Excuse Me?

"What did you just say?"

This was my initial reaction to the person who made the comment I've heard one too many times before: "You look good for a brown girl!!"

Talk about a back-handed compliment. This is the most ignorant thing I've heard come out of someone's mouth and the funniest thing about it is that when people say it they think it's flattering! They believe that I am to blush and smile followed with a "thank you." Wrong! Usually I do not have time to address this and really school the person so I cringe and say the quick 'thanks' and get out of there. People: this is NOT a compliment or a clever come-on. What it is saying is that typically "brown-skinned girls" or "dark-skinned girls" are not attractive so it's amazing to you when you see one that is....that's not a compliment, that's an insult!

I cannot tell you how many time's I've gotten this in the past and when I was younger my warped, brainwashed mind thought it was okay. When given the compliment I did not understand it back then, but times have changed. No one tells anyone "You're pretty for a light skinned girl," I'm assuming because they are just expected to be pretty? Who knows....but what I do know is that this comment is very insulting and should definitely not come out of anyone's mouth.

Next time just say, "You're pretty." Leave the other part OFF!