Does colorism exist in 2017?
In several of the texts we have
read this first half of the semester, specifically in Homegoing and Soul by Soul,
we see a preference for a certain skin tone. The lighter, and the whiter the
skin tone, the better. Or have we? My first answer to this question would be
yes, but the two main works of literature that we have read thus far, Homegoing and Soul by Soul, present different accounts of what skin tone
represents.
In Soul by Soul, slaves at the market are characterized and divided.
The men and women are divided, and then further divided based on things such as
skin tone. Lighter-skinned Black men and women seem to fare better than darker-skinned
men and women. Skin tone is what sets them apart. Darker-skinned men and women are
assumed to be better at working in the fields that their lighter counterparts.
Lighter men are seen are more fitting for less harsh work (mechanics, etc.),
while lighter-skinned women often fetch the highest prices at the slave market
because they are seen as being “delicate” and more beautiful. They are brought
for the purpose of being in the house or being sexual objects for their
masters. Interesting enough, a light-skinned Black person can be seen as “too
White,” making it hard to sell that person for fear that they could easily run
away.
In Homegoing, however, it seems as though White people are frowned
upon, people do not understand why their skin is so white. Effia and some of
the other people in the village are intrigued at the sight of white people, but
not consumed by envy as one may think. They do not once say that they perceive white
skin or lighter-skinned Black people as being more beautiful. When Adwoa Aidoo
is mentioned as having light skin, she is not glamorized. Her physical
characteristics are simply stated, as is every other person. Quey’s light skin
tone is embarrassing to him because he does not fully fit in with the White or
Black people. His lightness makes the Africans, especially his wife, see him as
“weak.”
Does colorism exist today in 2017? I
remember growing up and skin tone being a big deal, but the older I have
gotten, the less important it seems. However, if people take an IAT on race, or
implicit association test, the majority of people categorize darker people as
being more violent and associated with more negative words. This means that
without thinking about it, and when only giving seconds to chose an answer,
most people get the same results. I provided a link for anyone wanting to take
one to find out his or her results. You may be surprised.
Alexis-
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you asked this question. I've been thinking about this a lot lately. More recently, I've come to the conclusion that colorism exist based on your audience. Although I just provided an answer, I think it's hard to just decide if it exist or not. What makes it hard is European beauty standards mixed with Black beauty standards. We present the two as separate things when they overlap in many ways. Furthermore, we live in a white world that thrives off of the separating light and dark black people. I think something else to take into consideration is how we perform blackness and where mixed race identities fit in within that. Both of my parents are black and not a week goes by that one or two people tell me I'm mixed because of the color of my hair or my nose resembling a white pointy nose. This kind of points towards your claim of darker people being more violent but in this sense, darker people being perceived as performing blackness more often. (I'm not sure if this makes 100% sense, if not, we can talk about it more after class)