COLOURISM
In everyday parlance, mention is not largely made of colourism. What you find in various forms of literature, bother mostly on ethnicity and racism, and almost never on colourism. Many people still mistaken colourism for racism. Such that while the society tries fervently to eschew racism, colourists are left to freely wallow in their strange pleasure. Colourism is a rarely talked about topic in secular discussions. In view of that I thought it wise to share what I have learnt about colourism with you.
Colourism as a term was propounded by Alice Walker in 1982. It is also known by many as shadeism. It may be conceived as a form of discrimination or prejudice in which people are treated differently based on their complexion. In contemporary times, however, colourism has leaned towards a form of discrimination against people who are relatively darker in skin colour.
Colourism is not a form of racial discrimination. The roots of racism run deeper than just one’s skin colour. However it may be argued that, colourism is one of the branches of racism or a branch of racism. Ancestry and several factors may contribute to racism however colourism is solely dependent upon one’s skin colour. Research has found that colourism is predominant in criminal justice, business, labor, marketing, housing and et cetera, where people are favoured for jobs and various positions based on their skin colour and not merit.
Studies have shown that lighter-skinned people are more preferable to their dark counterparts. This is very true of countries in Africa, India (Wikipedia.com), Europe and the Americas. So wherever you find yourself, the roots of colourism run there.
WHAT ARE THE IMPACTS OF COLOURISM?
Research has revealed several extensive evidences of colourism in hiring in the North-American and European labour markets, where the light-skinned ones are largely preferred to the dark-skinned ones. Recent research in the United States of America also shows that socioeconomic and health inequality along the colour continuum is often similar or larger in magnitude than what ensues between whites and African Americans as a whole. This revelation suggests that colourism is not something which can be unintelligibly blamed on the whites as it is a canker which runs wild even in the black or African community. This is very true even of African countries where dark-skinned people are sarcastically called “black beauty.” This is some form of colouristic scorn which is used to mock the dark-skinned ones in the African community where light-skinned people are almost adored by the masses.
However recent reports in France also suggest a shift in preference towards dark-skinned people in white communities. This rather paradigm shift is accredited to Frenchwoman Coco Chanel who made tanned people seem fashionable.
There are other various evidences of colourism especially in the cosmetics industry where people have come up with various skin colour enhancers in a bid to lighten or darken their skin. People strive day in day out to keep their skin colour in line with society’s preference. Which is why in Africa, skin products which lighten people largely sell out. But there is a big question which seemed to have conveniently been stuffed into obliviousness.
SHOULD IT MATTER WHETHER ONE IS DARK OR LIGHT SKINNED?
I believe the situation where people are favoured on the basis of their skin colour is preposterous as it is insulting to nature. It shouldn’t matter whether one is light skinned or dark skinned. One’s complexion is a natural phenomenon or should I say boils down to the scientific make-up of their parents such that it doesn’t behoove the individual’s preference. Discrimination along the colour continuum is not only insulting to nature but also a sign of illiteracy. I find it very astonishing that it is prevalent in entertainment, politics, the labour market, criminal justice and almost every facet of human endeavour. With the drastic improvement in technology and the like, one would think, human behavior would be on an equal or a competitive rise such that such irrelevance will be stuffed down the toilet where it belongs.
It may not seem so glaring but the practice of awarding jobs and contracts to people based on their skin colour and not merit contributes to the stunted growth of African economies. It may not seem so grave however there is a well-known adage which goes: little drops of water makes a mighty ocean.
As regards one’s race, skin colour counts a lot. Africans are known for their relatively darker skin colour such that wherever one finds themselves they are able to almost instantly connect with their African counterparts. Therefore the practice whereby people start patronizing cosmetics which seek to lighten their complexion is a threat to the African race itself. This may seem like an exaggerated argument however could anyone tell what would happen to the African race if in the next decade every African became light-skinned or white? Some would argue that being light-skinned is not equivalent to being white, however black is the symbol for African. In our educational systems we are taught to embrace black as a colour which holds an almost sacred place in African history. It must therefore be treated as such.
The bottom line is, it shouldn’t matter whether one is dark or light skinned. It doesn’t define anyone.
I can go on and on about colourism but there is only so much one can say. I hope that you now have a fair idea of colourism. Enough to make an argument I hope. I’m out. hahahahahahaha
Post created and written by @khojo, Edited and posted by @camzy
All images were gotten from PIXABAY
I agree that colourism is a branch of what has become racism. As you mentioned racism stems back to many different ways of separating people such as in the criminal justice system, scientists used to say those with large bridged noses and foreheads or a more humped scalp were more likely to be criminal, but those traits often belonged to people who had darker skin.
It is insulting in so many ways that nature made skin a certain colour in order to deal with melanin and sun exposure depending on where our decedents were. Thank you for this article.
Thank you for this article. I have never even heard of the word "colourism". Very enlightening and educational!