'I Want to Be Like You'

Spurred on by nothing more than the slow wheels of progress, there has been a paradigm shift in the thinking of racial archtypes (note I didn't say stereo) in recent years.
While as little as 10 years ago, many African-American women who looked a certain way, wore their hair a particular way were fashioned as trying to be "European," nowadays it's just as easy to see Caucasian women emulating the styles of black women.
This 'I want to be you' commune is not new: Take a youth, any youth, and surround him with positive, strong role models then you will in effect create a positive, strong role model.
Does that mean that we are post-racism in society? Noooo. It means that we can no longer afford to subconsciously judge a person just on race.
Take a young girl and surround her with diverse friends and exposure to different cultures, and it's likely you'll create a person that emulates the best from various cultures, styles and faiths.
It's natural: 'I see you' 'I understand you' 'I want to be you'.

Skin Tone: Does it Matter?

Each side has there own nursery-ryhme-like sayings: "Light, bright, damn-near white" and on the other side, "the blacker the berry the sweeter the juice."
Both are catchy, and both describe perfectly the benefits of subscribing to a particular skin-tone philosophy. Truth be told, much of this nation's racial past has etched in our minds a skin-tone hierarchy that may or may not be justified today (but still exists).
Do you have a skin-tone preference when it comes to dating?
Of course, it is your right to have one, but may i ask, what has influenced that preference?