Some cultures have contributed to "colorist" beliefs that light hair and blue eyes are the standard

Anthropologists and geographers have studied and overtime come to the conclusion that distribution of skin color is not random. Darker skin color has been found to typically come from near the equator and lighter skin colors are typically coming from closer to the north and south poles. Over the years, researchers have found that darker skin colors has protected the

If a black woman had dark skin she would resemble a man, therefore making her ugly in society’s standards. This pressures black women to constantly be "compatible with the white female standard of beauty" (Ashe 580) in order to be socially accepted in society. Intuitively black women understood that in order to be considered desirable, the less black they had to look. This unfortunate perception of beauty stems from a long pattern of "sociohistorical racial injustices" (Bealer 312) towards darker skinned African Americans. Maria Racine states in her review that since slavery black people who approximated closer to whites were sexually sought after by black slave men and white plantation owners and were considered to live a somewhat "easy coexistence" because of their appearance (Racine 283). Since it’s start, colorism laid the pathway of racial prejudice towards dark skinned individuals. The result of treating dark African Americans as subhuman beings led to the altering of the black psyche by creating a "pervasive hierarchy" of beauty that black woman constantly combated or were forced to accept. (Bealer 312).

According to McIntosh’s suggestion, “we should acknowledge enormous unseen dimensions, talk about the obliviousness advantages, and raise our daily awareness on the perquisites of being light-skinned.” McIntosh’s approaches are characterized as reasonable to resolve the issue. By listing down every advantage she takes for granted, she is raising awareness in the society. By

Dina Gerdeman’s article discusses how the cosmetic industry in India has created a stereotype in which individuals with lighter skin tones are more acceptable and successful in comparison to those with darker skin tones. The media has portrayed this image persistently despite social activists arguing against the implications. Even though many campaigns have been created to combat this stereotype, the March 2016 case author of “Fair & Lovely vs. Dark is Beautiful,” Rohit Deshpande says, “…if you look at whether it’s done anything to affect the sales of the product category, the answer is no. This is a big market by any standards, and it’s growing exponentially” (para. 12). By the cosmetic industry’s perspective, “The government

As the research continues it becomes ever more important to discuss how exactly the differing pigmentation of one race of people actually occurs, because I feel that it has an effect on the way colorism is handled throughout the African American community. There are two ways in which a person of African descent can be of a lighter complexion; the first being amalgamation, which is the coming together of both the black and white races and reproducing to make a mulatto or mixed race child and the second is the use of cosmetic creams in attempt to bleach one’s skin until they too appear mulatto (Dorman 48). This is relevant because, it shows the extremes that people are willing to go to reach the highest plateau of social acceptance. Many of these creams were painful acidic chemicals slowly burning away the pigmentation as people slept, while others were considered mild abrasive materials used to “gently” scrape away dark pigments (Dorman

A popular notion says a child is born “color-blind” and remains color-blind until they reach adolescence. The problem with this concept is that people believe it to be a positive idea. However, it actually presents a damaging ideology – it suggests that race should not be a factor when trying to determine the type of person an individual is. I see it as an unsophisticated approach to view people because race is a vital part of our existence. Race is an attribute that makes individuals differ from one another, and the problem is not the differences in the colors of our skin. The problem is that we attempt to detach ourselves from the reality of being racially different. Racism will seem to inevitably exist, and in order to even try to end the malice, parents should begin teaching children about racism the right way.

Indeed, ‘colorism’ within racial and ethnic groups is a lot more prevalent than we are prepared to admit. Light-skin preference has been common practice in the black community for generations. Though being black requires us to respect our culture and heritage, it’s difficult not to be influenced by the perception that black women are often not accepted as being intelligent, desirable, and beautiful enough. Also, individuals within the black community have been called ‘Oreo Cookies’ because of the way they speak, where they live, and the people they choose to interact

Over the course of the years, society has taught black girls that the darker their skin tone is, the uglier they are which triggered them to do their best to meet Eurocentric beauty standards such as having light skin, slim nose and straight hair.

“Among African Americans, skin tone is an important physical characteristic that creates divisions in the community and affects the quality of life. Like gender, a person’s skin tone is a visible physical trait that others immediately notice during social interactions and use to form judgments” The Light skin versus Dark skin issue that has been haunting the black community for centuries is deeply rooted from the times of slavery. Because of the influence of white supremacy, mixed race children received better treatment which resulted in the formation of a social stratification within the black community that impacted how they were treated by white people as well as the way they were treated within their own community.

Even with the concept race not being genetic, discrimination has prevalent in society and in the society Una Marson lived in where she writes “ I like me black face And me kinky hair. I like me black face. And me kinky hair. But nobody loves dem I jes tink it’s fair.” Marson describes an instance where she loves who she is, from her dark skin to her kinky hair but no one else does. Her constant instance that she loves her features, in some ways makes the reader believe that she only recently come to accept herself for who she was. A problem many people face growing up, but the feeling of not living up to a fair skinned and haired standard is common among many ethnic communities. With women who have darker being told they were ugly and being rejected the opposite sex who wanted light skinned or white women so there children come out pretty (Newmany). Although she know feels confident in with herself and her identity, she knows that due to other racist beliefs they won’t like her because her skin is dark and her is kinky. It’s not fair and in 2016, it’s still not

As a Nigerian-American female growing up in the South, I have always been placed under racial "caps". These caps limited what the people in my community were socially capable of. So, 'normal' or 'ordinary' to the people under the caps would actually be subpar, but they would never know. At the age of 13, I told myself that I was going to be better than the caps' extraordinary, I was going to be a great product of Atlanta, Georgia. Recently, I found myself wondering and asking myself open questions that all seemed to revolve around the field of psychology. The most current question is: based on the class separations observed throughout history that were based on one's skin complexion, even within the same race or ethnic group, what was it that

In an effort to explain the impact of colorism in black communities, Rita B. Dandridge once stated, “In African American culture, class bias is the handmaiden of intraracial prejudice that privileges the near-white or light-complexioned person over the darker-hued.” These privileges include more desirable jobs, houses in more prestigious neighborhoods, and better educational opportunities based on one having a lighter skin complexion. Since whites have more privileges in society simply based on the color of their skin, it is common for blacks to want to be white or be able to at least pass as white. In the short story, “Sweetness” by the author Toni Morrison, the character Sweetness faces the struggles of raising a dark skin girl during

It is not well understood exactly why women tend to have lighter skin tones that men, it was thought that this was due to the difference in sun exposure as men worked outside more than women, however, Jablonski states that because the discrepancy is based on skin tone that is not exposed to the sun, this is not the reason. “The discrepancy due to skin color is due to more than sun exposure habits; it is indicative of an underlying and genetically based set of causes” (64). The research into these causes is still carrying on as they have not found the precise reasoning, but the possibility that the lighter skin for women would be a way to ensure their health during pregnancy and breastfeeding is hypothesized but there is not enough experimental evidence (70). This is an area that I would like to have more information on as new research discloses. This chapter also discusses the hypothesis of sexual selection as a reason for the gap between the sexes, as men may have preferred lighter skinned women and the different variations for the reasoning of this, however, there is a lack of empirical evidence

Colorism is the prejudice or discrimination against individuals with a dark skin tone, typically among people of the same ethnic or racial group. Colorism has been one of the most prominent dividing factors amongst multitudes of ethnicities and cultures. Lighter skin has been associated with higher levels of intelligence, wealth, attractiveness, and more. As a result, those of darker complexions have undergone drastic and harmful measures in order to meet these restrictive beauty standards. Advertisements exhibit men and women with creamy white skin and silky straight hair. Companies have profited off of colorism by selling skin bleaching and hair straightening products. The damage colorism has created amongst communities physically and psychologically is deplorable.

This is prominent in the African American community; it is often taught at a young age that if you are of darker complexion or have a curlier hair texture you are not as pretty as the lighter complexioned girl that you might know. It is assumed that the media is to blame for this way of thinking. Youth and teens are self conscious enough without these negative “airbrushed” and unrealistic images put forth in the media.