I'm puzzling over this myself. I just wrote a lengthy reply, beginning with, "What if a person is of Mediterranean heritage and they just naturally get darker in the summer?" I did a bit of rambling; then I answered my own question.

I think maybe it's not the tanning that's problematic. Maybe it's the Blackfishing that's problematic. Also problematic is class-bragging, as in, "I just got back from a Caribbean vacation and got this lovely tan; now I'm Black too!" If your tan lines fit a bikini, that's one thing. If they fit a work shirt, that's another thing.

On a related note, I wanted to recite a rap poem I wrote in tribute to Jordan Neely at a poetry reading I frequent. But I wasn't sure if it would be appropriate since I present as white. So I asked one of the regulars, a Black man known for his hard-hitting social commentary poetry. What he said was priceless:

"If you can do it from your own heart in your own voice, go for it. If you are imitating someone else, don't."

I did the poem, and he hugged me after.

Maybe it's the same with tanning. My olive skin -- a gift from my Mediterranean and Indigenous ancestors -- has this hideous yellow-green undertone during the winter. I look like I'm about to faint or puke. People have even asked me if I have hepatitis or AIDS! (I don't, but it's still rude of them to ask.) In the winter, I correct it with a dab of tinted moisturizer. In the summer, I let my skin do what it does naturally.

I'm not trying to look Black. There's no way I could because my hair texture and facial features will never look anything but Mediterranean. I don't lay out in the sun in the summer -- that has always seemed silly and boogie to me. And tanning beds -- forget it! I knew a tanning bed addict who died of skin cancer in her '30s. No thanks! I'd rather go out about my business and let Ol' Sol work his magic. A bit of sun-glow doesn't make me look Black, it makes me look like a healthy and happy version of myself.

I hope this is ok. But if I have to cover up in the summer and forgo the tinted moisturizer in the winter to be a good ally, I will. I'd have to cover my face completely when I go out in public because that yellow-green undertone I get is disgusting—as in, avoiding mirrors disgusting. I'd dig out the sleeve-style face masks that I wore back in 2020 and pull my hat down low so all anyone sees is my eyes. With COVID making a comeback, I could get away with it.

In the big picture, looking ugly-sick is a small price to pay for equity and justice for all. But must I, to make up for those who look like me trying to keep up with the Kardashians? Or am I missing something?