daughter is dark. Biracial daughters are usually cast that way on purpose so they can be conventionally marketed as the “attractive one” in order to build a storyline on the character in socially accepted “feminine” way... aka she’s the “hot” one ...also Claire on “My Wife and Kids” though just as ditzy as Hillary Banks ... Unfortunately, it’s generally thought dark-skinned teen daughters automatically wouldn’t be the ones so sought after in “real” life, in “real” life they would have “issues”... be aggressive, “angry”, they weren’t publicly valued as the “It girls” so these shows knew the public wasn’t especially wanting to see them cast in the teen girl role as a draw to the show. The 90s were HUIUUUUUUGE on biracial/ light skin-light eyes as THE Black beauty standard and Black tv was all about it ....even deciding how it worked in age demographics. Very interesting times

[@fairylove3364]

I tried to tell my family this as DSBW and they deflected and defended the shows, told me I was being sensitive. Crazy.

[@GayHimbo]

YESSS the 90s were a mess. rewatching the fatphobia in Moesha was wild. Living Single was rough too bc although Max was great, 2/3 times Kyle had the last laugh at her expense. There was that one episode of A Different World that kind of addressed colorism and misogynoir, but it still held Whitley up as the standard of beauty in every other episode and even *she* was treated like a dog by Dwayne Wayne once they got together. They way emotionally abusing dark skinned black fems is normalized and romanticized is bananas. It was mind shattering when you said “they realized everyone likes to laugh at black women” btw!! To me, problematic representation or erasure are both forms of social death. It’s just the difference between explicit instruction to oppress a group or taking that groups lack of visibility and subsequent foreignness as implicit instruction to oppress them.

[@shirley444]

You brought up a good point with a different world………. Let’s talk about how black relationships by then was mainly the light skin and or mixed woman with the dark skin brown skin man. And every show had it………..

[@mynameispeaches]

@@shirley444 not only tv shows it’s in all the commercials now BM/ mixed woman or it’s BM/WW mixed girl child. Or they will show a BW with no partner with a child implying that she is single.

[@shirley444]

@@mynameispeaches this is so true. But tbh when companies want diversity they will always go to the black men first. In regards to the tv you never see the brown dark skin women get their shine really. Though I did like Khadijah and the ditzy one (not Erika’s or Kim’s character)

[@roots4140]

@@shirley444 Sinclair!

[@mtblaho]

I have to be honest, as a DSBW that was a young teen in the 90s I clicked on this video ready to defend the sitcoms from then. I swore I was going to watch this and say you were reaching and it was just comedy etc. But as I listened to the video I realized that almost everything you said was on point. I never was able to put my finger on why I was always apprehensive about going to school the day after Martin aired and you put it in words for me. I knew that whatever he had said to Pam was going to inevitably be said to me at some point during that week. And not from "enemies" either but from people that professed to be friends, other black people that ran the gamut of black shades but stopped short of my shade. I was always the darkest one in the class and they didn't fell to let me know it. But I wasn't supposed to be upset or anything because they were just jokes told by people that were my friends. It's crazy some of the things we bury in our struggles to grow and survive.

[@hrhsophiathefirst4060]

I feel very seen right now. It took me until I was 40 years old to wear bright lips and bright colors in my life. I modeled and they could do whatever but in my everyday life no way was I calling any attention to myself. As a 6 ft tall dark skin woman I was taught to disappear. I can barely remember anyone looking like me on television or in the movies. I was always the friend to the light girls and was overlooked. So one day I got asked out by a blonde blue-eyed boy and the rest was history. You have to like who likes you and thinks that your skin, hair everything is beautiful. I love this look today!

[@Chainbreak2023]

This story resonate with soo many dark skinned people, in Europe the blue blond guys loves dark skinned slim girls, but we are despised or look down on as ugly or by our own black men 😮. Is worse in my country in Africa, hence most of our women will bleach their skin to become lighter and js killing them , as these creams are full of toxic chemicals etc

[@pinqfriday2490]

you're so beautiful

[@JubeiKibagamiFez]

I think Family Matters was the only real dark skinned representation, but then the dad was a cop.

[@purplelove3666]

What's wrong in being a cop?.

[@SOULarLioness]

@NES I don't remember that. Are you thinking of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air?

[@Lanickia]

@@SOULarLioness they did replace her on family matters, the last season maybe the last two.

[@JC-yy8iv]

@@SOULarLioness it happened on both smh

[@wokefromhome7389]

@NES that's fresh prince

[@NoirAngel510]

I literally grew up with the effects of Martin making g fun of Pam. I was bullied and thought that I was incredibly ugly because of the colorism on that show in particular. Now that I'm forty, some of my high school bullies who were boys have found me on Facebook and are telling me how they had crushes on me but couldn't say anything then because they didn't want to become the bud of the joke. it's sad.

[@tcrijwanachoudhury]

cowards smh

[@justgoddessesonly]

Exactly. Had HS boys looking like a bag of fritos trying to circle back. I'm like, I'm good patna'. Concentrate on tht retirement fund.

[@mdragon12]

Omg thank you so much for touching on this! Just because we were there, doesn’t mean it was good representation.

[@micahcook2408]

On that note, how wonder how Mexicans view the George Lopez show…? Especially considering that George was darker skinned while everyone else in his family was light skinned 😂 It is different from the black experience, but this colorism fetish and abuse exists in every diaspora… kinda gross ngl.

[@micahcook2408]

Also not saying that Color diversity doesn’t exist within homozygous/homogeneous families… it does coming from a family with two “red-boned” parents and two dark skinned brothers and a light skinned sister (even Issa Rae’s family is like this. Her mother is light skinned and she and her brothers are darker)… but A LOT of these shows with POC/Black people, always have lighter skinned folks taking up majority of the space and “family genetics” … The actress who played the daughter from George Lopez was Albanian.. wasn’t even Latinx lmao wtf…

[@mdragon12]

@@micahcook2408 he is fully openly colorist discussing how his mother would hate him if he brought home a Black woman and how he allowed the casting to go on his own show just a few examples oh and how he asked the Kardashians about their taste in men.

[@musicismyhothotsex92]

I think about the way that people would describe Wesley Snipes' skin tone too :(

[@estherbalogun8092]

Yeah I remember watching some black sitcoms and the black comedians constantly making fun of his skin tone

[@AnastasiaLUVSU]

​@@estherbalogun8092 Wesley is as dark as a black person outside of Africa can get. That's why.

[@rexxlashell99]

The colorism "jokes" Martin always said towards Pam is honestly the main reason I can't watch 'Martin' anymore. Shiii tbh it's a plethora of black sitcoms, tv shows, and movies that I just can't stomach to watch anymore because of how they always treat DS black women and girls (especially if the ds black woman and/or girl is plus size because I'm a black ds plus size woman and it used to have a negative effect on my image when I was a kid). That's why I now mainly only just even watch cartoons, history vids and documentaries about stuff that goes on around the world on KZbin, and plus listen to music.

[@mayowasworld]

yeah I agree with you, comedy is a scary and mean place for a lot of us. especially if you have a lot of intersections. I am careful with engaging with comedy too...the show was so mean and really did a number on us.

[@rexxlashell99]

@@mayowasworld It really did, of course growing up when I used to watch Martin (I was born in the late 1990s and was a kid of the 2000s so I've always watched reruns of Martin), back then I didn't realize that those "jokes" towards Pam are really problematic, I just thought it was just simply "comedy" and used to laugh right along with those so called "jokes"(which I later found out that the jokes were ab lib which really upset me) and plus it was before I even knew what Colorism is. But once I was around 16/17 and found out what Colorism is (especially towards DS black women and girls) I was like those so called "jokes" are very colorist, texturist, and the fact that Martin always compared Pam to animals is just down right disrespectful and degrading. So I've been done with watching Martin, and if it's ever an reboot, I'm definitely won't be supporting it

[@THEFINESTINTROVERTS]

I totally understand. U put my whole thought process about media in general on display. The media always makes me the joke or undesirable one. Being smart geeky or defending yourself as a black woman is always seen and told we're being aggressive. This rolls over into real life and my own dad is colorist and treated me the same way. I've also never seen my dad or men in my family date women darker than them including my own brothers. The cycle runs deep.

[@rexxlashell99]

@@THEFINESTINTROVERTS I'm so sorry that you experience colorism within the BM in your family, I imagine that would effect any DS BW or girl self esteem seeing BM in their family being openly colorist and only seeing them with light skinned women and yes you're right, whenever BW stand up for ourselves against the negative portrayal of us in the media, we all just get labeled as the "Angry Black Women" but meanwhile other races of women express their emotions without getting called 'Angry' which it's so annoying. Hopefully you have the highest self esteem, because although your dad and the other black men in your family might not find you beautiful because of your complexion, just know that the Universe and the inner and outer you finds you beautiful, I believe you're beautiful, and I'm assuming that you tell yourself that you are a beautiful woman every single day. Much Love 💜

[@Boahemaa]

Moesha had good dark skinned representation. Love Brandy!

[@ArtisticApothecary]

@NES the parkers was a rough show as well. Nikki only got the man in the last season. He always made jokes about her. The message was the only way to get a man as a fat dark skin women is to wear him down, stalk him, sabotage his life so he has no other options. Not sure Kim had many love interests either and she broke up with a great guy because he was "too fat".

[@bonitapandora]

@@ArtisticApothecary thank you! Parker’s was worse. The professor calling Monique character everything but a child of God and Kim’s character being reduced to being an idiot when she was more level headed on moesha.

[@mayowasworld]

@@ArtisticApothecary yup! I feel like Nikki's situation was similar with Maxine from Living Single. with men who make fun of them and then at the very end they put them romantically together.

[@mayowasworld]

@@bonitapandora yeahhhhh I hated that she was considered an airhead!!! they did her dirty. I loved how they styled her on the show, I felt like her outfits and hair/makeup was really cute.

[@UrbanAlchemystic]

@@ArtisticApothecary I do remember an episode where Kim was actually with a decent guy he loved her but then there was some news report about him getting killed at his work site it was like some type of accident or something. I remember that episode was so sad but I felt like that guy was really into Kim and it was just her luck then he ended up losing his life

[@msdionne.a]

Even though I watched both Martin and Living Single, I HATED the Martin-Pam-Gina and Maxine-Kyle dynamics. I thought it was absolutely ridiculous when Maxine started dating Kyle. People still love them together and I just don’t get it.

[@Zikomo7]

Even as a kid, something seemed "low vibration" about Martin. Never watched is. As for Max and Kyle, I hear you. But I never felt like Max was the butt of the joke (for being dark skinned) Yeah she was a slob, a mooch, etc, but she was also funny, driven, educated, kind, warm (when she felt like it), sensual, etc.That said, I preferred her and Kyle's angry flirting more than their relationship.

[@mayowasworld]

yup I feel like it normalized terrible friendship/romantic dynamics

[@deborahalexander8720]

Same here

[@Annaiuq1]

@@Zikomo7 I agree! I never got vibes that any of his spitefulness had anything to do with her shade. And Kyles dates/lovers were both darker and lighter than Max so a colorist he was not. As far as their dynamic, I kinda of chalked that up to their personalities 🤷🏾‍♀️ It was juvenile,but I didn't feel it was in bad faith or lacked dignity

[@jama3997]

Girl they got divorced😂 and their child was just done with the both of them. They and e a cameo in half and half

[@SelfLove4eva]

I used to think the show Martin was so funny as a child, especially when he dog piled Pam, as I got older I started to see my internalized colorism and now I can’t even watch that show. It’s so disgusting, not to mention Pam was so damn cute on that show. The Martin show was and still is anti black and mad colorist.

[@ttramos2203]

Right you said it 💯. Younger I love the show, loved Martin too. But ya as I got older I realized it exuded colorism. Martin's wife in real life was also light skinned

[@princesscarolyn5716]

The pit bull reference was really bad. Calling a black woman a dog

[@lifewithg0lden]

you look gorgeous Mayowa and also what about the curvier and thicker dsbw always being made the “funny” character in a show or movie…it seems like they are rarely the love interest and somehow always the “comedic” relief smh. i want to see fair representation for everyone.

[@mayowasworld]

thank you! and yes I agree, curvy and fat women are always see as comedic relief and/or the butt of the jokes. they're rarely given main character roles (without someone trying to constantly put them down)

[@roots4140]

Girlfriends may be one of my favorites. It was a beautiful show created by a black woman about black sisterhood across skin tones. It's iconic among many.

[@PrettyPrincess9609]

Thank you for speaking on this because every single time dark skin women try to speak about colorism and the lack of representation, other black people love to bring up how there was representation for dark skin women in the 90’s. Also I was born in the mid 90’s so I was too young to remember it but I remember the 2000’s and I use to get bullied for my skin color and hair and dealt with so much racism and colorism. I will also never forget when a black guy said I looked like Side Show because I decided to do the big chop and go natural.

[@blackbutterfly3364]

All of this. The show 'Martin' not only mocked dark skin women, but continuously pushed the narrative/trope that any Black woman with a dark complexion= uncivilized and a bad attitude. These characters played by: Martin Lawrence, Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy, and countless other well known black comedians helped further along the negative stereotype of the masculine, bitter, can't get a man, don't need a man, trope. The 'Wanda' character played by Jamie Foxx, with the overly exaggerated lips, and butt, on a muscular frame helped seal the image in young Black males growing up who was datable and what was preferred. The mid 80's- 90's focused heavily on what black men preferred. It wasn't just tv shows but movies as well. From tv show 'A different World' with Kadeem Hardison's character lusting after the wealthy light skin Southern Belle played by Jasmine Guy is great example of this. The movie Boomerang starring Eddie Murphy showcases colorism once again, with Grace Jones character whose of a much darker complexion compared to her other female counterparts is seen as, wild and primitive,while the other women in the film who Eddie's character chooses to date are all light complected. Then there was the movie 'School Days' produced by Spike Lee. The movie focused heavily on light skin vs dark skin and what was considered to be ideal vs. what was considered as ugly. There is a lot to discuss in how we got to where we are today in how black men view black women. For as much as they like to regurgitate the same thought process of: black women not wearing their natural hair as one of the reason for their reasons for black women being "quote on quote" undatable. It was them that helped to maintain the mammie caricature. A caricature created centuries ago by white people has lived on through black men who made their careers and money off it while destroying their own women in the process. I look at the disparaging remarks made about the tennis star's Venus and Serena. They've been compared to apes, and called masculine not only white people but black men as well. What's crazy, is that you could take that same image and place it on a white woman and she'll be treated the complete opposite. There so much to unpack with all this, but it's early in the morning, and I don't like going into a long diatribe and so I'm going to end it here.

[@Styl849]

I'd like to add to that list Coming To America 1 and 2. In the first one he's pining over the very light skin sister, who's charitable with a heart of gold while the dark sister is portrayed as fast and a gold digger. In the second one the mother of his illegitimate kid is portrayed as promiscuous and loud and is played by dark skin comedian Leslie Jones. Eddie Murphy is my favorite comedian but the colorism is obvious.

[@blackbutterfly3364]

@@Styl849 That's right. I forgot about Coming To America 💯 However, I never saw the second one. I was going to mention Tyler Perry and him also continuing the big, black, and violent woman trope. They're absolute in making sure that a woman of a lighter complexion is never to be portrayed in that light. That it's only reserved for those dark of a darker hue, is flat out in intentional. And if it's not colorism, Then why haven't any of the black celebrities men showcase these characters with a much lighter complexion? This is willful ignorance. This is blatant support of White Supremacy and how they saw black people as a whole, and what do black men do? Help to further it along🤦🏾‍♀️🤦🏾‍♀️🤦🏾‍♀️🤦🏾‍♀️ Them making fun of afrocentric features is no different than the racist owners of a restaurant called Coon Chicken Inn, where the entryway depicted a dark skin black man with over exaggerated red lips💯

[@godofthisshit]

@Black Butterfly I grew up on all those shows and it had zero or next to zero impact on the women I like. I think where you lived had an even bigger impact, and of course your household. Also Kadeem Hardison wasn't lusting over Jasmine Guy, he was obsess with Lisa Bonet character(also light but not southern belle), and him and Jasmine just got together.

[@blackbutterfly3364]

@@godofthisshit Wow, gaslight much? You know nothing of how I grew up, nor where, for you to come to that conclusion. Colorism is prevalent among black men regardless of city or state. Please take your bs elsewhere💯

[@godofthisshit]

@@blackbutterfly3364 I didn’t talk about where you grew up. Colorism exists all over but I do believe some areas combat against it more than others. I’m happy I grew up where I grew up, and when I grew up. So what part of my comment was gaslighting(serious question)?

[@SOULarLioness]

I had NO IDEA they removed the original Harriet Winslow!

[@mayowasworld]

I found this out doing research for this video! lol! I was really shook, and the light skin Harriet truly gave nothing. but at least 7 seasons was with the dark skin Harriet, so we can enjoy that.

[@SOULarLioness]

@@mayowasworld Facts! As far as my childhood is concerned, she is the ONE and ONLY Harriet! 🙌🏾💯🙌🏾💯

[@Maki-00]

I only learned of her replacement online recently because I was no longer watching the show in the last seasons. They might as well have had the mother die instead of replacing the actress after so many years.

[@nasbarlow4887]

She left the show by choice because she was having marital issues.

[@SOULarLioness]

@@nasbarlow4887 Ohh okay. Thanks for that info!

[@rosepetalslavender5505]

They act like if they make it, "trendy" it's okay. Being dark skinned was rough as hell in the 80s n 90s in real life. The ignorance still exists.

[@redblackwhitestripes]

turning black women into a light skin monolith ~ it’s so tiring how we are constantly minimized

[@ihateyouall9940]

& that is exactly what they did. turn black(especially black american) women into this lightskin monolith, even going as far as pushing the notion that "the average black american woman is mixed race." that damaged the image of black women & girls as a whole & we're still seeing the effects today.

[@jacquelynn2051]

I was there and fairly awake and aware as I’m now 48. Short of Jamie Foxx stanning over Fancy (who btw in reality was already a famous model)..I don’t have much recollection of my likeness being represented positively and beautifully. Tony from Girlfriends also comes to mind and of course Jalecia from A Different World was always represented well. Dee from What’s Happening is a bit older than me, but coming up watching that I became quite comfortable being the smart aleck in the room…lol. Regarding the Martin, Pam conundrum it was bothersome to me as I was beginning to wake up to people putting dark skinned women down regardless of how beautiful she CLEARLY is and Martin Lawrence was wrong for promoting this! I’m blessed to suffer from ‘body dysmorphia’ because I think I’m beautiful regardless of the shallow idiots I often encounter. You are stunningly beautiful and I enjoy your artistry and self expression. Just found your channel the other day and subbed/like. Thank you.

[@purplepheasant4776]

Thinking you are beautiful is not body dysmorphia. 🙄

[@joyyoung3108]

In Living Single, I never felt the Max and Kyle relationship was toxic. There rude comments to each other weren't malicious. As an adult I realized that they both humbled each other and read the other when they were in the wrong. Kyle could be a snob and self-absorbed with his looka because of his insecurities with being over weight as a kid. Max was a triple threat but could be stubborn at times and not comfortable expressing her emotions, and felt she had to be strong and in control all the time. When Kyle and Max were dating, they were loving and caring moments. Like the episode when Kyle turned 30 and almost had a nervous breakdown or when Max completely falls for Kyle when he sings to her "My Funny Valentine."

[@bettyboopsie9836]

I agree, I liked their banter. 😄

[@estherbalogun8092]

I agree! I love those specific episodes

[@tf5655]

I didn’t allow my daughter to watch Martin (although I’m sure she saw it anyway) I hated the portrayal of all the dark-skin women. Today, dark-skin little girls watch KZbin videos featuring all little white girls. That can’t be good either. Never ending saga 😂

[@LuckyLucky-yh7xd]

It’s not but people will say it doesn’t matter and that you’re thinking it’s too deep. It’s not a surprised when they start wanting their hair to be straight etc.. they pretend it’s a surprise tho

[@asmrearthchild3315]

U look STUNNINGG❤️‍🔥

[@mayowasworld]

thank you love! I was feeling the color brown that day.

[@niya1683]

Martin ALWAYS rubbed me wrong because genna never said anything

[@mayowasworld]

everrrrr! she'd sometimes do some fake passive "martinnnn" but its not enough. that dynamics is unhealthy.

[@UNDEFINEDpreSENCE]

@@mayowasworld Maybe I'm remembering wrong (I haven't watched Martin in yrs), but Gina always seemed like a doormat/pushover, imo. That's just the vibe I got because Martin walked all over her. Pam was really one of the very few characters that could go toe-to-toe with him. The rest kind of let him walk all over them. They were often too passive. But yeah, I always thought Gina was a shitty friend to Pam for not calling out Martin, especially during the times when Pam was having a vulnerable moment. And you'd think the guys Pam dated would've called Martin out, but they were passive or oblivious af too. All jokes aside, Martin was an asshole who was still the same asshole by the end of the series, imo.

[@digimonalvatrax2738]

It actually opened up my eyes. My friend never defended me and the guy actually threatened to beat me up.

[@kaylad1669]

A Different World was probably one of the only show with REAL representation of black ppl and blk issues ; from colorism, rac!sm, classism, domestic vi0lence, friendship, date rap3, family, education and more!!! You can tell the ppl who watched that show vs the ppl who watched shows like Martin 🥴 It’s crazy that, that energy is still alive and deeply embedded in the community after all this time… smh

[@mayowasworld]

I really loved a different world, I was gonna put my critique of that show in this video but I got tired. i still have critiques of the show tho, but It also put hbcu's on the map which I loved growing up.

[@Maki-00]

The only thing I hated was the storyline where Kim was in an interracial relationship, but they killed the storyline for political reasons. I feel that they should have kept it because there are black women in interracial relationships in real life and they should be represented as well.

[@kaylad1669]

@@mayowasworld very little critiques compared to all the other shows imo.. no show is ever going to be perfect, but at least they kept it real on the issues blk women were facing without making a mockery of them!! No other show did that besides Family Matters and even they had “Murdel” being a pick me over Edward 🤦🏽‍♀️ but Steve was also a pick me for Laura so ehh at least they balanced it out a little 😂 Thank you for your commentary!! I always enjoy your thoughts and how you put realization to even the slightest hint of colorism that ppl might miss because it’s so ingrained into our every day lives! The bit about calling darkskin women “nappy headed” when even their hair was clearly not nappy but straightened and slick just to try and minimize them was something that slipped by me! Keep doing the work you do because it is necessary!!! 🙏🏽❤️

[@kaylad1669]

@@Maki-00 agreed!! Their relationship was really nice to see and no other show would have even dared!!! Imagine how many blk women would have started to date out more seeing how many ppl were influenced to go to college from watching the show! Debbie Allen REALLY pushed for these story lines and we STILL don’t see stuff like this on tv today, not to the extent that they did on ADW 🙏🏽

[@jadabrown3390]

@@mayowasworld omg you are so beautiful

[@dajiyahmcae1880]

The Gina, Martin, Pam situation is the reason I have never, and will never see that trash. We gotta stop immortalizing colorist media.

[@flipe125]

Fatphobia been had chokehold on tv till 2010 lol

[@mayowasworld]

lol I think its still having a chokehold now.

[@yourhighnessdinero2677]

See people don’t believe this shit real I swear it be certain words that trigger me. I swear to this day I still be like people don’t understand because I’m a dark skin woman even with me having long hair I was still called nappy headed. I told somebody I wanted to be a model they told me you sure you don’t wanna be a basket ball player but I bet you if I was light skinned wit curly hair and colorful eyes I would have been praised like yea you can but because am dark skinned I was told I should choose another passion!!! Talk yo Shit Mayowa girl and let them know!!!

[@brwnsgrgirl4379]

I think this says more about our homes and how we were conditioned to think because as a little girl I don't remember looking to those shows and wishing to look like anyone or relating it to myself at all. My family and my parents were my role models.

[@bettyboopsie9836]

Right?? To me it was just a black show, our show, for entertainment.

[@PrinceKoffe]

Maybe you don't represent the world. Maybe this is a weak argument that falls apart if I substitute any number of other problematic representations. Stop remixing the self-esteem your way into not caring argument, you're a terrible DJ it turns out.

[@MakutevsTrec]

I never though of Martin, Gina and Pam's relationship like that. I was just under the assumption that it was just the Cliche of one of the significant others best friend hates the partner, so they're always roasting each other.

[@llorzz]

Very insightful as per usual😌. But yeah, when you really unpack a lot of what we consumed growing up, you truly realize just how messed up almost everything is and not only how it's reflective of the community it represent, but how it simply continues the cycle

[@TheMichelex20]

The Max character in Living Single was so inspirational to me. I was a teen at the time and I wanted to be her. The dynamics of the Kyle and Max relationship was definitely childish but not necessarily one that seemed problematic or degrading. Their chemistry was off the chart. Even to this day if you have seen the two of them in interviews. Martin was and always will be trash to me. Everyone in my high school was watching it and I always felt like wtf am I missing. The show was so low brow stupid to me 🤷🏽‍♀️.

[@tam9856]

The theory is Martin was secretly attracted to Pam and all his insults was just a way to cover up those feelings. 😂

[@smarti1144]

Because she was the more attractive. I can’t watch it now but at the time it wasn’t even an insult to be like Pam. Ole big head Gina.

[@tam9856]

@@smarti1144 I still love me some Martin! Lol

[@mayowasworld]

oh god if that was the theory then thats even worseeeee. I can't imagine someone having a crush on someone and calling them a gorilla, especially as a grown ass adult.

[@tam9856]

@@mayowasworld lol It’s a theory that’s been going around among Martin fans for years. 😂 It’s just like little boys in school picking on girls they have a crush on because they’re too immature to admit their feelings. Your video was very informative and as a dark-skinned woman myself, I get your point. I won’t lie and say I’m no longer a fan of Martin and don’t still laugh at the jokes, but as an adult… I do enjoy having a retrospective point of view on popular shows from that era.

[@TheLovesnowangel]

I can believe that because Martin had Tichina in a few of his projects after Martin.

[@voodeux_badeux]

Thats why A Different World was sooooo important. They tackled the issues and didn't do this often.

[@minkahtaharkah3957]

Darnell in Girlfriends too!

[@mayowasworld]

what did he do I dont remember

[@minkahtaharkah3957]

@@mayowasworld he was Maya's husband! They were using the dad from One on One, Flex Alexander at first and switched him with Khalil Kains in season 2

[@indimaicon]

Mayowa, this video was an entire read! When you touched on Martin, I instantly was transported back to my childhood. For the life of me I could not understand why Martin displayed so much vitriol toward Pam. Due to not experiencing colorism up to that point, I genuinely was confused as to why Pam was treated so horribly. She was a beautiful woman who had an “ideal” body type and her hair always looked on point. (I know higher levels of attractiveness equating to favorable treatment is problematic but it is a reality.)The math was not mathing for me. I may not have understood the why to her treatment but I knew at a young age it made me uncomfortable and I didn’t like it. Between the show’s portrayal of Sheneneh and Martin’s cruelty toward Pam, I couldn’t stomach watching it.

[@CrixusHeart]

Lots of families have a huge range of shades of siblings even if they all have the same mom and dad.

[@Prismagirl17]

I just discovered your channel and I’m in love with everything you’re talking about and unpacking. Keep up the discourse. You sharing your perspective is worth millions to BLACK GIRLS.

[@caughtmeontheflip]

I love that when I scroll through ur comments it’s so clear that u engage! I appreciate seeing that♥️ great vid again; per usual!

[@AriesEnergi]

I literally remember little boys saying Pam was ugly just because of the way Martin dogged her out on the show. In my mind I always thought Pam was the pretty one. I definitely believe Martin contributed to a lot of hate towards BW with dark skin.

[@godofthisshit]

@HiFashionHippy I remember guys thinking Pam was fine.

[@JC-yy8iv]

15:49 YES Family Matters. From like 93-95 I went to this day care after school where they just sat us in front of the TV, and we watched that show every day. I loved that show, and Kellie Shanygne Williams was so stunning as Laura Winslow, I had such a schoolboy crush on her

[@aiden877]

A show they can't say was colorist because Laura was darker skinned but got more attention then Maxine or Myra the lighter skinned girls and even got both versions of Steve's love from Steve and Stephon. I mean I hate how Myra got treated by Steve but still.

[@sashafeagin]

Mentioning Living Single, I definitely see what you're saying when I think of the contrast of Overton and Synclaire. The light skinned couple. They were allowed to be soft and loving to each other. To a nauseating extent. But the dark skinned couple had to have this strong emotions that are morphed into love. It feels like dark skinned people cannot have real love without strife and malevolent undertones.

[@Nekole1]

I hate how blk men and boys have made dark skin women seem unattractive. There are men who love darkskin women. I wish they would speak up more about it. They seem to be silent up until the past 10 years ago. Men who loved darkskin women never vocalized it until just in the past recent years. I also feel that many dark skin men are insecure with their skintone. They do not reveal this openly but its very obvious so they take it out on darkskin women. And I love how in 2022 we see so many darkskin models in commericials and in the media who are positive representation for darkskin women and girls. Darkskin women are being forced to date outside their race because so many blk men are colorstruck. Which can be a good thing to date out. Because I rarely see men marry a darkskin women these days anymore. All the blk couples I see are usually darkskin man and light skin woman.

[@groundLevelZen]

Thank you for your voice, beautiful critique ❤ I’ve always felt the way you’ve expressed here about Martin. I’m from DC, where Martin Lawrence is from so they really love him here. I’ve always kept my mouth shut, but you’ve encouraged me to speak up about the show’s problematic impact the next time someone brings this minstrel show up around me.

[@kristinbracy5189]

Moesha was terrible. I hated how they treated Kim.

[@mayowasworld]

they treated Kim so dirty. another person who deserved her own show by herself without hating friends or lovers

[@aiden877]

I mean Kim and Niecy dogged Moesha just as much, like using her because she had a car, the Halloween episode addressed the fat issue and revealed how they called Niecy chicken legs with no shape or Moe a know it all. Now what they did to Frank in the final two seasons was wrong.

[@prxmie545]

Insecure was great and I agree about Kelly. I don’t like how she was underdeveloped and also the “funny friend” and comedic relief. I also hated how all Molly had a hard time finding relationships and Isa engaged in struggle love while their light skin (can’t remember her name) friend got to enjoy marriage and have a family. Ugh and Isa’s decision at the end of season 4 made me mad. She could’ve moved on to a whole different relationship. Dark skin women are always being portrayed in struggle love relationships if any relationship at all. Granted I know I’m real life light skin women are more likely to get married because of colorism; I just wish on TV we could see dark skin women receive the healthy love we deserve.

[@trudiamond30]

When my daughter was old enough to understand I was able to explain to her through these shows how that era in time still affects us and her today. She was amazed how much abuse was present in those shows. Especially towards darker BW and women in general. Thanks for sharing ❤

[@zaink.7243]

love your videos. your voice/perspective is so necessary. thanks for sharing it with us!

[@WarmZZy]

Yo when you talk about the social examples translating directly into real life, people saw that Living Single example of a combative ‘functional’ relationship and were like “👍🏾, dont work on your relationship. Don’t respect your partner”. And people who havent done the bare minimum to engage with their partners still think like that, so you still find fuckers in the dating pool who think abuse should be Universally synonymous with communication in relationships. And honestly it’s dangerous. Its also probably one of the foundational bricks of sex positive feminism. Thank you for making this video 🥰

[@ArtisticApothecary]

Oh yes! Having this conversation i am noticing all the traits in my own life and how i pursued love when i was younger. Oof. Therapy!!!

[@JayDoubleyoo]

I disengage alot more now. Even commercials itches my azz..

[@victoriousspirit8955]

You look like a Queen today! ❤😍

[@nancyaram6794]

Lord! The 90s was brutal with the dark skin jokes. Used to pray i wasnt gonna be next daily b4 school..

[@luvrbae]

also makeup and hair is luvly as usual. i simply love your jewelry here 💖 hope you are having a great week and resting yourself. i know these are heavy topics to discuss but im so glad you are sharing your commentary with us. never stop using your voice. you seriously inspire me so much 💛

[@brittneymiles4499]

Your critiques are spot on.

[@MakaykayLAMB]

SO GLAD YOU TALKED ABOUT MARTIN!!! Because I never had the language for it as a kid but I always like Pam more and hated the way she was treated.

[@ebonyjones5556]

Hey love, I miss your face so much! Haven't seen you in foreverrr. This video is spot on! Television and film in the 90s was filled with so much colorism. As a young child consuming these shows, there were parts that bothered my spirit. I probably couldn't verbalize it until I was a young adult (late teens and early twenties), but as a grown adult, they are so cringey to rewatch. The child version of me saw them as mean-spirited towards dark skinned black women. My young adult self later saw them as anti-blackness, intentional and blatant. Just about every female lead in a 90s sitcom was light-skinned. Any form of afrocentricity was mocked. I think people sometimes forget that the 90s was really the 1st time in cinema that we as a people got to see ourselves on screen. But just because the representation increased doesn't mean it was done correctly and authentically. I know thatsome will argue that art imitates life and that those experiences may have been some people's reality. However, sending these kinds of powerful messages through media perpetuates a very toxic cycle of self-hate and social programming. The shows reinforce ignorant beliefs that many generations are still trying to unlearn and break away from. People used to wonder why Bill Cosby and Martin didn't get along when "Martin" first came out, but it was because they bumped heads about how they wanted to portray black people to each other and to the rest of the world. It's 25+ years later and these shows are still in syndication, on Netflix, etc.

[@sweetjalight]

This was spot on, sooooo many thoughts.

[@merelymayhem]

great video, there are so many examples it's rly upsetting

[@ichewsme]

you betta SPEAK💓

[@marissawilson4644]

I was so happy when A Different World addressed this.

[@KeishaDeniece]

That first audio from Martin's show! I am in shock that I've never noticed this before! I'm in shock

[@fealex4865]

Mayowa your channel is one of kind!!!

[@prissymcc]

I LOVED the Martin Show❤️‼️ At the time I watched it, I was so mesmerized by Gina AND Pam's beauty that I guess that all the Colorism BS flew right over by head🤷🏽‍♀️ But now that you've mentioned it I'm like YOU'RE RIGHT👆🏽‼️ Welp, I guess that cancels any possibility of Martin Show Reruns fa me🤷🏽‍♀️ Thanks for the Enlightenment👍🏽💜

[@ArtisticApothecary]

Most of the dark skinned put down jokes were unscripted and just how Martin felt in general so he adlib them in on the spot.

[@mayowasworld]

@@ArtisticApothecary omg!! I didnt know this!!!

[@mayowasworld]

@@ArtisticApothecary smh the colorism is so innate it just naturally pops out.

[@estherbalogun8092]

@@ArtisticApothecary yeah I remember hearing this. Which makes it even worse

[@NWANYI]

I 💓your hair Mayowa ! Inspired to loc mine

[@ProfNDKai]

LOVE YOUR MAKEUP AS ALWAYS ❤

[@bonitapandora]

Yeah I change the channel when Martin comes on now. It was cringe watching martin go after Pam. It also bothered me that Gina would say nothing. Like imagine being friends with someone who never defended you when her man would drag you. I wonder if Tichina Arnold ever felt insecure on that show like ole girl on Malcom and Eddie did. I remember either tichina or martin saying that the writers of the show wanted to make jokes about her dark skin. I wonder how many black people were writing for Martin. The Parker’s had white writers but that was UPN racist ass so I’m not surprised.

[@mayowasworld]

chaiiii I didnt kno about these white writers! I'm not even surprised. I truly think being on a show where you are degraded for 'jokes' daily would take a toll on you. maybe she was used to it and she pushed through, but I genuinely would be curious how it made her feel or even made her siblings who looked like her feel. to be the joke and rarely seen as desirable is so tough.

[@djlivvy46]

Some of those jokes could only have come from black people, whether directly or indirectly.

[@aiden877]

Actually Gina did step in a few times but Pam gave it to Martin just as hard and all them were cool in real life except Carl who didn't always like Martin. Pam and Martin both had an ego/superiority complex.

[@nasbarlow4887]

Also sanford and son how they would clown the women on there as well ! even though that was not the 90’s

[@Vanessarashelle]

This is a very honest conversation that many try to overlook. The world told us a long time ago how we should feel about ourselves and many of us has had to unlearn/reject a lot of that neglectful negative behavior system installed in our communities and ourselves. Now we are able to see more visual representation of our unique and diverse beauty and I LOVE THAT FOR US AND FOR THE UPCOMING GENERATION. ✨💚✨

[@djlivvy46]

You think there is more visual representation for dark skinned black women?

[@Vanessarashelle]

@@djlivvy46 I usually do not reply to comments, but I will clarify. With social media we are able to connect and see more visibility of each other. We are not just confined to those in our local community like in the past, who often were brought up on the same beliefs/learned behavior systems. That is what I meant. Mainstream media is no longer mainstream. Everything has changed, including the narrative. Of course, our mindsets and thoughts as people are changing too which helps the collective energy of our people. ✨

[@annmariegood37]

I'm so glad you did this vid and I totally agree with but when you bring these things up ppl will try to chalk it up as just entertainment...And Martin Lawrence really did open the door for how DS women were treated

[@BigOleNutz]

Happy asf i came across this channel this is eye opening

[@kishabenitez5972]

pam was actually suppose to have her own show dealing with the whole music thing, that whole episode with tyrese was like a pilot but it ended up not working out so it just became an episode of martin

[@ShonnysLab1995]

Oh wow I never knew that. That would of been dope.

[@beendatgworl]

Bernie Mac show was awesome.

[@mayowasworld]

I LOVE his show. 10/10, but that was in the 2000's

[@yesandno3640]

I appreciate this lady so much

[@ollygaetheirnandez]

I love your intro song/visuals

[@AntajuanGrady]

@Mayowa, you are totally correct about the 90s actually being WORSE in terms of colorism despite Lauryn Hill selling 10 million records of her 1999 album or something. Martin is a prime example colorism in the Black community in the 90s.