According to Research, Colourism is Still a Problem
When there’s racism, there’s also colourism.
This might be an unfamiliar term, but for those who have experienced it, it’s a term they know very well.
Colourism: “Prejudice or discrimination against individuals with a dark skin tone, typically among people of the same ethnic or racial group.”¹ In other words, those with a lighter skin tone tend to be more favoured than those whose skin colour is darker.
Some call it ‘light-skin privilege’.
According to the British Top 40 chart of 2017, 17 out of 68 female solo artists were of black heritage, but the majority of these female artists were lighter-skinned.² It seems to be down to a matter of appeal — people, in general, think that those with a lighter skin colour are more attractive, so all the attention falls on them.
However, one can argue that a change can be seen within the media. One big change I saw was in TV and film with directors casting darker-skinned individuals. For example, the cast of Black Panther are mostly dark-skinned actors and actresses.
Although this diversity is apparent in the media, colourism is still a very big problem elsewhere, especially in Asia. The growth in accepting darker skin tones is evident but slow. East Asian countries favour those who are lighter skinned and because of this, countries in Southeast Asia are getting more and more influenced. According to Synovate, a global marketing firm, almost 40% of women use skin whitening and lightening products in countries such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines.⁴
This obsession with having lighter skin stems from history and can be traced as early as the Han period.
Anne Rose Kitagawa, an assistant curator of Japanese art at Harvard’s Sackler Museum, stated that the “feminine ideal during the Han period for women of the court was almost unearthly white, white skin. Moon-like roundish faces, long black hair. You can see how a culture that maintained that as an early ideal might continue with an ideal that light skin equals beauty.”⁵ Thus, this view on having lighter skin became a symbol of economic status.
As a child growing up in the Philippines, whenever I ventured outside to play, my mum would always tell me to never stay out in the sun for too long due to the fact that I’ll become tanner and darker. At a young age, I never really understood why.
Having lighter skin somehow meant that you were from a rich family — a family who could afford workers, maids, etc. If you had a darker skin tone, this automatically meant that you were part of the latter — you worked in the fields with the word ‘poor’ etched on your forehead.
Every time I went back to the Philippines for a holiday, whitening and lightening products were stamped everywhere. Shops contained a variety of whitening lotions from different brands and adverts telling you that ‘fairer’ skin was the best way to go were in every corner.
There was an instant when I felt so disgusted, yet I was unable to voice my own opinions because I had to stay polite. During my holiday, I was adviced by a family friend to stay away from black and darker skinned men when it came to the dating scene.
“Your children will end up dark, and you don’t want that,” she said and I imagined smacking her with a brick. I had to stay polite towards a person whose words didn’t emanate politeness. But this made me realise that colourism and racism are closely related to one another, even though their meanings are completely different. In a way, colourism can be seen as racism within one’s own race. I certainly see it that way.
When compared to countries such as England, most people are seen sun bathing during summer to attain a tanner complexion; friends and families even plan holidays to venture to hotter countries in order to enjoy the different climate, but to also come back with a darker skin tone.
While store shelves in Asian countries are stocked with skin whitening products, people in the UK seem to celebrate the idea of having a darker skin tone since most shops contain self-tanning products. The majority call it a ‘fake tan’.
According to Statista, as of 2017, Belfast became the “UK’s capital for fake tan” with 19% of individuals applying tanning products on their skin, either by themselves or professionally, over 12 months⁶. I’ve also seen tanning shops whilst walking around town, whereas, the Philippines was the opposite.
Colourism can also be seen as an influence stemming from moments in history. Philippines was once colonised by Spain and America, which could be the reason why doting on those with lighter skin tones is apparent — the idea that superiority comes with having fairer skin was helped established by the Spanish and the Americans.⁷
Likewise, in other Asian countries, historical moments play a big part in this issue. According to historian Gerald Horne, the Allies’ victory in the second world war shaped this idea of light skin superiority:
“An aspiration of many in Asia toward whiteness is a reflection of the idea that the North Atlantic Powers were the ‘winners’, and therefore, they need to be imitated.”⁸
Could this be the case with colourism within the black community as well? The enslavement of black individuals in the past is profound and is still remembered in the present day, but could this tragic history of slavery be the cause of colourism? People labelling those who have lighter skin colours as beautiful may be influenced by history without them knowing; it could also be a matter of preference.
According to research, colourism still exists today, and I’m hoping a day will come when no one feels less beautiful because of the colour of their skin.
References:
2–3. Wilson, Cherry. ‘Colourism: Do light-skinned black women have it easier in showbiz?’. BBC Newsbeat. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-44229236
4–5, 8. Martin, Phillip. ‘Why white skin is all the rage in Asia’. PRI Global Post. https://www.pri.org/stories/2009-11-25/why-white-skin-all-rage-asia
6. McCarthy, Niall. ‘The UK’s fake tan capitals’. Statista. https://www.statista.com/chart/10099/the-uks-fake-tan-capitals/
7. ‘Colourism in the Philippines’. UBC Wiki. https://wiki.ubc.ca/Colourism_in_the_Philippines
