They're sexy but are they safe?

Zoe Saldana in the movie "Columbiana"

I was on Facebook one, casually scrolling through my newsfeed and I saw a girl I know (that I competed in a pageant with ) post an article about the struggles of being a stunt women in the acting industry. She is a stunt women and actress and actively works.  She likes her job , but agreed there are shortcomings since she is a female. The article talked about how women are put much at risk than men doing this type of work. Yes, this work can be looked at as dangerous overall. However, it made me think. I watch action movies all the time and I’ve never stopped to think about the stunt women that is actually taking those falls.

Charlies Angels 2003

They are fighting, jumping off buildings, running and doing things that most ordinary women may not be willing to do. Men stunt actors may have to do those things also but, they would not have to do it in HEELS. Men also would not have to do stunts in a little dress, or a bra and underwear or any other type of small costume that a women may have to wear.

Action movie star - Angelina Jolie

How can you have the necessary padding keep you protected when your clothes are limited? Men for the most part don’t have to worry about that as much.  Women have to be tough and courageous , but also still be sexy. Their are countless numbers of movies that I have seen that have  actresses fighting in close to nothing. I did not take a second to think about,  how did she do that in that outfit ?  I guess that's the whole purpose of stunt men and women,   the viewer is not supposed to think about those things.

Well I will think about those movies a little differently now.

"Dark Girls "

When the documentary "Dark Girls" came out , there were so many  controversial comments about it , and social media was buzzing. Although ,it was so popular I decided there was no rush to see it. Not because I thought that it wouldn’t be interesting but , it is a topic I am so familiar with. I didn’t need to watch the documentary to have an opinion on “Dark Girls" which ..I clearly fall in the category of. 

Being A “Dark Girl” is my life and will always be my life. 

If you haven’t heard of “Dark Girls”, it is the documentary that explores the prejudices of dark skinned women face around the world. 

I cant tell you how many times I have heard the phrase “You're pretty to be dark skinned.”  Interestingly enough not once has that comment ever been from any one that wasn’t African American. It is a backhanded compliment ,and implies that you’re not as pretty as  a girl that  is light skinned. 

This documentary showed different women and men talking about their experience and comments on the issue of colorism. There were Professors, Actors, ordinary men and women , and even young children that were apart of this film. 

In this  documentary the “paper bag” test was mentioned,  which I never knew about.  If  you were lighter than a paper bag you were considered “beautiful and smart” . On the other hand if you were darker than a paper  bag you were considered “stupid and not attractive”.  

There was also  a little girl talking about her struggles with her color. She was probably about 7 or 8, and it was sad to see someone so young have such insecurity with who she is. Her mother and brothers were all lighter skinned. She hated being called black because she associated that with not being pretty. That  showed me that beauty image issues start very early. I think in this case , it was so much deeper than just about beauty image. 

This documentary did not only discuss the issue of colorism within the African American community , but ethnicity around the world. There was a Japanese girl that spoke of her experience with colorism when she was younger. The issue of colorism also exist in the Dominican community and other latin communities around the world. 

The never ending discussion of dark girls vs light skin girls in the African community is a joke to me. I feel it only adds to the practice of putting African American women against each other . Whether you are light skin or dark skin , you represent the same race. There is a long history behind where this colorism started and unfortunately it is very prevalent in the African American community.

No one is born with these thought about the ccolor of your skin. These bad habits or thoughts are learned. Whether there learned from home or from society.

Overall it was an intriguing documentary , I think its something that anyone could watch no matter their ethnicity or color and take something from.