Diverse Brown Skin
Women with brown skin are a diverse group of women.
We originate from backgrounds and cultures from across the globe. Although
we are of Asian, African, Native American and Latin descent, each
of us has at least two things in common. The first is our beautiful
brown skin.
The second, discovered by sophisticated genetic testing,
is that we all originated from one man and one woman in Africa. These
first known people, who presumably had brown skin, migrated across the
African continent (Sudan, Ethiopia, Mali), traveled into Southeast Asia
and Japan, then on to Australia, New Guinea, and central Asia, and later
into Europe and the Americas.
Why doesn’t everyone have brown skin? Anthropologists
believe racial variations developed because of natural selection, enabling
early humans to adapt to the particular environment to which they migrated.
For example, individuals of darkly-pigmented brown skin most likely
developed their skin color to protect them from the burning ultraviolet
(UV) light rays, which are stronger close to the equator. People living
north of the equator developed pale or white skin to ensure absorption
of UV rays that promote vitamin D formation in the skin. Many individuals
with brown skin have ancestors that lived near the equator.
Now, let’s take a closer look at the diversity
inherent in our human ancestry. The Asian population is very diverse
in terms of origin and skin hue. This population group is subdivided
into East Asian (Chinese, Japanese, Koreans), Southeast Asian (Indonesians,
Malaysians, Singaporeans, Thais, Cambodians, Vietnamese) and South Asian
(Bangladeshis, Indians, Pakistanis, Sri Lankans). Individuals from East
Asia tend to be lighter in skin color, whereas many South Asians and
Southeast Asians have light brown to dark brown skin.
Similarly, Hispanics or Latinos are a diverse group
of people who share common language and certain cultural similarities.
There are differences in race and skin tone within this ethnic group.
For example, European Hispanics characteristically have lighter skin
color and are considered Caucasian. However, a large number of Latinos
from North America, Mexico, Central and South America and the Caribbean
have many different hues of brown skin. Their mixed ancestry often combines
Caucasian, indigenous Native Indian, and African cultures and races.
Finally, Blacks are also a large and diverse group of
people with a wide array of shades of brown skin. These individuals
are either from or have ancestors from the African continent (combined
with European and/or Native Indian) and many present day blacks self-identify
as African-Americans or African-Caribbeans.
Practically speaking, women with brown skin come in an endless array of brown skin tones, from tapioca to cinnamon to deep chocolate brown. Whether we are from North, South, or Latin America, (from New York and Los Angeles, to Rio de Janeiro, and Mexico); from the Caribbean or the Pacific Islands (from Puerto Rico and Jamaica to Guam, Samoa and Tonga); from South Asia (from India and Pakistan to Indonesia and the Philippines); or from Africa (from Egypt and Morocco to Senegal and Cape Town), the special characteristics of our brown skin require specialized knowledge and skin care solutions found on Brownskin.net, Your Authority for Women with Brown Skin.
