"It's hard to distinguish certain parts of personal preference from self-hate, internecine racism, and the like"
Lets say I DO like light skinned women with long hair- we can make the inference that I dont like dark skinned women with short hair but thats not necessarily the case and its certainly what my statement amounts to.
Me personally- I come from a family of light skinned people on my mother's side- all light skinned with long, dark, hair- as many say we have indian in us (namely cherokee).
Now if Im to guide the primary intentions of my preferences towards that which I was raised through, light skinned women with dark hair is not necessarily some arbitrary fashion ideal im leaning towards but that which half of my family is comprised of.
to set the record straight- despite my family's overwhelming lightness I am more caramel colored- cuz my pops was darker. Currently Im dating a woman who matches my complexion perfectly. Despite what my mating choice indicates- I am fond of light skinned women but this doesnt diminish my capacity to be fond of darker skinned women or women from other cultures.
In my opinion beauty is in the eye of the beholder- this doesnt just mean that we are all entitled to conclude what makes for beauty but that we are also obliged to use our own idealogy to assess that beauty. To me any light skinned woman is beautiful cuz they look like my mother- is that wrong?