Colorism can be defined as the discrimination of someone based on their skin complexion. This usually occurs within people of the same racial group. Colorism is prominent in black and Asian communities. I am mainly going to focus on colorism in the black community, particularly against black females. I have addressed this topic in previous blog posts but want to dissect this topic on a deeper level.
Recently the rapper Ghetts made a tune called 'Black Rose' which addresses the issue of colorism. I will quote some of his lyrics throughout this post.
The genesis of colorism occurred when Europeans colonised numerous countries where the native people were of a darker complexion. There was also the enslavement of African people. During this time, Europeans imposed their white supremacist ideologies and beliefs on the native people. This included the belief that white women were the epitome of beauty and femininity whereas darker women were not.
We have been conditioned to believe that the closer you are to whiteness, the more beautiful you are. We are also taught that dark skin, kinky hair and African phenotypes are “ugly”. In our communities mixed raced women (black & white) or light skin black women are deemed to be more beautiful. This is due to their proximity to whiteness. The more white you look the more beautiful you are, the more black you look, the uglier you are. That is why females who have lighter skin, lighter eyes, looser textured hair and European features are deemed more beautiful by society's standards than those who look more "black". There also seems to be a fetishisation of mixed people. There are even people out there who purposely choose partners that will give them mixed race children.
"they’ll be brothers same colour as her Pappa who will not be showing any sort of interest"
What saddens me is that many black men perpetuate and reinforce this narrative. They make comments such as “dark skin girls are ugly” “I only like lighties” “I only date light skin women” (things I've heard first hand from dark skin men). Many black men in music praise lighter skin women and make references to this in their rap lyrics . Some black men say that light skin females are just their preference, but the question is where did this preference come from? Why do some black men only see beauty in lighter shades and not in darker shades? How can a dark skin black man look at a black women of the same shade and have the audacity to say that he could never date her because of her skin color? This is clearly a sign of internalised self hatred because he refuses to date a woman who is a reflection of him.
"Disrespecting women who remind them of their mothers...sisters...cousins"
There is also the normalisation of disrespecting dark skin black women. There seems to be a trend of people whose old tweets come to light when they had said very disrespectful things about dark skin black women, but then justify it by saying “I was young” . This is not an excuse. Why is it that it is a "phase" to disrespect black women? why are people so comfortable with disrespecting dark skin women? why is it acceptable? this should never be normalised. There seems to be a hatred towards dark skin women in society (I talk more about this my blog post 'Misogynoir')
"These Kayne's have not become important to the Kim's yet"
In the media we constantly see successful Black men parading their light skin or non black partners more than we see them parade a dark skin partner (though there are some that do). It seems that amongst some black men having a lighter skin partner is a trophy. There are some black men who desire mixed/light skin women over a dark skin woman. This constant portrayal makes some dark skinned women feel undesirable and unattractive. I'm sure there are many dark skin females who have experienced being overlooked by guys for their lighter skin friend.
"Brothers back home using cake soap"
There is also light skin privilege, in the entertainment industry it is evident that lighter skinned women are more successful than their darker skinned counterparts . Beyoncé's father had stated that part of Beyonce's success is due to her being light skin. Most black women who are at the top tend to be of a lighter complexion. It is much harder for a dark skin women to achieve the same level of success despite the hard work they put in. Having lighter skin gives you more opportunities. Therefore, some people try to obtain this standard by lightening their skin to fit into society's standard of beauty.
"So who’s fighting for the sisters then? When their own brothers keep on dissing them"
When black women try to speak out about colorism we are told that we are bitter and angry. Our feelings are dismissed as if our experiences aren’t important. We are not “angry” women, we are hurt and trying to explain how we feel. We have emotions, we feel pain, we feel hurt we feel undesired. We live in society where being black and being a woman makes us deal with discrimination at a higher rate and puts us as the bottom of western society's totem pole. But some black men are not willing to listen and actually understand where we are coming from. From what I've seen, black women tend to defend black men more than black men will defend black woman. This is why I respect Ghetts for making Black Rose as it highlights the colorism issue in our community. Hopefully, it will challenge the thinking of black men, especially those with colorist ideologies.
"I love all types a women, Variety is ok"
I see beauty in all shades of women. I am not against black men dating lighter skin women, I only have an issue when black men refuse to see the beauty in women share their complexion and put them down while uplifting lighter skin women.
"Eww his black and his ugly Naaaahh I’m black and im lovely"
Dark skin is beautiful skin, black people should not put down another black person just because their skin is darker. There is no such thing as being "too black" or being "too dark", if you believe there is then you are clearly part of the problem and a colorist. We need to embrace ALL shades of black within our community and help to uplift and support each other.
So to my dark skin queens out there:
"No matter what they say you are beautiful"