LOOK: Black model flaunts beautiful skin despite being told to bleach it

Model Nyakim Gatwech is extremely proud of her beautiful black skin, despite other people telling her to be otherwise.

The South Sudanese model has skin described as dark as night—as most Sudanese do—and is unafraid to flaunt it, even if a driver once asked her if she would bleach it for $10,000.

SOUTH SUDAN🇸🇸🇸🇸 A country with people so dark you won’t believe your eyes.. skin so rich and teeth so bright. Gosh how I love my country my people and everything that come with it.. I was ask my uber driver the other day he said, don’t take this offensive but if you were given 10 thousand dollars 💵 would you bleach your skin for that amount? I couldn’t even respond I started laughing so hard. Than he said so that a no and I was like hell to the f*king yeah that a no, why on earth would I ever bleach this beautiful melanin God bless with me. Than he said so you look at it as a blessing? I just 🤦♂️ you won’t believe the kind of questions I get and the kind of looks I get for having this skin. On that note #melaninmonday🍫🍫 ||different melanin|| 📸 @piokky 👗 @isaacwest Models: @moliesha95 @odur @chudes0212 @queenkim_nyakim

A post shared by Nyakim Gatwech (@queenkim_nyakim) on Mar 27, 2017 at 11:41am PDT

“Why on earth would I ever bleach this beautiful melanin God [blessed me] with,” she said, to which the driver said, “So you look at it as a blessing?”

The model has had her share of insecurity: growing up and even until she moved to the United States, people would criticize her for her natural skin color.

For instance, a man once bet his friend $20 to see if his leggings were darker than her skin.

“There was a time in my life where I considered bleaching myself to avoid the dirty looks, the laughter, and for boys to find me attractive,” she said in an interview with Yahoo.

She’s had to learn to deal with the ridiculous and often insensitive questions she receives, but believes that education would address the way people perceive skin color and beauty. She has taken to Instagram to flaunt her dark skin—and every other complexion.

“I love every part it. I love the fact my skin is unique and that my whole skin is one tone, and finally how soft my skin is,” she said, and has even embraced the title “Queen of Dark.”

A post shared by Nyakim Gatwech (@queenkim_nyakim) on Jan 27, 2017 at 10:26am PST

Some people stay Snapping me asking me why am I so dark? How on earth they expect me to answer that question? Beside the fact that I’m bless with melanin and I love all this darkness🖤😍😍 MELANIN MONDAY🍫✨🖤 #melaninpoppin🍫✨ #southsudanesebeauty🇸🇸🇸🇸😍😍🙌🏿 #africanqueen🏺💎 #chocolate🍫💕 #thequeenofdarkchocolate👸🏿🍫 #thedarkertheberrythesweeterthejuice🍇

A post shared by Nyakim Gatwech (@queenkim_nyakim) on May 15, 2017 at 1:09pm PDT

||Different Melanin|| photo shoot with @isaacwest #differentmelanin🍫🍫 #blackmodelsrock👸🏿👸🏿🙌🏿🙌🏿🍫🍫

A post shared by Nyakim Gatwech (@queenkim_nyakim) on Jan 22, 2017 at 3:23pm PST

They say to me “Nyakim are you really that black??” and I answer what on earth is “that black” black is black in whatever remarkable shade👌🏿👌🏿 |Different melanin| Designer/creative director| @isaacwest Photographers| @piokky @darlingtonphotography Models| @ciannehbrowne @moliesha95 @hipchocolatechip @queenkim_nyakim #blackgirlsmagic✨ #africangirlskillingit #onelove

A post shared by Nyakim Gatwech (@queenkim_nyakim) on Feb 12, 2017 at 5:50pm PST

The 24-year-old Gatwech is based in Minneapolis, and continues to fight discrimination in the fashion industry and empower women of color. She has found support on the Internet, which includes her nearly 74,000 Instagram followers. She says, “All women are equal, and we should stand together rather than be against each other.” JB

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