By Aleysha Ward “You are just as dark as the bottom of my shoe”, “Your skin color is not light enough to hang with us” and “You're so pretty for a black girl.” These are just some of the comments that black women have had to listen to while growing up. As a brown skinned black women, it is frustrating to know that my skin color will always be viewed as negative by society. Why? Well, because it is not close to a Caucasians skin color. Skin tone is a characteristic that can affect a person’s life in both positive and negative ways. Often times, our society has shown us that being of a lighter complexion or closer to a Caucasian’s skin color will provide us with benefits such as higher educational and career opportunities, a greater chance at marriage, and having the ability to be less conscious about your skin color. Although this is not true, factors as such do affect a black women’s self esteem and self efficacy. The issue of colorism continues to divide and shape the ...