Guest Author: Savannah Williams, recent high school graduate
How do you define the word colorism? I don’t think there’s truly a relevant definition, but here’s what Google told me: "Colorism is a form of prejudice or discrimination in which people who are usually members of the same race are treated differently based on the social implications which come with the cultural meanings which are attached to skin color." Don’t you think that was super confusing, they could have just said colorism is prejudice or discrimination especially within a racial or ethnic group favoring people with lighter skin over those with darker skin. See plain, simple and straight to it.
Growing up with darker toned skin the TV’s, commercials, even music videos could have you convinced that dark skins are considered ugly. Oh how I hate to use that word, but how do you say that nicely. Never seeing a lot of dark skinned girls in ads, or TV shows could make any girl or boy grow up hating his or her own skin but that’s just the beginning because that’s what the media does to you. You’re forced to watch what society only considered beautiful and that’s light-skinned girls. It is the belief that someone with any degree of lighter complexion is considered more beautiful or valuable than someone with dark skin. Imagine growing and having to remind your son or daughter they're handsome or beautiful every day because you know when they go outside someone might tell them different.
Research has found extensive evidence of discrimination based on skin color in criminal justice, business, the economy, housing, health care, media, and politics in the United States and Europe. Skin-color favoritism affects perceptions and interactions in ways that are at once overnice and heartfelt. Since Kenneth and Mamie Clark’s famous doll study of the 1950s, researchers have known that young people of color are greatly aware of our nation’s derision for all that is dark. Color-conscious banter between students reflects unconscious and unspoken biases—otherwise called implicit biases—that favor lighter skin.
Bibliography:
Meriam Webster
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