Are Black People Today Aware of Colorism? An Exploration of Colorism and the Impact it has on Black People
Open Access
Author:
Thiam, Diaka
Area of Honors:
Letters, Arts, and Sciences
Degree:
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Dr. David J Hutson, Thesis Supervisor Dr. David E Ruth, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
colorism skin tone stratification discrimination skin tone bias media self-esteem skin tone satisfaction
Abstract:
Colorism is understood as discrimination based on skin tone (Hunter 2007). It is a phenomenon that is not often discussed in today’s society. Previous studies have focused on Eurocentric beauty standards (Hill 2002), as well as the impact of colorism on people with Light Skin and Dark Skin tones. However, the way Black people view their skin tone as either positive or negative has yet to be fully explored. To investigate how aware Black people are of colorism, I created a survey that measured body image satisfaction and self-esteem, skin tone satisfaction and personal history, media and cultural attitudes, and advantages and disadvantages. A total of 253 Black/African-American people between the ages of 18-31+ qualified to take the survey. I found that people with Light Skin tone had the most positive perception of their skin tone in the media when compared to people with Medium/Brown and Dark Skin tones. People with Light Skin tone have more positive feelings about their own physical attractiveness than people with Medium/ Brown and Dark Skin tones, and people with Dark Skin are more likely to want to change their skin tone. Based on these findings, colorism is a phenomenon that requires further research, as skin tone stratification remains an issue in Black/African-American communities.
