Browning = Jamaican Shadeism

Found this column in the Teenage section of the Jamaica Observer. I'm not going to say that it's hard to believe that people are still talking this kind of crap, because it isn't hard to believe. However, I know that Jamaican men are capable of appreciating black women. So, I wonder what the hell is going on?

Pssst... Browning
By Sherilla Gordon, Deputy Quarterly Editor UTech
Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Most young Jamaicans have heard the phrase "Pssst... browning" at some point in time and probably not payed much attention to it. But this one phrase has so many underlying implications, meanings and connotations that if you sit and think about it your head might spin.

Used to refer to women of light brown complexion, from the frequency of its usage, you'd get the impression that only 'brown' women are desired in Jamaica and that females of dark complexion might as well be wiped off the island.

I can recall a man saying to me one day, "You look good for a black girl." I didn't know whether to say thank you or to knock him out then and there. But fortunately for him I held my composure and gracefully responded, "Thank you." I'm not sure about anyone else, but this browning craze has me puzzled.

In a country as "mixed" as ours, complexion really shouldn't matter, but obviously this is not the case. What exactly is wrong with women of dark complexion? Why are they regarded as being lesser than women of lighter complexion?

Instead of separating women and men by complexion, how about looking past what is on the outside and recognising that true worth and quality are found on the inside.