I heard a simple sentence today that hit me hard. A phrase that opened my eyes even more to the painfully monoethnic society that overpowers America. That simple phrase that carries so much impact was, "You never had to search for a band-aid in your skin color." If you are a white American, take a moment and process that. Something as minuscule as a finding a bandage to match your skin color is something you would have never thought twice about. As a white American you have the skin color that society deems privileged enough to be the sole color of their product.
Now take a moment to think of the makeup industry. As an employee in a retail store that specializes in makeup, I promise that you will find the same privilege you see in band-aids in makeup. I'm a white female who has VERY fair skin and it is difficult finding my correct shade in concealer and foundation. I can't imagine how difficult it is for women of color. Looking at the shade options for both drug-store and high-end brands, you can find about 6-7 different shades of "fair," "ivory," or "beige," but the shades seem to stop at what appears to be a very deep "tan." If you don't trust me please feel free to take a look for yourself next time you're on the hunt for a new foundation.
So what are we learning here from my analysis of band-aid and foundation shades? Our country has a deeply rooted idea that white is a default skin tone. An idea that white is a default ethnicity. An idea that white is what is right. Let this be the moment you wake up to an idea I had seemed to sleep on for too long. Because I took my own skin color for granted. I never faced the struggles the black and dark-skinned latinx communities have faced for so long which meant for me that there was no problem at all. Ignorance is bliss. This is exactly how many white Americans feel about other issues, LARGER issues, that people of color face in America. White Americans don't experience daily microaggressions, so they don't understand the issue or see it as a problem. White Americans aren't victim to the school-to-prison pipeline, so many aren't even aware that it's "a thing." There are countless other deeply rooted, systematically white-privileged issues in America that only people of color can see due to ignorant bliss.
So take a moment and reflect on your band-aids.
Reflect on what else you may be unknowingly benefiting from.
Reflect on your privilege.
Now, I ask you...
What are you going to do about it?
