Can I Blame Her?

I was on the phone with my 13 year old sister last night. I brought up Lupita Nyong'o. I think she is absolutely stunning, and I mentioned this to my little sister. Her reply was, "Yeah, for an African girl, she's actually really pretty." Of course I was dismayed by this response, but I don't think it's my sister's fault that she thinks like this. She lives in a society where dark skinned beauty isn't appreciated. Black girls aren't just pretty. It has to be qualified by "For a black girl, she's..." or "For a dark-skinned girl, she's..." It's disappointing that society's ideas of beauty are so limited. That's why I'm really happy there's so much attention given to Lupita and her beauty. Maybe society will slowly start to realize that beauty comes in all shades and sizes.