Light Skin is Palatable for White Consumption
At this point, the concept of racism is a household term. Though many people are fundamentally misguided on the differences between micro-aggressions and the reality of systemic racism, it’s still not a word that needs much explaining. Colorism, however, is a concept that dark skin women continue to explain time and time again to no avail. The fact that this discussion continues to fall on deaf ears is proof alone of its existence.
In order to understand colorism, we need to know where it originated in history. Christopher Charles, Ph.D, a senior lecturer in political psychology at University of the West Indies, explains that “It’s about following standards that are dictated by Eurocentrism. It’s a response to hundreds of years of colonial indoctrination that has been passed down through socialization.”
Colorism, as defined by Edward Ademolu, “is an intra-racial complexion-based hierarchy, that often affords societal, cultural and economic privileges for lighter-skinned people and discrimination against those with darker complexions. Some academics have even proposed that this may influence a persons’ life chances as much as ‘race’ itself.”
