Chapter Five: Colorism and Skin-Color Stratification By Tanya Maria Golash-Boza 1

Colorism Colorism : refers to how—within a racial group— people are ranked as more deserving and superior based on their phenotype (physical appearance). This could include shade of skin color, the shape of one’s eyes, nose, the kind of hair, and the color of one’s eyes. 2

Aspects of Colorism Colorism does not necessarily indicate a desire to be white, however. It may indicate a desire to match the ideal form of beauty within that group which may have been influenced by white standards of beauty. 3

Skin-Color Stratification Groups have an internal group scaling system, such as that lighter skinned people are seen as more capable and beautiful and darker skinned members are not provided as many opportunities. For blacks, this has an origin in slavery where lighter skinned blacks worked as slaves in other places other than the heavy labor of the fields. 4

In Harlem in the 1920s, the black elite were disproportionately light-skinned. p. 127: Photographs and Prints Division, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations

Beyoncé on the cover of People magazine as the “World’s Most Beautiful Woman.” Many prominent female African American stars are very light- skinned. p. 139: AP Photo/People

Across a Range of Ethnoracial Groups This preference for light skin is present in Latina, South Asian, and other Asian ethnoracial groups. This is not just a phenomenon for preference in beauty but translates into everyday lived opportunities. 7

A box of Fair & Lovely, a skinlightening cream from New Delhi, India. p. 131: Bloomberg via Getty Images

A billboard advertising a skin-lightening product called Khess Petch in Dakar, Senegal. p. 135: AFP/Getty Images

Across a Range of Ethnoracial Groups Women all over the world use products to lighten their skin through skin bleaching. They use these products for different reasons. Some of these products are harmful to a woman’s health. For some the product is sold as if it would make a woman more attractive and a good marriage prospect. 10

Skin-whitening creams for various parts of the body are widely available around the world. A new area of product development in Thailand and other Eastern countries is vaginal whitening creams, such as Lactacyd White. p. 130: © epa european pressphoto agency b.v./Alamy

Figure 5-1. Percentage of Women in African Cities and Countries Who Use Skin- Bleaching Products In many African cities, over half of women report using skin-bleaching products. Source: Lewis et al. (2011); Kpanake, Munoz Sastre, and Mullet (2009). Figure 5-1: Lewis et al 2011; Kpanake, Saster, and Mullet 2010

Material Rewards of Light Skin and “White” Features “Having light skin has real, material rewards for Latinos in the United States in terms of education and income.” (p. 133) Additionally, in another study Latinas with light skin had higher rates of marriage than darker skinned Latinas. Some Asian women get eyelid reduction surgery. Companies that do business in more than one country also advertise these products in a way that favors white appearances. 13

Over 100 social categories can be identified in these casta paintings from the Spanish colonies. p. 128: Las castas. Museo Nacional del Virreinato, Tepotzotlán, Mexico

Material Rewards of Light Skin “Beauty divides women through competition and diverts their attention to their physical appearance and away from other oppressive forces in their lives.” (p. 139) The “beauty queue” notion refers to a system that enables lighter-skinned women to have more resources than darker-skinned women. 15

The Costs of Light Skin “Colorism, it turns out, is a manifestation of racism that further splits fractured groups into an internal hierarchy related to color. At the same time, since race is closely tied to identity, there are costs to being perceived as too light or, especially too white.” (p. 143) 16

Conclusion “Physical attractiveness serves as capital for both men and women, but patriarchy has created a situation in which women must depend more than men on their physical appearance.” (p. 143) Therefore, women may turn to products or surgery to make them more presentable, but not necessarily to make themselves appear “white.” 17