Sacha Walters, Staff Reporter

Left: Jenee Stephens, 19 years old, is confident about her looks.   Center: Ayesha Haughton is a stunning black woman who has grown to love her beauty. Jenee and Ayesha's make-up was courtesy of Body Accents, Mall Plaza.   Right: Tshani Jaja explains some of the challenges she faced because of her skin tone. - Colin Hamilton/Freelance Photograper

"Yuh pretty for a black girl eeh?'' This is a statement that most beautiful dark-skinned Jamaican women have heard at least once during their lives, and seven years into the 21st century, the negative comment is still popular.

"What's weird is that they think it's a compliment," said 19-year-old university student Jenee Stephens, who first heard the statement in second form at a movie with friends, and has not stopped hearing it since.

"It has a deep impact on you when you're 12," she added, and there were occasions when she felt uncomfortable about her colour. Back then, boys would obviously pay more attention to her lighter- hued friends.

Tshani Jaja, a media planner, said children went as far as to call her names like little 'black girl', 'black monkey' and 'black cat' while in primary school.

"When I was a lot younger, my lips were a lot pinker ... you know those cartoons when you have the black characters and they had the bone in their hair, I would be compared to those," the 26-year-old said.

A little offended

Ayesha Haughton, a junior architect, said she first heard the statement in reference to herself in her second year at university and it came from another girl. "I was a little offended but because of the culture I brushed it off."

It is a Jamaican norm which all the women acknowledged, has become a part of our culture but can be offensive.

While attending Alvernia Preparatory School, Ayesha was conscious of her colour as most of the children were from upper-class Caucasian, Chinese or light- skinned families.

"You have to be brown and slim; that was the pretty girl in the class. I was chubby, tall and a black girl," she said.

Socialising proved challenging for the other young women.

During high school, Tshani participated in swimming and tennis and was uncomfortable with staying in the sun too long.

"Which is so weird because I'm already dark, so some people say how much darker can you get? But you can get a tan," she said.

Most of the children in these sports were from the upper class and were either Caucasian, Chinese, or of a lighter complexion.

Felt insecure

"I was always the darker one and it always made me feel insecure because the boys thought that the brown skin, curly hair girl was the pretty one," and because of her Rastafarian background, she had natural hair and was not into trendy clothes, which made her stick out more.

But would these women ever jump on the bandwagon with those Jamaicans who 'bleach' their skin, even if the lightening did not entail the two-toned result so many Jamaicans bear?

"Not now, when I was younger. When I probably thought that I was ugly and I was impressionable," Ayesha said. In prep school she had a crush on a boy but he liked "the lightest girl in the class." At that time she thought if she was of a lighter complexion he might like her, but she never tried it. She said her mother probably never knew she was self-conscious and she hid it well.

Jenee and Tshani said it never reached that stage, largely because of their families.

"They were so supportive. I was not inclined to think like that ... I was never interested. Separate and apart from that, I could not come back here (home)," Jenee said, as all her family are dark-skinned and they would not take kindly to it.

A similar support system kept Tshani going, as in her Rastafarian household, pride about self was encouraged.

Beauty pageants

Despite the prevalence of negative comments about being black, there seems to be a changing concept of beauty in local pageants.

Since 1978, when Joan McDonald - one of the first dark- skinned women to win the Miss Jamaica World pageant - did so, others have followed in her footsteps. Most recently, Ayesha Richards (2000), Terri-Karelle Griffith (2005) and the reigning queen, Sara Lawrence.

Ayesha said while it is difficult to determine whether it truly reflects a change in the concept of beauty in Jamaica, it is nice to see.

"There was one time when if a black person entered, she'd never win. It's refreshing to see the change," Ayesha said.

Sara Lawrence, the current Miss Jamaica World, said she has received the comment a lot since entering the competition last year but not as much as before she entered. Some people told her, "A dark girl won last year, you know."

But Sara prefers to think that the best person wins and it's not about colour.

Apparently, some Jamaicans get an extra boost when an obviously dark-skinned girl wins. Sara said one of the nicer compliments she received was from a police officer. He said, "You're the first Miss Jamaica World to look like a Jamaican. I feel good when Jamaicans can feel represented."

Turning Point

All these women had a turning point where they developed a sense of confidence which made them embrace their looks.

For Tshani, that change came in sixth form when she began reading about self-empowerment; she began developing a level of confidence which has not stopped growing.

"When I saw how ugly it (the comment) was, it started to bother me so I started to speak out against it. Don't let it be conditional," she said. "I have become a very self-confident person to the point where some will say I'm conceited but I'd prefer to be thought of that way than have a weak self-concept," she said.

And, Tshani said, foreign men express more of an appreciation for her skin colour than Jamaican men. However, Jenee found that dark-skinned black men express their compliments more often.