In the black community, some women and men believe light skin is perceived as prettier compared to dark skin, it is called colorism.
Colorism is the act of being rejected by your own race because your skin is a shade darker or not light enough. It is more or less black on black discrimination, as if whites’ discriminating against blacks wasn’t enough. Lighter-skinned people are perceived as smarter, wiser, and prettier than that of a dark-skinned person.
This goes all the way back to slavery when light-skinned blacks got better treatment, and were the ones that worked in the house . Now, even in movies and music videos , the light-skinned men and women are more privileged. Someone of a lighter shade would be considered for the top positions. There are even bleaching and skin lightening products for those that want to be lighter. There is also bullying in schools due to colorism. When we leave out self-hatred against skin color, we are still left with colorism. I was told that, in order to be successful, you have to become white. I am hoping that one day, racism and colorism will soon come to pass.
In addition, black women are the least dated demographic because of colorism as well. But colorism does not only affect women and it is not just in relation to the African American community. Colorism ultimately starts with us. My life and experiences made me bias against anything that promotes or advertises colorism in any way. I want to show my peers what self-hatred of color is, to help establish a better knowledge of the world today.
The comparison between light and dark complexion has no comparison, but to our background it does. What people see and how people see them are usually caused by our history, when slavery was the only form of discrimination we knew. It touches on our history of how whites see us as blacks, and how blacks prefer us.
The hatred of color is changing us as people. Color biases don’t make the world any better, and it’s much deeper than any discrimination that was brought on this earth. I was once told that color bias within blacks was too deep to ever be abolished. Unfortunately, we live in a world that considers dark skin to be evil. But soon one day, people will be able to accept us whether we are light or dark, or black or white because we all have a face in the world. It shouldn’t be an issue; it is just the color of your skin.
“I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” - Martin Luther King Jr.
With Love,
Beauty is Skin Deep
