African American Skins

Not that i enjoy bringing more confusion but this is sl. What i mean is, i have a near black skin in the true sense of the word.

dark grey is a better word, but what i mean (and also what i love about sl) is that you can find skins in virtually any color you can imagine.

that, combined with all the non human avi's makes sl so cool.

personally i think it is time to forget how we refer to someone from a different race and enjoy our individual differences that makes our world so beautifully colorful.

Can I borrow your time machine when you have finished with it please Benski?

Pep (You have obviously just popped in for a visit from 1967 or thereabouts)

It's a generational thing I believe. My grandmother used the word "colored" and I hated that. I would tell her grandma, no one colored us. But that is the word she heard and used. I grew up in an era where the word Negro was used, then Black now African American. Personally, I use Black because I am not African American. I was born in the states so that makes me an American. Period.

What I don't like about the skins in sl is they are way too dark. I won't even get started about the makeup. Contrary to belief or what is seen on tv, a lot of Black women do not wear alot of makeup if any at all. Whatever label one chooses to use, we have an array of skin tones. My husband is Caucasian and we tried to find a skin tone that matched mine. Time and time again they were much too dark and did not match my rl skin tone.

But I am glad of the suggestions here and will take a visit at these stores.

BTW I hate the term ebonics. I really hate what I have termed corporate ebonics. You know it when you hear it. It smells of BS.

I don't mind either one, but like your partner, have never been to Africa (although is a dream of mine, someday). But seriously, the 'African' part of it just refers to the geneology, his ancestors DID come from Africa, whether he's ever been there or not, right? I'm easy with it, long as it doesn't denigrate to 'colored' or 'Negro'.

I saw an avi awhile back as I was shopping around that made my jaw drop at the realism and detail. I actually took a picture, maybe I'll post it here and see if anyone knows the skin designer.

When I first came to SL (about to have my 2 year Rez day) I pretty much brought my rl self in. My rl racial characteristics came with me, my 'servant's heart' came with me (not sexual servants, but for my board, Virtual Ability, Inc) there are lots of things about Treasure that are truly me in rl. Now that I've been there awhile, I find myself doing other things, wearing different avs occasionally for fun, something I never would have considered doing at first. I was a tiny fairy all day yesterday, oh, she was white, lol. Something about becoming more comfortable in SL allows you to let go of those rl things you brought in with you and do something fantastical. (not sure if I made that word up but seemed right for the sentence) Could possibly be time for an alt.

Chip Midnight makes some nice black male skins.

So, uh, I don't mean to be rude, but I did send you links to lots of info, and suggested shops as well.

and DUH! not all black people are of African decent.

According to paleontology, we ALL are of African descent .

Ut-oh! Now you are about to get some stuff started. LOL!

It really depends on which set of genes you are looking at. Skin color (along with other commonly considered "racial" features) are just easy to see. However, if you look at other genes, a "white" person could have genes most commonly found in Africa, and a "black" person could have genes most commonly found in Europe.

There is also more genetic diversity between Africans, than between the rest of humanity. (Of course, if you go far enough backwards, we all came from Africa.)

Culturally, it's a different matter entirely. For most of American history, we've gone by the "one drop" rule, where someone with any significant visible "black" racial features was considered "black" for purposes of law and custom. Our "first black president" is actually multi-racial, the son of a white American woman and a black Kenyan father. But in our culture, he's "black" or "african-american" or "negro" or whatever people of a certain generation tend to call someone expressing his phenotypical characteristics.

(He's very likely not our first multi-racial president, though. Several past presidents are thought to have had black and/or american indian ancestry. But they all looked "white" enough to take advantage of the peculilar American custom of "passing".)

Humans are weird. But then as residents of SL, that should come as no surprise to any of you

My paternal grandmother and father was a "passer". My paternal aunt couldn't because she was too dark. As child she wanted to be white so bad. She still talks about it and she is 88.

Several generations ago "colored" was the polite and respectful term. The NAACP (founded in 1909) stands for "National Association for the Advancement of Colored People"--and now is one of the only places you will hear the word "colored" used anymore, in that context.

Asian, not Russian.

Being black, African American, Negro and Colored, I know this Carl.

Thank you very much. Oh BTW I am a member of that organization.

I was aware from the context that you probably knew that. However, many people reading this thread probably did not. My comment was directed at people who might not have been aware of the history. No insult was intended.

I feel sorry for the original poster.

He got some real answers before the thread went off the rails.

Yes. Oryx posted some links, and also sent him some info apparently.

The OT was his reward for saying "African-American" in front of an audience who are not all American, and who might find American anal-PC hilarious.

Wasn't there some American TV anchor who when interviewing Nelson Mandela, said - "Mr. Mandela, as an African-American, what do you ........"

There was an actress that won an oscar and a reporter called her African American. She is both white, and South African. Reporter got that African part right, at least.

It's pretty much a given that all TV news readers, at least in this country are blithering idiots.

And many of us Americans find the anal PC hilarious as well. It's only the aformentioned news idiots and politicians, another sub group of idiots who put a lot of stock in it. If I went by their rules, I'd be an Irish-German-Slovakian-American.

Idiots.

If I went by their words, I'm not sure a person could say all those things -American without passing out from lack of air. I'm a mutt.

Carl, I appreciate that no insult was intended. But these people here aren't stupid.

Through my aunt, I have a greater appreciation first hand how it was back then. Her roommate Ms. Banks, she is 104.

Don't let her get started about how it was.

I love them!!!!

Yes. And, it brings back 'feelings' of that time. I'm not saying that it wasn't considered respectful, back then. You hear it plenty of other places, now, in a very disrespectful manner. When looking at it from 'this side' it doesn't 'feel' respectful. It feels condescending and patronizing.