LINK LOVE with a TWIST, June 7, 2011

LINK LOVE with a TWIST, June 7, 2011

There has been a lot of buzz on the internet lately around “Dark Girls,” a soon-to-be-released documentary that explores the biases and attitudes surrounding skin color, both outside of and within Black American culture.  This week’s Link Love roundup includes two amazing posts which were inspired by this particular topic.

It also includes inspiration in the form of self-respect and the act of caring, a look at why luxury brands make your heart flutter, and more.  Enjoy!

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Arash Mazinani – Superbrands: Why They’ve Got You Hooked:  What happens when you see a photo of the latest “Chanel” or “YSL” or “Gucci” or “Prada” collections?  Does your heart skip a beat?  Do you feel short of breath?  Do you have a typical “Pavlov’s dog” reaction?  I do, and I know I’m not the only one!  Marissa of The Well-Appointed Catwalk was impressed with the way Arash’s post delved into this phenomenon.  “Brain chemistry and Chanel – totally fascinating!”

Barbro Andersen – Blogging is sharing, and sharing is caring:  My first personal submission this week is something a bit different.  First and foremost, let’s talk about Barbro Andersen.  She is an amazingly gifted photographer.  Intelligent.  Stunningly beautiful.  Stylish.  Inspiring.  But above all of these things… she is caring.  And she has started a movement/pledge of sorts encouraging others to Care as well.  Do you Care?

The Beheld – Thoughts on a Word: Mirror: This post on The Beheld speaks to the history lover in me.  I found this look at the origins of the word mirror completely fascinating.  It gives some wonderful insight into something that is seemingly so insignificant yet can cause us to doubt ourselves!

By Anika – Getting my groove on in life and in leopard: I love this submission by Jamillah of made-to-travel – it was one of my favorite reads last week as well.  “I mean, I’ve nominated the extraordinary Anika before and really I can not show her enough love. She projects the BEST kind of attitude in blogosphere and she is a constant reminder to love myself more,” said Jamillah.   “[This post] is no exception. As I’m approaching 30 I really look forward to it and as Anika is living and LOVING her 30′s she inspires me to embrace life more and embrace me more! LOVE HER.”

the Citizen Rosebud – Outfit Post: Birthday Grrl: Jamillah’s second submission this week is a wonderful post by one of my personal faves – Bella of the Citizen Rosebud!  “I love [this post]. The appreciation for the 46 years she’s lived is beautiful and I wish more women felt this way,” shared Jamillah.  “I also happen to think her outfit is raaaaad! So graphic in black and white, love it!” Happy belated birthday, birthday grrl!

Consider Me Lovely – My Dark is Lovely: Every so often, someone writes a post that resonates with readers on a level all its own.  Rocquelle’s amazing post does just that:

“I was completely moved reading Rocquelle’s post on how she had grown to love her dark and beautiful skin. The post was so honest, so important. I work with teens, many of whom have mixed backgrounds, and do you know the most frequent topic in my counseling sessions with them is? “Can they be both dark-skinned and Norwegian?” I had a session last week with a wonderful boy of 12 years old who came to me about this because he had been bullied about his dark skin. (His parents are from Ghana, he was born in Norway). We had the most moving conversation, which concluded with him walking out of my office with a lighter step, having determined that he was in fact more Norwegian than me (who he felt looked very Norwegian) in many ways; he has lived in Norway all of his life, he knows how to ski, etc. My point is, Rocquelle’s story is also many of my kids’ story. I so hope they can get to the place she is in now. Rocquelle is stunning, inside and out, and that is what I want my kids to know that they are too.” – Anika of By Anika

“I was in tears reading this post at Consider Me Lovely. It IS a mega super important issue. I grew up in a predominantly black neighborhood and I saw this kind of self hate in my community.” – Jamillah of made-to-travel

“I totally second/third/fourth affirm that [this] is a stand-out post. Moved me even though I have personally never had to endure such ridicule… that’s a sign of a great author… who transports me into her shoes if even for a few moments. Great work Rocquelle!” – Metsy C.

Gorgeous in Grey – Why I Love My Brown Skin: Every great writer finds inspiration somewhere, and Rocquelle’s inspiration for the post above came from this equally amazing piece written by Ty of Gorgeous in Grey.  It’s no surprise that both posts made it into this week’s roundup:

“As a half black mixed girl, I totally appreciate the sentiment behind this post and the movement Ty has started, and it goes for any race – just to love the skin you’re in!” – Elle of Elle Enchanted

“[This post] is the call for all the dark-skinned beauties to share their love of their skin and was the catalyst for Consider Me Lovely’s post. Also linked are a couple of other women who share their stories.” – Jamillah

miss vinyl ahoy – This isn’t high school anymore, my friend.  Grow up.: This is the second nomination by Elle this week. “In this post, Suze gets real and it’s absolutely amazing to see someone be completely honest and speak his/her mind about something this controversial the big pink elephants in the room. And I totally understand where she’s coming from!” said Elle.  I agree, this post was extremely powerful and the comments are worth a read as well!

Sarah Klassen/Haute Design – Designer: Caroline Swift:  Carolann of Wonderpug Graphics introduced me to a new blog with this entry and I am loving it.  “I want to submit Sarah Klassen of Haute Design’s Thursday photographic spread post,” said Carolann. “I just found it so lovely and soothing and serene.”

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Thank you to everyone who took the time to submit their favorite post of the week!

If you would like to submit a post for inclusion in the next edition of Link Love with a TWIST, please do so here.

If you would like to publish this post on your own blog, the code can be found here.