Colourism
Anndika
Department of, The University of Guyana
Course
Lecturer Name
Date
Colourism
Colourism is a form of internalized racism when people with darker skin tones face
discrimination from others, including members of the same race. This is an important global
issue, as any nationality may be negatively affected by the effects of colourism. (Dawson &
Quiros, 2013; Howard, 2011). It While While colourism is observed within a particular racial
group when members of the same group exhibits exhibit negative attitudes and
stereotypes towards members with towards members of the darker skin, color, it also occurs
between between different ethnicities (Howard, 2011; Hunter 2007). A person may
subconsciously favour lighter skin tones not realizing it, since this does is not perceived as
discrimination based on race (Hunter, 2007). Colourism is expressly prominent in the African
and East Indian communities especially among the women.
Racial discrimination, in general, has existed since the creation of slavery, and colourism
has resulted from this (Hunter, 2007; Bryant, 2013). While blatant racism has become racism
that is methodical, causing it to be difficult to identify as it becomes more entrenched in our
society (Chapman-Allison, 2016). However, skin tone partiality has become widespread in
society affecting many areas of a person’s life. It is associated with self-loathing, political loss,
and economic loss (Duke & Berry, 2011; Howard, 2011). Colourism especially affects the lives
of African and East Indian girls and needs to be addressed.
In the African communities, colourism began during slavery, African slaves were
separated into two groups - house slaves and field slaves. House slaves were of lighter skin
tones than the field slaves who tended to be darker in complexion (Duke & Berry, 2011; Hunter,
2007). The house slaves assumed the household chores while the field slaves had to work much
harder in the fields. House slaves had more opportunities to acquire knowledge and learn to read
than field slaves. The division of house slaves and field slaves led to a creation of created a type
of caste system in which persons with the lighter skin tones have more power (Harvey, Gocial,
LaBeach, & Pridgen, 2005). Not unlike during slavery, in today's society, persons with lighter
skin complexion have a better advantage than individuals with darker complexion even though
these individuals are part of the same ethnic group (Fultz, 2013; Hunter, 2007). South Asian
women, specifically the Indian women, are introduced to the significance of light colourism from
a very young age. The predilection for light skin in India can be accredited to various reasons,
such as a long history of being governed principally by the light skinned people, the expansion of
caste system, British imperialism, diffusion of globalism and dominant supremacy of whiteness
(Nagar, 2018). It is a common cultural practice to choose and publicly appreciate light skin,
generally known as fair skin in India.
The Eurocentric beauty standards have continued dominant in the past century,
suggesting that an attractive woman must have Caucasian features, light skin, slender body and
straight hair. Due to their external appearance, women are more exposed to this beauty ideal in
comparison to men (Hunter 2013). Light skin is a key parameter and a pivotal factor judging
beauty for dark-skinned women globally.
In today’s society, there is a strong partiality to lighter skin tones which is prevalent in
the international media. Persons portrayed in advertisement and social media embody the
existing standard of beauty. Fultz (2013) indicated that persons with lighter skin tones are seen in
advertisements in more cases than the persons who have a darker skin tone and a kinkier hair
texture throughout the mid to late twentieth century. While presently advertisements are
becoming more inclusive, colourism is still present within media and in current beauty standards.
Light skin tones as a beauty model is continuously fed to the Indian public through substantial
advertisement campaigns. There are several skin lightening products in the Indian market,
designed disjointedly both for men and women, however, the sales of female products is far
more in comparison to those of men.
Colourism is a commonplace reality among African, East Indian and Mixed women
which is observed on daily basis by dark-skinned or even by brown coloured people. It has a
very methodical and recurring pattern. Acting as a cultural standard, the individuals grow up
associating lightness of skin with beauty. Daily practices and interaction with others reinforce
this belief. The media depictions, such as movies, beauty contests and advertisement images,
also tend to adapt to this beauty model. Skin color discernment intensely affects the life
experiences of dark-skinned people. The lighter in complexion a person is, the closer he/she is to
white and thus, the better and more beautiful he/she is.
References
Bryant, P. D. (2013). The impact of colorism on historically black fraternities and sororities
(dissertation).
Chapman-Allison, M. (2016). Disparities and systematic racism policies and practices related to
healthcare reform, employment, and incarcerations: a multi-faceted analysis of
contemporary experiences in the United States (dissertation).
Dawson, B. A., & Quiros, L. (2013). The Color Paradigm: The Impact of Colorism on the Racial
Identity and Identification of Latinas. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social
Environment, 23(3), 287–297. https://doi.org/10.1080/10911359.2012.740342
Fultz, L. A. (2013). The psycho-social impact of colorism among African American women:
crossing the divide (dissertation).
Harvey, R. D., LaBeach, N., Pridgen, E., & Gocial, T. M. (2005). The Intragroup Stigmatization
of Skin Tone Among Black Americans. Journal of Black Psychology, 31(3), 237–253.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0095798405278192
Howard, A. (2011). An exploration of colorism and its effects on African American and White
American communities (thesis).
Hunter, M. (2007). The Persistent Problem of Colorism: Skin Tone, Status, and Inequality.
Sociology Compass, 1(1), 237–254. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-9020.2007.00006.x
Hunter, M. L. (2013). Race, Gender, and the Politics of Skin Tone.
https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203620342
Nagar, I. (2018). The Unfair Selection: A Study on Skin-Color Bias in Arranged Indian
Marriages. SAGE Open, 8(2), 215824401877314.
https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244018773149
