Now this hasn’t happened only once,

Not even twice,

Just enough to finally ask…

Just what the f*** does that mean?

“I'm pretty for a black girl.”

Are black girls normally unattractive?

Are black girls normally not the definition of beauty?

Why can’t I be just pretty?

So what if I wasn’t black, would I still be pretty, or would I be average? What if I switch the entire sentence around?

“For a black girl, I am pretty.”

Yea,

I still don’t get the statement.

Not only is it not a compliment, but an insult to my skin color, and to my black skin women.

Just like a black man would be smart, for a black man, black women are only pretty, in comparison to other women in our race.

Not to other women, or should I say “white women”. No, I couldn’t compete with that complexion.

I’m too dark.

But compared to my Nubian princess, my sisters, I am attractive.

Ha,

There’s always some way “the others” will find to make my race beneath theirs.

Trying to get me to see that I am no way comparable to anything, but my own.

To ensure I do not get it twisted, that I am not good enough to be just pretty.

To be labeled just pretty, I need less melanin in my skin, silky hair, and colored eyes.

Yet the women who are "pretty" seem to want to adopt the body parts of a black woman.

In his perfect world, I will consider it a compliment that he noticed my full natural lips and my natural cat eyes.

You know the thing the "pretty" women spend money to have.

Why won't THEY admit they admire us?

Why is it so hard to say, black women are attractive but easier to mimic the beautiful body features of ours.

I live in a society that secretly envies my melanin queens.

However, before I let ‘other people’ tell me I am less than pretty because I am a black girl, I’m going to continue to love myself in the skin I am in.

I am sorry, but I got a thing for my chocolate women and men. I couldn’t see myself not being a dark shade.

My skin doesn’t burn in the sun, it embraces it.

It doesn’t turn apple red, it stays brown.

It doesn’t easily show the scars I have gained over the years, they easily seep through my skin.

So I am pretty...

Not for a black girl,

But pretty, because I OWN and adore the skin I’m in.