Colourism: What are we missing?

By Anjola Bolodeoku - Nigeria and the United States of America

Introduction

‘That’s So Raven’ was a popular show watched by many growing up; a comedic, offbeat and sassy black teenage girl with the powers to see into the future was the kind of person I would naturally look up to. But did Raven, the light-skinned protagonist, represent black girls of all colours? For the past few decades, black women have fought for their place in the entertainment industry, however society seems to have unanimously filled a quota that still needs filling. The prejudice or discrimination from members of the same race based on social implications from cultural meanings, or colourism, is an issue that we simply don’t talk about enough. For example, an advertisement for Nadinola bleaching cream, “for lovelier lighter skin,” ("California Historical Society") on the walls of New York in the United States of America in 1944 were the first signs that the media would reiterate to dark-skinned women around the world that whiter is more beautiful.

Historical Aspect of Colourism

The media and pop culture do not hold colourism to the same standard as other societal issues, however, a lot of entertainment consumers do not understand where it came from. Colourism can be dated back a few hundred years to the era of slavery, when male slave masters would have children with female slaves. As a result, various shades of African-American skin were created and slaves with lighter coloured skin found themselves earning more privileges than their darker-skinned counterparts. Opponents of this position argue that some celebrities have acknowledged their privilege from being lighter-skinned and have spoken up about injustices. In 2015, The Duchess of Sussex publicly commented that she was seen as “ethnically ambiguous” ("Meghan Markle: I'm More Than An 'Other'"). Kelli-Leigh, a mixed-race singer from South London commented to BBC Radio 1, “The doors are still quite closed for female artists who are darker complexion in terms of different styles…it shouldn’t be based on our skin tone, it should be about who we are” (Wilson). Though these acknowledgements shine a light on colourism, there are still no major movements organized by passionate people to advocate for more awareness and justice.

Colourism in the Film Industry

Movies and television series are at the forefront of the entertainment industry; they change the lens through which young girls see the world and through which they see themselves. In 2018, the film adaptation of Angie Thomas’s ‘The Hate U Give’ caused a stir when its trailer first debuted. Amandla Stenberg, a mixed-race actress, was set to be portraying the role of Starr, when the readers of the novel had imagined a much darker protagonist. Was Amandla Stenberg picked for the role because she was the best fit, or does Hollywood consistently randomly select between a few possible young actresses for such roles? Likewise, former Disney Channel star Zendaya in 2017 appeared on the big screen as MJ in Marvel’s ‘Spiderman: Homecoming’. We all know that this was an attempt to diversify a story with traditionally white characters, but do the producers go far enough to satisfy this gap? It seems like major film companies have put a number of light-skinned actresses on a pedestal and are advocating that they have solved a problem. One could argue, of course, that a recent effort has been made to cast darker women. We can look at ‘Black Panther’ star Letitia Wright and many more. This is beside the point; we know darker women can obtain these roles because they have been type-casted. Companies simply cannot cast a light-skinned actress in a role that is culturally destined for someone darker, but when it comes to an attempt to diversify a white role, they can and should expand their choice range. Modern day ignorance to this issue exemplifies further, that we need to talk more about colourism.

Colourism in the Beauty Industry

It’s no secret that darker skinned women have been stereotyped negatively in the beauty industry: captivated by cosmetic surgery, companies continue to associate the idea of beauty with “whiteness”. Until the release of the Fenty Beauty Pro Foundation in September in 2017 many makeup brands had made a limited effort towards inclusivity across all skin tones suggesting that darker-skinned makeup consumers were denied the right to feel comfortable when it came to enhancing their beauty. And how does this negative message get across to young women in the first place? The poor representation of dark-skinned women in the media results in their decreasing desirability in the beauty industry. More shockingly, there have been extensive product campaigns targeted towards lightening dark skin and modern-day skin bleaching products are still acceptable and profitable around the world. Others may argue that evident progress has been made in terms of inclusivity, such as the Fenty Beauty campaign, however it is impossible to ignore how long awaited this breakthrough was. As a result, we cannot completely erase the historical context - the Western society has set these beauty standards.

Conclusion

So, it’s safe to say that the world needs to have a conversation about colourism. It is undermined in pop culture and hidden under the umbrella of racism as a whole. We are sending a more subtle but detrimental message to young girls about what their skin tone says about them and we are instilling normality in the want to become lighter. How can we do more to represent all girls and not just a percentage of a minority? Let’s start by learning about colourism and then redistributing the message.

Bibliography

"California Historical Society." Advertisement, Nadinola Bleaching Cream, San Francisco, 12 Dec. 1949, digitallibrary.californiahistoricalsociety.org/object/3719. Accessed 12 Nov. 2023.

"Meghan Markle: I'm More Than An 'Other'." Elle, 22 Dec. 2016. https://www.elle.com/uk/life-and-culture/news/a26855/more-than-an-other/

Wilson, Cherry. "Colourism: Do Light-skinned Black Women Have It Easier in Showbiz?" BBC, 1 Jun. 2018, www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-44229236. Accessed 11 Dec. 2023.