Thoughts on Colorism

Specifically, what validates it, and its many faces.


I originally came on this thought process through sometime entirely unrelated, such is usually the case with me. Body hair: why do we shave? Do you shave for you, or because someone reinforced it in you that it is better. When you answer that you shave for yourself, know that 8/10 (fake statistic) you will not be believed. Such is the world. This continued on to colors, think animal coat colors.

If someone likes tabbies, specifically brown and black tabbies with a little white on them, no one minds. No one questions this beyond "they like this color, I may or may not like this color, end data input." Perhaps a light hearted conversation is even started in regards to ones favorites. Horse coat patterns: there are two people, one prefers chestnuts (specifically really orange chestnuts with socks and nothing bigger than a star and medium blaze on the head) and one prefers greys (gun metal and flea bitten, nothing too white, nothing too speckled-black being favored). No one is known to bat an eye, or even analyze why this is so. This person simply likes chestnuts, this person simply likes greys. But it becomes something more when it comes to human skin color.

I suppose its because we are dealing with more than just living beings, but rather living beings with mating potential (of our own species) who we could interact with on a higher level (verbally, at least). And people are sensitive. So much so, that thoughts and preferences can become "good" and "bad" instead of just being. My thoughts are usually "why do you have to tell me?" If something is beautiful, why do you have to tell me its beautiful? I know it is, but perhaps you've encountered so many that don't think so, that you feel the need to make sure I know. What if I don't know? What if I don't agree. No amount of brow beating is going to convince me otherwise, at most I'll just know not to bring it up around you, and diffuse it if you bring it up around me.

But that's not what I've been building up to talk about. What I mean to say is, what motivates these people? Specically, what motivates the people to tell others that skin lightening is wrong, and that darker skin (for this purpose, I will say that what defines "dark" is relative, and that "dark" in this post will be anything that is not as pale as the white on my blog background). The last aspect is the most significant to me, because- more often than not- these anti-lightening rhetoric work on the concept of spreading the good (label) word that darker skin tones are to be loved and perceived as equally beautiful.

My thoughts on this are, again, why do you need to tell me? I believe that there are two things that apply to these people that motivate them. 1) They live in and experience a world in which darker tones are the underdog, the unwanted. This world (World A) cannot overlap the world they want: dark skin is beautiful (World B), nor the third world: all skin tones are beautiful- or, more accurately, skin is just skin (World C). You see, the reason why these worlds do not overlap is because they all represent different realities. There can be no beautiful without ugly on the contrary to identify it.
In WA, lighter skin is the beauty; in world WB, darker skin is the beauty; in WC there is no beauty specific to a skin color (beauty and ugly of course exist, but they are dependent on factors other than tone- like features, saturation, texture, brightness/polished qualities, or something else). Now, back to the people I am observing. I believe that they are living in World A, are trying to convince people of world B, while saying they are coming from the place or World C. Basically, they are telling you that the world and yourself are brainwashed into believe darker skin (as defined previously) is ugly and unwanted (WA) and that you are wrong, darker skin is actually beautiful (WB), and that they believe that every tone has beauty (WC).

If they truly believed that all tones are beautiful, why would they want to brow beat others into believe in the same thing? Why are they offended that one person only likes chestnuts, because they supposedly (said, but not illustrated by them) like both grey and chestnut horses? I will tell you why, in my opinion, they act like this. Because they don't believe that darker skin is beautiful themselves. Pretty controversial statement, isn't it? I do not believe that these people who are so anti-lightening like (or truly believe in the beauty of) dark skin themselves, and I'll tell you why.

They live in WA, and are seeking validation of skin color. They want you to believe that darker skin is beautiful, and to stop lightening because it will validate their own beauty, in one way or another. If someone believes that darker skin is ugly, then this person is calling these people ugly and they will be personally offended. Their validation hinges upon the opinions of others. If it didn't, they would not try to convince others of their beauty. So, the more people that believe, the more likely they will be considered beautiful- or at least not have a strike against them- the more mainstream beautiful they will feel. Imagine walking in a world in which only 10 out of 100 people smiled at you, and trying to make it a world in which over 50, or even all 100 smiled at you- I think this is their perspective. I think it is the same perspective of those who believe that paler is better as well, but it's just the other side of the coin.


So what world do I live in? I'd like to think I live in World C, and that I just visit the other two worlds: I still find ebony skin especially eye catching because I do not see it often- it is exotic, and draws my eye for this reason. I find paper pale skin intriguing for the same reason. Actually, perhaps I am drawn to these two so much because I have a natural preference towards contrast. You can see it in the themes and art I prefer; I am attracted to scale and color contrast (black and white, red and blue, purple and yellow, etc.). However, when it comes to skin, I do not believe that someone is beautiful or ugly by virtue of their skin's color. I do have skin preferences, such as "good" skin. What do I define as "good skin?" Skin that is markedly healthy, with little in the way of blemishes (acne, or acne scars), skin that is even in tone. Why? Because healthiness suggests healthy habits, strong genes, etc. which I find attractive. I don't make apologies for it, and I am not saying I won't date someone just because they don't meet all of the previous factors. I am just saying I find it appealing.


I liken the previously mentioned phenomenon to be in the same category of the gay-bashing homophobic closeted gay. Sometimes these people are so far in the closet, they aren't even out to themselves. It's so common for the "no homo" saying gay-basher to be gay themselves that it even has its own trope.