Colorism is not an issue that emerged in America in the 21st century, but it has been a historical problem articulated to slavery. The issue has been vivid in societal develops and has altered the African Americans self-acknowledgment methods. Colorism also affected their identities. African Americans believe that color bias reveals how they associate with the other individuals of various diversified groups. In the black community, the color gap in privilege has a historical basis in the combined sexual and race connections of servants and their masters. The two associations created color disparities one-sided and separation of benefit from the darker and light-skinned African Americans.
This social separation was aggravated by the belief system of racial domination that European pilgrims initiated, which incorporated the relationship of dark skin color with obscurity, unrestrained sexuality, the absence of human progress, dirt and contamination. In this manner, colorism is a marvel that merits in-depth study and critical evaluation.
In various perspectives, color awareness articulated to African American group is seen as an inheritance of servitude[1]. This is seconded by the fact that the off springs for slave women and the white men were awarded better treatment and medical administration that “pure “Africans.
Black people Slave proprietors viewed black people more qualified for brutal and harsh open-air fieldwork and on their own. On the same note, naturally lighter kids were suited for house servant chores. Lighter cleaned African Americans were prone to manageable opportunities and education.
Several authors have identified that history of colorism in America originated from slavery. Intersexual acts and color consciousness of slaves and masters were a vital drive to colorism. The birth of mulattoes posted challenges to African motherhood and in family systems. It led to divisions in the African American community. Author Kennan [2]explains how white hair is perceived as good hair whereas African hair is seen kinky and bad. The author distinguishes the fundamental subject as the misconception among blacks that being lighter is the norm of excellence. Additionally, Keenan exhibits that disguised prejudice has made negative relationships with black ladies with conventional African attributes. Fears[3]
depicts the degree to which Dark ladies experience to evacuate those highlights which have gathered disgrace in American culture at large.
According to author Hill[4] Colorism is a pattern of association in which Africans who were darker were rejected by light-skinned Americans. The author demonstrates how light-skinned Africans are viewed to be more attractive and intelligent because of their hair texture and skin tone and they firmly near the whites in resemblance. Intergroup racism among African Americans has an impact on the individual concept of Black people[5]. Racial socialization commences in childhood to adulthood and has adverse effects on the future generation of black children. Intergroup racism gears to intra-amass prejudice which has a familiar repercussion on self-concept and racial personality. According to, color consciousness is termed as American slavery associated psychological effect.
Color awareness is oppression that frequents the African American people and contends that this profoundly instilled thought has fostered continuity in the culture. In several researches, the effect of subjugation on the view of African Americans, author endeavors to negate the far-reaching conviction of inadequacy identified with darker skin. In any case, this disadvantaged and very biased perspective of darker skin tones traits still influences the Dark people group and manifests prevailingly in various ways.
Discrimination
Some adages and colorism quote still embrace color consciousness up to date. For instance, “Don’t play in the sun. You’re going to have to get a light-skinned husband for the sake of your children as it is.”
Many African American communities have grown up listening and hearing to such comments. Therefore undeniably it is true that this sort of socialization keeps on perpetuating internalized prejudice and has impacted the group by instilling psychological, relational, emotional, instructive, physical, social and financial effects on its individuals. Although colorism is viewed to have affected the black community, it can also negatively impact people of any skin tone. This implies that colorism is not strictly tied to the African American community.
Despite the darkness of skin, colorism experience has affected most of the members in this practice. Several individuals feel neglected due to their skin tone and therefore face discrimination from both intra and inter discrimination. The discourse on "good versus bad hair" idea has ignited numerous conversations, battles on play areas, and a progression of published journals and motion pictures that talk about it.[6]. Light skinned people particularly grapple with the historical backdrop over the whiteness in them and what that implies amid their racial identity development. According to[7] the African American women usually feel different from their friends. The critical lead to this is what their communities educated them about skin complexity. Color variations and social composition of the surrounding has also sparked towards this. Additionally, the skin tone among African American women has furthermore influenced their choice of allies and partners, impacted their seen character by whites, and generated varied experiences in an adolescent. In general, internalized racism among African American women has revealed ordeals of blatant racism.
The impact of colorism has impacted African American lives on multiple aspects. In diversified researches, colorism has affected attractive, life chances, self-esteem, mate selection and attributed self-worth. Research indicates that African American women have been heavily impacted by colorism when compared to black men. Light skinned Black women have mainly benefited when compared to pure black women who have encountered most negative reactions. In precise, adverse effects on African American community is universal and pervasive, but it is more harmful to black women.
Media presentation
Investigations were conducted to view how light and dull skinned African American ladies are portrayed in media pictures. Several surveys conducted regarding African American ladies in media portrayals have been specific to the roles they played, their character themes and missing in specific advertisements cumulatively. Past investigation that involved colorism found that ladies with more Eurocentric highlights were probably included in article photographs and commercials in 60's up to 90's[8]. According to[9] the more present pictures of dark women in publications tends to speak an adjusted light skinned lady. In spite of the fact that portrayals tended to be more adjusted in announcements, descriptors, for example, "delightful and lovely" were considerably more inclined pictures of lighter skinned women.
Mullings[10]Says that published images in editorials, magazines and advertisements are likely to have lighter skin contra dental. The suggestion is that pictures containing romanticized ladies affect fulfillment of the body on self perception among black ladies.
Attractiveness
In this discussion, attractiveness cannot be neglected. Above the determinants that influence both light and dark skinned ladies, desirability and attractiveness is core. Light skinned women are articulated to better life results, spouses and higher income. The ascribing standards of beauty have generated social and historical discords to lighter skinned women. In social, family and dating contexts, the color tone has created complexities of the relationship among African American women. The past of ladies with lighter skins as more appealing to men still plagues black society and affects how both light and black skinned women perceive themselves. Skin tone can be conceptualized as a sign of emblematic capital that does not determine but changes life opportunities among people. The connection via judgments and skin complexion about attractiveness influence ladies intensely, because ladies' worth is judged vigorously based on appearance. For instance, women with right body shapes are considered desirable even with the lack of other essential attributes.
Across the globe, women have undergone discrimination in an attempt to amend their appearance to increment their social value. Several countries like India, South Africa, USA and Mexico have experienced escalated rates of colorism. The media images have incremented the desire for light-skinned women to appear more white. This has generated markets for organizations that produce skin bleaching products. According to in-depth research done by[11]
the perception of attractiveness has been apparent across African American women. The analysis indicated that skin complexity was one of the key predictors of attractive to opposite gender.
Mate selection
The study performed by[12] showed that African American men believed that African American women preferred dark-skinned men. On the other hand, African American women ascertained that dark men admired lighter and white women in companionship. This has purported the leftover effects of gender and color changes that were experienced amid subjugation period. Dark skinned males were perceived to be more aggressive and sexual. On the same note, a lighter female is viewed to be more acceptable and attractive. Intriguing ramifications associated with researchers imply that opposite gender merely preferred the dark or light skinned companionship orderly.
The mysterious male gender has a high affinity for medium brownstone partners. Women who do not fit in the male preferred category usually have low self-esteem and feel unworthy. This exemplifies why many dark-skinned African American women are at risk of suffering low self-esteem and stigma.
The fundamentally unbalanced proportion of available dark men to ladies dictates hardship experienced by black ladies when they are left over in disguise as black men consider light and white women more admirable. Therefore African American ladies are exposed to therapy and stay single for longer.
Self-esteem
African Americans view their skin color in different dimensions due to stereotype articulated to their color preference and attractiveness[13]. There are those who positively consider their color as a source of pride and those that view their skin color as a mark of oppression. This has adversely impacted self acknowledgement and confidence among African American ladies in light of their impression of the assessment of others. Observing black personality as a mark of abuse has led to limited chances of self-efficacy among the African Americans. Researchers based on assessments show that dark cleaned African American ladies have low confidence and self-esteem due to the skin complexion.
Methodology
As a medium conditioned African American young lady under eighteen, I am not excluded from encounters of colorism from other groups. I have encountered both benefits and discrimination because of my skin tone. My way of life as a dark colored young lady has framed my comprehension of administrative issues and race of colorism in the African American society. I will begin this project to have students talk from their particular encounters, not exclusively to have such significant subject composed but also to open my eyes and increment my comprehension of issues around skin tone inclination.
This study utilized individual interviews, semi-structured interviews and focused groups to investigate the experiences that African American high school students gathered on discrimination based on their skin tone. This is a qualitative study incorporated a sample of twenty-four African American students of varied hues (light, medium, and dark skin tones) to explain their experiences and perception on colorism. The students engaged in individual discussions on their expertise, intended to lessen potential defensiveness and to inspire their encounters of separation in light of skin tone. The sample for the research project includes twenty-four high school students, the total number of participants from three objected groups (light, brown, and dark skin tone). As my target population was adolescent High school boys and girls between the ages of 14 and 18, the investigation populace was chosen from a comfort test of African-American students who attend Port Charlotte and Charlotte high school.
Participants were given a brief explanation of what colorism is if they had no idea of the concept.
Focus group and Individual Interview
The objected group strategy utilizes group meetings to produce learning on a particular subject of premium. They are utilized to figure out how individuals discuss a phenomenon via group cooperation. This research venture comprises of two phases of information accumulation that will be audio-taped. Phase I, comprised of three focus groups (light, medium, dark). Participants will be discussing the positive and negative stereotypes of their self-ascribed skin tone group. To incorporate an agent sample and to address the issue of legitimacy, I made sure that each objected group included members with comparative skin tones, to make participants confident and appreciated while sharing their experiences. Phase II; consist of individual interviews that will have in-depth type of questions.
Data Analysis
Each focus group and the individual session will be audio-taped in its entirety. Audio-tapes will then be later transcribed verbatim. The procedure of investigation draws on two particular techniques, grounded hypothesis, and discourse evaluation. Grounded theory method facilitates an approach that is driven by research information but does not depend on the past notions to report the investigation information. Grounded hypothesis includes the concurrent conflicting correlation of information and analysis empowering the analyst's exact information to illuminate data accumulation and investigation[14].
For further analysis, I utilized the discourse analysis to explore the topic at hand and exemplify how colorism is reflected in regular discussions and activities. The three focus groups were analyzed on personal and group basis to make sure the collected information is neutral, non-biased and precise.
Findings
This section presents the results of the research and discusses barriers that the researcher came across during the survey. In all of the sections, the light skin focus tone group (FG1) is represented first, followed by, the medium skin tone focus group (FG2), and the dark skin tone focus group (FG3). The plan was to have each focus group consist of eight participants, four boys and four girls. In the early stages of the study, many of the participants in FG3 have self-esteem issues with their skin tone and think very poorly about being labeled as a dark-skinned tone person. This dilemma made me to modify my methodology to form a solution that let the participants self-describe themselves as planned. By utilizing both focus groups and individual interviews, we identified several issues among the three groups.
Light skin focus tone group (FG1)
The light skinned students involved in this group had diversified experiences. The students reported that they face hatred from the black and medium light skinned students and other varied races. They also added that the other races usually assume them in critical developmental matters. On social media, the student said that they face less criticism based on their skin tone. They are regarded very attractive and desirable. Others students in the same group said that they were more favored by the society and families when compared to light and dark-skinned Americans.
Medium skin tone focus group (FG2)
The medium skinned students said that they were averagely handled in the school, families and social media. The reported that they felt unclassified (Caucasian, Bi racial) based on skin tone. The students said that due to the average consideration on a color basis, their experiences in school did not count a lot. This group mirrored they felt got in imperceptible in color inclination issue and that negated self-esteem among them. The experiences of equivocalness frequently prompted them to the desire to be pure black or white at various focuses in their lives. In particular, having a medium light skin is viewed as a "sheltered" shade of dark colored.
The dark skin tone focus group (FG3)
The findings of the dark-skinned students involved in the study were narrowed down to three themes. First, the dark-skinned student feels that their achievements in diversified field prowess had been stigmatized because of their low level of awed attractiveness. Secondly, the participants also highlighted that they are viewed as stereotypes and lowly educated. Lastly, the dark-skinned students said that they faced stiff opposition from the light-skinned students based on their skin tone. Dark skinned girls said that the dark-skinned guys were busy looking for brown tone girls for partnership, hence leaving them behind. This has sparked animosity among the students. On social media, the dark-skinned students said that they faced a lot of criticism.
Discussion and Conclusion
In this project, the overall research question was to investigate how African-American secondary school students encounter colorism. In particular, this examination tried to research how African-American students meet colorism by examining how peer affiliations, familial and media shape adolescent African Americans' comprehension of their skin-tone. This investigation showed that the family was an essential factor of mingling colorism beliefs. From the findings, the dark skinned African American students appear to face more criticism about their skin color. The dark students face more criticism in media, home and school settings. They appear to have been neglected and lagged. The actual discoveries of the investigation are in line with past researches.
Limitations
Even with in depth research, data collection and presentation of this writing, the study isn't without some imperfections. This study was performed on a sample group and therefore its convenience, location and size deter the generalizability of the results obtained. Incorporating members from one school, i.e. Charlotte school, Florida, constraint the quantity and diversity that is essential for creating large assumptions and speculations. Another significant constraint to note includes coding and subject recognizable proof. Having been the sole scientist coding the information, the research is prone to several mistakes due to my position and interest in the group. This study cannot be universally applied since it is one way.
Future Directions for Elementary kids, Middle school kids and in rural areas vs. urban areas
Future research should extend the comprehension of intra-group prejudice among African American children in provincial territories, urban regions, middle and elementary schools. The research should also be extended to other groups that were not involved in this research like biracial elementary kids who have emigrated from different regions in of the world. Since the future research will be based on skin tone among kids, easy questions should be well incorporated to enable the children to answer. For instance, the kids will be asked which TVs shows do they like and why their favorite teachers in school settings among other questions. The future research will also be fundamentally based on focus groups, participant observation and less semi-structured interviews.
References
Brewer, Rose M. "On Our Own Terms: Race, Class, and Gender in the Lives of African American Women." Teaching Sociology 26, no. 2 (1998): 151.
Fears, Lillie M. "Colorism of black women in news editorial photos." The Western Journal of Black Studies 22, no. 1 (1998): 30.
Frankenburg, Ruth. White women, race matters: The social construction of whiteness. Routledge, 1993.
Fultz, Lauren A. "The Psycho-Social Impact of Colorism Among African American Women: Crossing the Divide." PhD diss., Wright State University, 2014.
Higginbotham, Evelyn Brooks. "African-American women's history and the metalanguage of race." Signs: Journal of Women in culture and Society 17, no. 2 (1992): 251-274..
Hill, Mark E. "Skin color and the perception of attractiveness among African Americans: Does gender make a difference?."Social Psychology Quarterly (2002): 77-91.
Hill, Shirley A. "Cultural images and the health of African American women." Gender " Society 23, no. 6 (2009): 733-746.
Hochschild, Jennifer L., and Vesla Weaver. "The skin color paradox and the American racial order." Social Forces 86, no. 2 (2007): 643-670.
Hunter, Margaret L. "“If you're light you're alright” light skin color as social capital for women of color." Gender " society16, no. 2 (2002): 175-193.
Keenan, Kevin L. "Skin tones and physical features of Blacks in magazine advertisements." Journalism " Mass Communication Quarterly 73, no. 4 (1996): 905-912.
Maddox, Keith B. "Perspectives on racial phenotypicality bias." Personality and Social Psychology Review 8, no. 4 (2004): 383-401.
Mullings, Leith. On our own terms: Race, class, and gender in the lives of African-American Women. Routledge, 2014.
Pearson-Trammell, Natalye. Colorism, self-esteem, and resiliency: A qualitative study of dark skinned African American women. California Institute of Integral Studies, 2010.
Thomas, Anita Jones, Jason Daniel Hacker, and Denada Hoxha. "Gendered racial identity of Black young women." Sex Roles 64, no. 7-8 (2011): 530-542.
Thompson, Maxine S., and Verna M. Keith. "The blacker the berry: Gender, skin tone, self-esteem, and self-efficacy."Gender " Society 15, no. 3 (2001): 336-357.
[1]
Fultz, Lauren A. "The Psycho-Social Impact of Colorism Among African American Women: Crossing the Divide." PhD diss., Wright State University, 2014.
[2]
Keenan, Kevin L. "Skin tones and physical features of Blacks in magazine advertisements." Journalism " Mass Communication Quarterly 73, no. 4 (1996): 905-912.
[3]
Fears, Lillie M. "Colorism of black women in news editorial photos." The Western Journal of Black Studies 22, no. 1 (1998): 30.
[4]
Hill, Mark E. "Skin color and the perception of attractiveness among African Americans: Does gender make a difference?."Social Psychology Quarterly (2002): 77-91.
[5]
Hochschild, Jennifer L., and Vesla Weaver. "The skin color paradox and the American racial order." Social Forces 86, no. 2 (2007): 643-670.
[6]
Hill, Shirley A. "Cultural images and the health of African American women." Gender " Society 23, no. 6 (2009): 733-746.
[7]
Frankenburg, Ruth. White women, race matters: The social construction of whiteness. Routledge, 1993.
[8]
Thompson, Maxine S., and Verna M. Keith. "The blacker the berry: Gender, skin tone, self-esteem, and self-efficacy."Gender " Society 15, no. 3 (2001): 336-357.
[9]
Higginbotham, Evelyn Brooks. "African-American women's history and the metalanguage of race." Signs: Journal of Women in culture and Society 17, no. 2 (1992): 251-274..
[10]
Mullings, Leith. On our own terms: Race, class, and gender in the lives of African-American Women. Routledge, 2014.
[11]
Pearson-Trammell, Natalye. Colorism, self-esteem, and resiliency: A qualitative study of dark skinned African American women. California Institute of Integral Studies, 2010
[12]
Maddox, Keith B. "Perspectives on racial phenotypicality bias." Personality and Social Psychology Review 8, no. 4 (2004): 383-401.
[13]
Brewer, Rose M. "On Our Own Terms: Race, Class, and Gender in the Lives of African American Women." Teaching Sociology 26, no. 2 (1998): 151.
[14]
Thompson, Maxine S., and Verna M. Keith. "The blacker the berry: Gender, skin tone, self-esteem, and self-efficacy."Gender " Society 15, no. 3 (2001): 336-357.
