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1

Racism aside(which is only superficially about skin color) how is it any different from admiring any other physical trait?

Posted by giffy | March 19, 2008 12:18 PM
2

skin and racism. you and brenden are on very similar pages today.

Posted by infrequent | March 19, 2008 12:18 PM
3

I'm only attracted to old[er] white men. Clearly I'm a racist. And an ageist. And a sexist.

Posted by Mr. Poe | March 19, 2008 12:21 PM
4

The problem is not that you are admiring a skin tone. The problem is that you are admiring a photoshopped ideal of a skin tone.

Posted by boyd main | March 19, 2008 12:23 PM
5

"Isn’t it racist to admire the color of a person’s skin?"

No. Racism is the rendering of certain bodies inferior based on an arbitrary set of physical traits, and then constructing systems of domination over those inferior bodies.

This is just (justifiable) ogling.

Posted by a.m. | March 19, 2008 12:25 PM
6

"Isn’t it racist to admire the color of a person’s skin?"
yes but we need to say there a matrix of racism; same with genderism and nationalism and patriotism lots of other isms that rest on making distinctions. Much of these matrices in each case is horrible, some of it is bad, some of it is mere impoliteness and some of it ("I prefer to keep jobs in the USA rather than have jobs go overseas, because I prefer USA people and I love USA people more than Guatemalan people") isn't bad at all.

Affirmative action rests on distinctions that many think are just fine, for example.

"It’s best not to think about such things."
No, as per Obama we should talk more openly of such things. So good post, Charles.

Posted by unPC | March 19, 2008 12:28 PM
7

I think Seinfeld covered this once.

Posted by elenchos | March 19, 2008 12:31 PM
8

Perhaps admiring a skin tone as it relates to other skin tones and placing a relative value between them could, in some abstract way, be considered racism. Your post says nothing about your admiration for this skin tone affecting your ability to admire another skin tone equally, less, or more. Isn't admiration an appreciation of a thing for its own sake? Or does it automatically imply a comparison to something lesser?

Posted by Mittens Schrodinger | March 19, 2008 12:32 PM
9

Well I'd hate to break it to you, I'm sure she's airbrushed and the overall skin tone is a product of makeup and digital manipulation. You are admiring the work of a skilled photo editor.

Posted by seattle98104 | March 19, 2008 12:33 PM
10

With that body she could be blue and still be hot. Not that I'm opposed to blue people.

Posted by not sure about you | March 19, 2008 12:33 PM
11

Yay! Wittgenstein!

Did you do it just for me, Charles, after you made my morning last time?

For those not lapping at the milk bowl of the Great German Philosophers, the quote is:

"What can be said at all can be said clearly, and what we cannot talk about we must pass over in silence."

Posted by FooFootheSnoo | March 19, 2008 12:38 PM
12

Not any more racist than admiring a persons eye or hair color, how is skin color any different? It would be racist if you judged that persons character by the color of their skin, but admiring it is only admiring their physical beauty. It's true that some people are attracted to some skin colors more than others, and that's not racist, it's just having a different opinion on attractiveness, just like if someone were to prefer brunettes to blonds, or green eyes to brown eyes.

Posted by eyeism? | March 19, 2008 12:39 PM
13

Thanks you Charles - for the elaborate rationale in posting such a fine photo. Keep up the good work!!

Posted by Will in Eugene | March 19, 2008 12:42 PM
14

Great pic, too bad about the photoshop of the color tone ...

Posted by Will in Seattle | March 19, 2008 1:00 PM
15

Yes, it is racist. And it's fine. Sometimes, being a racist is fine.

Posted by mattymatt | March 19, 2008 1:09 PM
16

Bad skin is skin with acne or psoriasis. That's an objective dermatological fact.

Posted by Kiru Banzai | March 19, 2008 1:20 PM
17

@4 - Exactly. And, miraculously blemish free, I might add.

Posted by Mahtli69 | March 19, 2008 1:21 PM
18

It's not racist to find someone attractive or unattractive based on a feature or set of features. You like tall girls? Hairy guys? Brown skinned ladies? Big butts? Amputees? All healthy responses to normal human conditioning. However, if you were to offer Ms. Lafa an internship at the Stranger based solely on her skin color, that would be racist. I wouldn't blame you, but it would still be racist.

Posted by Gurldoggie | March 19, 2008 1:27 PM
19

If it's racist to admire her skin color, what on earth are tanning booths for?

Posted by Mr. Joshua | March 19, 2008 1:32 PM
20

"Isn’t it racist to admire the color of a person’s skin?"

For Pete's sake, how stupid can you get. I'm just about done with Chuckie's fatuous syllogisms.

His proclamations are so sophomoric and transparently provoking they're an embarrassment for Slog, even.

Posted by Yutang | March 19, 2008 1:43 PM
21

Sophomoric, perhaps, but still good excuses to post pictures of scantily-clad women.

Posted by Kerry | March 19, 2008 1:50 PM
22

Not really racist, but we should all feel guilty for admiring the physical beauty of the woman in general.

Posted by OR Matt | March 19, 2008 1:56 PM
23

Photoshop could give you that skin too, Charles. And if you want them, a few thousand bucks could probably get you those boobs.

Posted by Dougsf | March 19, 2008 1:56 PM
24

I think you've missed the point... but I guess it depends on your definition of racism. The one I use is Race Privilege + Power = Racism.

Posted by SDizzle | March 19, 2008 1:59 PM
25

"It’s best not to think about such things."

And perhaps even better not to post about them - or anything - if you don't have something worthwhile to actually say in the first place.

Then again - that'd leave you with an AWFUL LOT of free time, eh Chuckles?

Posted by Bleah | March 19, 2008 2:43 PM
26

If its racist to be attracted to skin color then I might as well run off and join the KKK cuz goddamn I love me some big black boyfriend! Those tall skinny white boys just don't do it for me anymore. But as they say, once you go black you never go back (or alternatively, once you go white, you can always go back to black!)

Posted by Queen_of_Sleaze | March 19, 2008 3:07 PM
27

"To admire something means something else is not admirable."

No it doesn't, and this is the crux of Mudede's problems in his political rants. Not everything is binary. That's like me saying, "I like action flicks, so I must not like comedies."

Posted by MR. Language Person | March 19, 2008 3:47 PM
28

1st of all, this is just as annoying as all your other lady lusting posts.
2nd of all, it's even more annoying that you're questioning this admiration as possibly racist.
How often have we heard caucasian womens skin described as "beautifully porcelain", or "milky white?" Just because this woman is brown and you are admiring the color does not mean you are being racist. Give me a break!
And I agree with #4, this pic has been photoshopped to hell.
Quit making up excuses to post pictures of the women your wet dreams are made of.

Posted by D | March 19, 2008 3:48 PM
29

well, racist or not, at least you wouldn't be using a standard too far from esther's own:

LAURA of Stuff Magazine: Would you rather be with a guy who has hips like Elvis or lips like LL Cool J?
ESTHER: Personally, I don’t like small lips. I have DSLs—dick-sucking lips—and it just wouldn’t be right kissing someone without lips.

Posted by infrequent | March 19, 2008 4:10 PM
30

Whites and blacks compliment me on my lovely skin tone and complexion all the time. Everyone is a racist!

Posted by Brown Beauty | March 19, 2008 4:21 PM
31

Gratz on posting your fap-fodder?

Posted by supergp | March 19, 2008 6:28 PM
32

I think you better let Obama field this one...

Oh, and what @4 said...

Posted by come again? | March 19, 2008 7:08 PM
33

It is a little odd, because where it's seems to be okay to admire the color of someone's skin, it wouldn't be okay to automatically dislike the color of their skin. Don't know what that means...

Posted by Mr Me | March 19, 2008 7:34 PM
34

Blue gals. I love 'em.

Posted by J.T. Kirk | March 22, 2008 8:40 PM

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