Our Beauty Pageants Favour Light Skinned Beauties
I was a contestant in this year’s Miss Universe Jamaica pageant.
“I’m finally back home and reflecting on my Miss Universe Jamaica experience.
When I would tell people I was from Boston, they would ask me questions about America’s racial tension but be the same people to turn around and say #blackgirlsmatter in response to my #darkskingirlsmatter.
Quick note: #Blackgirlsmatter is to #darkskingirlsmatter as #alllivesmatter is to #blacklivesmatter.
“If you haven’t visited Jamaica in a while and only follow the major publications on social media, I’m here to inform you that there are indeed black people in Jamaica that look like me.
I was disappointed by the selection of the top 12, not because I wasn’t in it, but because out of 25 girls, only two girls with a skin tone reflective of the majority of the Jamaican population made the cut.
The top six question-and-answer section could’ve been edited with a Spanish voice-over and you wouldn’t have known the difference.
“I experienced so much self-loathing and classism during my time in Jamaica as a contestant, and it really hurts my heart that a nation whose motto is ‘Out of Many, One People’ seems to have forgotten what ‘many’ looks like.
We were given six potential questions and I was hoping that I would make it to the top six, so I could answer one question in particular.
“Making it to the top 6 was clearly not in the cards for me because I didn’t pass the brown paper bag test, but here is the question and my response.
“‘What is the biggest change that you would like to see for young women of the next generation?’
“I would like to see a change in the way we define and portray beauty to young women. While young women are growing and forming their own opinions about themselves and the world around them, they are extremely impressionable, and our actions and decisions set precedent.
“It’s crucial that, here in Jamaica, we let girls know that that the fairness of your skin and the curl in your hair aren’t prerequisites for success or beauty.”
Kinesha Goldson
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That’s Jamaica..that’s the trend for the past 50 years. I feel sorry for them they hide behind the motto.
Classism is different than racism. So don’t influx your racist American culture into the Jamaican culture. just because you didn’t pick does not mean racism. Causation is no correlation
That’s Jamaica for sure, some are too dum to realise or accept it.
The expectation for the past 60 years was
First of all I’m light skin, I’m a proud Jamaican which was offended by what u said….. this was the same problem when kaci fennell was chosen last year because of her skin colour right? We r all different kinds of ppl, with different personality but we r all proud to be a Jamaican…. of course the world know we have different skin types in Jamaica this is not new to the world so stop whining about u not being picked in the the top six because that’s what I’m seeing in the all your paragraphs, about skin tone, so say what u want to say at least we have a queen who can represent our country to the fullest…. P.S. IT’S NOT ABOUT CLASSISM AND RACISM
Unfortunately it has been like this for the past 60 years the contest has not lived up to the true meaning of our Motto ” Out of many one People”
Yes, the practice, is alive and kicking.
So sorry about your experience. Sure it happens in contests much more than it does in real life. People will always find a reason to descriminate, weight, education etc more so in real life than looks. I just took it for granted that they choose certain “looks” to stand a better chance in the standing for Ms. World and Ms. Universe. Sorry again. But I know you do us so proud in your day to day life representing us.
We will never be satisfied. When a light complexioned girl wins, there are many who say that she is not representative, then when a dark complexioned girl wins, many ask if we cannot do better. Regardless of who wins, it seems that the majority must complain.
Mostly useless imbeciles deny this and try to hide behind motto and all other kinds of nonsense. We live in self-denial, where everything is fine. Jmaica, no problem…. What a load of crap! What galls me is that I see some people talking about the young lady being bitter for talking the truth they would rather not face; and that is why Marcus Garvey class them as ‘useless imbeciles’, with no regard for race. They spend their whole lives trying to be who they are not; and wanting to ingratiate themselves to those with whom they seek favour…. Some have even turned to bleaching their skins, but I would invite them to bleach their minds.
OK so you are from Boston, and you call there home…how does that factor entering a contest in Jamaica?
In your opening sentence you clearly said you were ‘back home’ and claimed Boston as your home…skin tone aside, you should not have entered to represent Jamaica in the first place…we need to choose the best representative for an international beauty contest….out of many one people…the best …regardless of skin tone…and one who claims Jamaica as home.
In my opinion, over the past couple of years, the best girl won and they just happen to be light skinned. And let’s face it: the ONLY Jamaican girls that performed well at Miss Universe (made at least the Top10) were ALL light skinned: Kaci Fennell, Kimberly Mais, Sandra Foster, Christine Straw and Yendi Phillipps. Other brown/dark skinned girls have won Miss Universe Jamaica and lost. In actuality, this is not just a local issue, its a worldwide issue. I also believe there are many beautiful dark skinned girls in Jamaica but they just wont enter. It takes a lot of money to enter a beauty pageant and that’s why a lot of “upper town”, wealthy girls (who are normally mixed with different nationalities and/or live overseas like you) enter, because they can afford to enter. There’s a lot of factors that go into it, but Sharlene received the most positive feedback leading into the competition and so did Kaci. They both deserved to win because they were the most beautiful that entered, but that’s my opinion and the opionion of many others. Sorry you disagree.
Kinesha will be bashed and labeled as bitter but she is informed and speaking from experience. My niece was a finalist about 10 years ago and she made similar statements. No one is saying mixed race or other races shouldn’t win..of course they are Jamaicans and have a right to participate, however, the underlying issue is that more than 90% of the time they win. Class and colour is a major problem in Jamaica. The dark-skinned girls tend to win festival queen and model search as opposed to the main 2 pageants.
blacks discriminating is a perlonging legacy that we as black people carried on from post slavery. Yes Ms Goldson Sadly some Jamaicans and black nation at large are still enslaved without the shackles and are still of believe that if your of a lighter skin tone long hair your beautiful trying to look so much like bacramasa. This why you have people lightening there skin tones to be accepted in society. Yes it was evident that the selection with the exception of 2 were all light skin mixed cultured and not authentic black jamaican woman which Is what we should be sending to representing us this is trend years.
We can settle this easily. Post all the pictures of former miss Jamaica world and miss Jamaica universe. Talk to me then.
Is that why she had on extensions instead of wearing her natural hair…hmmmm
I would like to thank everyone for their comments and insight. Please continue to share your point of view and discuss. Talking about it is the first step.
She’s right &·with the high demand for bleaching creams & soaps this light skin worship is literally damaging our people…it needs to stop
Kinesha, you may have been the most beautiful contestant. However, a light skinned girl is more likely to be chosen because the people who control international beauty contests (Miss World, Miss Universe etc) are looking for a light skin girl to target a white audience. Serena Williams is the best female tennis player but she is not the top earner from endorsement contracts because the tennis is primarily a white sport and targets a white audience. Michael Jordon is a top earner because basketball is a black sport and targets all races.
The top six were beautiful. and they were not all light. Victoria Virgo my cousin is dark. Don’t be like that. The pageant aspect is a small community how dare you muddy my Jamaica. What then is your opinion of Ms Jamaica world??? Lol you are a joke. You didn’t win because you are not ready! If it makes you feel better uhmmmm you’re right Hun you were robbed lmao!!!! #dead
There is no doubt that the existing system historically and predominantly screws towards features we come to see in many of our top finalist. We need sponsors you will encourage and back a broader cross section of the population to compete.
I’m dark skin ,and very much comfortable in my skin, someone don’t like me because I’m black, that’s their problem not mine, i know my creator loves me
It is a beauty contest but it is not limited just to that, there are other person attributes that must compliment the physical beauty. There is no real objective approach , the best we can do is use more integrated panels of judges at all levels of the contest to hopefully select ths best among candidates to represent our island. If build trust in the system, we will feel more comfortable with the outcome regardless of the complexion. Ms Angola in recent past convinced me that striking beauty cannot be denied.
Interesting conundrum. But I’d like to say this to Ms. Goldson. In spite of the fact that you refer to Boston (USA) as home, you feel you still have your right as a Jamaican to represent your country. Good for you. Concurrently, that is a right that a light skinned Jamaican girl still owns, and should not be made to made to relinquish, or feel less deserving because of the age old concept of “she doesn’t look like 90% of us”. She is still a Jamaican.
Jamaica has exceptionally beautiful girls. But it takes more than just beauty to stand out in a competition like that. The entire package has to stand head and shoulders above the rest of the pack. In the end, these contests are a business. The more likely you are to win the international competition, the greater the success of the local franchise. Once we accept that, then it’s easy to understand that the organizers are not simply looking for someone to represent Jamaica, they are looking for someone to win based on those international standards.
I am not being gullible to her article but the trend speaks for it’s self and we know this so why do we act so hypocritical about this topic. 99.9% of these females selected for the crown do not reflect what an average Jamaican woman looks like!
Everything in this article is true. And people saying they’re offended sound just like white people who are offended when racism is talked about and pointed out. Two of Jamaica’s biggest social problems are colourism and classim.
in the first place why did you leave boston that you call home to come to jamaica to enter the miss universe jamaica dah! did you believe that we were lacking in dark or clear beautiful women down here stop bitching because you wernt choosen and you are telling us something that we know from we born,thats to show you how much of a jamaican you are ,every body in this world is racist what are we going to do about it
in the first place why did you leave boston that you call home to come to jamaica to enter the miss universe jamaica dah! did you believe that we were lacking in dark or clear beautiful women down here stop bitching because you wernt choosen and you are telling us something that we know from we born,thats to show you how much of a jamaican you are ,every body in this world is racist what are we going to do about it
I’m glad someone mentioned the “international standard of beauty”..that’s the European standard and that’s the argument I’m making with respect to how Jamaican society views beauty resulting in the type of winners that they choose. No one is saying these girls shouldn’t win but it’s how often they win. The 2013 Jamaican stats: 92% black, 6% mixed..note that most pageant girls wear weaves to get that look but people don’t know that as they expect that’s the type of hair they should have.
People accept that there is an underlying issue here period!
Sum a unu fi guh ez wid unu comments dem and try understand wat dis beautiful lady saying…she’s rite…dem fi start select ppl who reflect di majority addi country
We get too emotional when these issues arise. We are each entitled to have our own opinion, even if it seems ridiculous to others and even if it is not supported by the facts, but we are not entitled to have our own facts, The facts are the facts and is the truth of matter.
I cannot say that Kinesa is bitter because of the outcome, because I do not and cannot know what is in her mind, but, I will take her word that she is not. She is, however, disturbed by the percieved bias and wonders why this takes place.
Someone pointed out that there is a class issue and that these contests are still regarded as “uptown events”. This is apparently true and as a result there is not broad participation. So there is a built in block to getting someone representative of the island’s population, as a whole, if participation is limited.
Someone else pointed out that the winner was seeked out over a 2 year period. While i have no proof that this is true, I have heard of this before and saw signs of it in a contest in the 1970s. But, it stands to reason that this could be quite true. These contests are not done for fun, they are done for money and if your entrant wins, you make money. It costs quite a lot of money to run the selection contests and a whole lot more to send your entrant to either the Miss Universe or the Miss World competitions. This is not a Jamaican venture sponsored by the government, this is a private franchise trying to make a profit. The people who run the Miss Jamaica contests paid money for the rights to use the MIss Universe or the Miss World names and they have to pay to send their entrant to the Finals. This is not a friendship thing, it is a business thing. So, of course, the organizers (the franchise owners) want to send the person with the best chance of winning. If the rules did not require a local contest, for publicity etc, they would just privately choose an entrant and send her.
So. will you people realize that this is not about looking like a “Jamaican”, it is about trying to win the title.
By the way, Trinidad is more racially diverse than Jam..look at their winners..other islands like Bahamas, Barbados, Virgin Islands tend to more reflect their population.
they are being sent to an international contest where its a certain look they are looking for which unfortunately is not black, and if we are sending our winners to these contests then they have to choose closest to what they are looking for. thats just the reality
The women also contribute to the self loathing IE skin bleaching and Brazilian hair etc.I really don’t know If these problem will ever go away,also the men has the same mindset.
you should have entered miss u.s.a you said it yourself when you got home jamaica is not your home as for spelling bithc go put in a proper weave what you taught you whould come down here and stun us with your ugly you are just bitter because you were not even in the top 100 lol please dont even try to trow insults at me alll it does is to make you look petty ,remember not because your friiends and family says you are beautiful it dosnt mean they are been truthfull dwl,terry carell is dark skin with natural hair entered miss world jamaica won and represented well in the miss world finals and she was placed in the small numner bracket dwl
Typical ‘US’. I will not say them because i am apart of them. We tend to prefer light complexion persons and its so sad,persons turn to skin bleaching now just to fit into our society. Gone are the days when we say ‘Out of many one people’. We are racist and thats sad,its everywhere the work place.school every organization you can think of. Light people count and the blacks have to take the scraps of whats left. We should be ashame
She’s right and to add to that I prefer our Miss Jamaica World/Universe be someone who was born and raised here. Not persons who migrated and decide to return to enter a pageant. You can answer questions on our behalf if you’ve never experienced what we see and handle day to day.
Here is Sharlene Radlein, the new queen, sharing HER thoughts about colour and the backlash she is receiving from contestants and the general public.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqwzLmB2yME
I agree with every single word you said here; recently had the discussion on Facebook. But I put to you the question – is the “solution” having people with more African features win? What are we really winning? The chance to be considered “beautiful”? What does it come with? The opportunity to be objectified; the continuation of a spiral of beliefs that ‘certain features’ are okay; the perpetuation of discontent with one’s body and low self-esteem if they do not measure up to the acceptable standard. I put to us all that the only solution is dissolution of ‘beauty pageants’. No one ever needs to be seen as “pretty”.
P.S. please don’t say that beauty pageants are about more than beauty. It’s *literally* called a BEAUTY pageant and an “ugly” person could never win, no matter how smart or talented they are.
Not everyone looks the same but everyone is beautiful to somebody. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, after all. Besides, beauty is not only about looks, you can think someone is beautiful because of who they are as a person too. Anyway the point I’m trying to make is that “dark skin girls” shouldn’t need someone who has dark skin too to win a pageant to tell them that they’re beautiful. That being said, I think people implying that “dark skin girls” need win these things because only they can properly represent the country is a bit, well, racist. If a black woman were to win in the US’ pageant and all the white women were like “she can’t represent us because she’s black and we’re white and the majority of us are white” then all hell would break lose. You guys are doing the same thing in reverse and it’s right because? It’s just a stupid contest. Don’t use it to define your beauty, girls.
You are from Boston go and enter in that country America. You people want to use Out of Many One People to discriminate and put Jamaica in a bad light. Well Miss Jamaica Universe and Miss Jamaica World is not for FOREIGNERS it is for JAMAICANS. Now you didn’t make it not because you have your DARK CHOCOLATE SKIN you were exempted because of where you are coming from Boston. Did you school here in Jamaica? Your experience shown that you were just here for the pageant. Out of many One People doesn’t mean FOREIGNERS who want to used the Black Green and Gold to get WORLD FAME. Please go and see the SACRIFICE that one have to make to WEAR Jamaica Colours and to REPRESENT Jamaica. Hugs
You feel strongly about this., do the reseach, put the facts out there and go write a book.
The girl who won isn’t she Indian…she is a Myrie originally from Westmoreland….I don’t follow these beauty contest things, personally, I don’t see how you can pull persons from different enthnicity and say one is more beautiful….if you had won then when you get to the Ms. Universe or Miss World…what then …we don’t see blacks winning those things…don’t know why people subject themselves to these auction block events and then cry foul.
I think it’s completely unfair for a contestant to make loose accusations like this one having to do with racism and classism based on her own self loathing,and her inabilityof accepting that she just didn’t make the cut. If she really wanted to portray a beautiful strong black woman, she should of not worn the weave. It is a beauty contest at the end of the day, not a test of who can answer a question the best. It’s a representative who can become an embassador for our country. It’s about a young woman dark skin or fair skinned, who is an all rounder, beautiful inside and out,that can be a positive role model to young girls. She should be a young woman who can feel comfortable in her own scars and imperfections, who can embrace her own skin tone and hair texture, straight or curly. This is a ridiculous accusation and I’m sick of this race card being overused. As she said, “out of many one people.” Fair skinned girls represent the minority in this country, but theyleave here too and their still very much Jamaicans. If her claim is true, why didn’t tanya mair, one of the fair skinned girls make the top twelve.
I was going to let it rest, but the more of the comments I read is the more upset I am. Jamaica hides its racism with a neat, clever little euphemism called ‘class’, but while we were busily fighting Apartheid in SA, we had JA-Partheid right here. SA solved some of its problems, but much remained because of the economic disparity; and we bear an uncanny resemblance. Many of the light, white and think they are right are racists, and if only you were privy to their conversations when they are in their circles, you would understand. Let us stop fooling ourselves, it is reflected in our societal makeup when you look at who is disadvantaged, and despite the racial makeup of our politics, it hardly counts for much, because it is money that talks; and many of our elected ‘leaders’, once they ascend to office, don’t do the necessary work to bring about the desired changes in the society. Why do you think they hated Michael Manley so? Who were the people he embraced? When he came to power in 1972, why did he have to address and fix so many Social Ills? Why wasn’t much done before his arrival to bridge the racial divide…. We cannot hide behind that weak motto or ours that is incomplete and should appropriately read: Out of many, only one people catching hell left, right and centre. We have a long way to go, but if an Alcoholic wants to fix his ailment, he must first admit that he has a problem. if we are to fix Jamaica, we have to take that fatuous nonsense out of our minds: Jamaica No Problem….
Until the Lions have their own historians, the story of the hunt will always favor the Hunter.
Beauty contests are European based so the standards are European. Start a black Miss World. No economic sense in Jamaican organizers selecting a dark skinned girl knowing they have little chance of winning the main (economic) prize.
Who are the judges for the Miss Jamaica pageant? If the judges are made up of mostly light skinned people then that is a clue to why things are the way they are. If they are made up of mostly dark skinned people then it could be other issues at play.
Its sad to read this because Jamaica and Haiti have always been the most pro African black islands in the Carribean. Black is really beautiful and Jamaica has beautiful people. Its interesting that I am Guyanese and my country has more Indians and mixed people than Jamaica. But Guyana always sends the dark skinned black girls to Miss Universe all the time majority. Makes me proud as a dark skinned girl to be Guyanese. Trinidad sends alot of dark women too. Also for the poster I believe her in part but she should not have worn a full head of weave. It really looks awful on all black women. I have no idea why they think it looks good. Wear your regular hair and if you must put in extensions but full weaves look ghetto. Jamaica is a great black island that will destroy itself if it does not stop this stupid colorism issue. Jamaica is not just sending light skinned black girls, Jamaica is sending darn near white women. There is a difference. With that said Kaci Fennell was gorgeous not because she was light but she just was. My whole family is both dark and super light skinned, all colors. I take no sides.