Several of you expressed an interest in having a conversation about common colorism myths, so here it is! My own approach to talking about colorism has evolved over the past decade, becoming much more nuanced and integrating my own theories and philosophies based in ongoing research, conversations, and observations. I’ve come to recognize the ways we can disagree yet still be in solidarity with each other.
But there are some ideas that are simply untrue and are harmful, dangerous, or at the very least counter-productive to perpetuate. My list of “myths” will incorporate a little bit of both: the dis/misinformation that definitely needs to be corrected, as well as some of the nuances that aren’t necessarily dealbreakers, but that I’ve come to believe are extremely useful.
Watch or Listen to Dr. Sarah Discuss Common Colorism Myths LIVE, or Scroll to Read Below:
MYTH 1: Colorism is a myth.
Colorism is real. People say it’s made up or fake because they are choosing to ignore the facts. I remember reading tweets about the word itself being made up or fake (before dictionaries caught on). Here’s the thing, in 2021 legitimate information on colorism is accessible enough that anyone truly open to learning and understanding can do just that. So when I see people outright denying colorism, I know there’s a deeper problem there that I cannot solve.
MYTH 2: Colorism goes both ways.
It does not go “both ways.” Colorism is systemic, and nowhere in our society has the research shown that lighter skinned people are at a disadvantage relative to darker skinned people.
Personal conflicts and bullying do not amount to the reversal of a system. Furthermore, colorism is born of the ideology that dark skin and therefore dark-skinned people are inherently inferior. Whatever backlash lighter skinned people receive, it’s not the “reverse” of that because it’s not based in an ideology of light-skin inferiority. Rather, it is almost always a frustration about the existing system that privileges and values lighter skin tones above darker skin tones.
Instead of saying: “They hate me because I’m light-skinned,” start saying: “They hate that I have light-skinned privilege.” It rolls off the tongue a lil different. Doesn’t mean anyone deserves to be mistreated, but the solution rests in being honest about the root cause of it.
Another reason the “both ways” argument is flawed is because it assumes colorism is light-skinned people against dark-skinned people of the same race. But colorism is really people of every race and shade consciously or unconsciously against dark-skinned people.
So, yes, dark-skinned people can be colorist against other dark-skinned people including themselves.
MYTH 3: Colorism only affects dark-skinned people.
Colorism can affect anyone who is darker than someone else, even if they’re not really dark at all. A brown or tan person could be ostracized or discriminated against compared to people with even lighter skin than theirs.
Several research studies isolate demographics to measure the impact of colorism beyond the light-dark binary. What they reveal is that there is indeed a spectrum of privilege where even a difference between “very light” and “light” results in different outcomes as does “medium” and “dark” or “very dark.”
I go back to my analogy of money. Even though $100,000 gives you access to a lot more things than $25,000, it doesn’t give you as much access as $1 Million.
The notion of being a “safe brown” is only evident in the interpersonal arena. But the research shows that even folks with mid-tone complexions experience inequity relative to lighter skinned folks in employment, marriage, education, etc.
MYTH 4: Colorism only affects Black (African American) people.
Colorism is seen in all ethnic and racial groups. Asia has been the largest and fastest growing market for skin whitening products. White folks have long believed in blonde hair and blue eyes as superior racial features. Latinx folks (who are still largely seen as separate from Blackness even though they can be racially Black as well) have practiced “mejorando la raza” to lighten their future generations. Even many Indigenous Americans express a preference for whiteness in both aesthetic and culture.
MYTH 5: Colorism is only perpetuated within a race.
A person’s colorist preference for lighter skin does not stop within their own race. That’s not how implicit skin tone bias works. It doesn’t shut off just because the other person is of a different race than you.
What we might observe is that people can be more comfortable expressing or acting on their colorism with folks of the same race. We might also observe that where anti-Blackness is really the root cause of discrimination, that a dark-skinned non-Black person is preferred over a lighter-skinned Black person.
If you’re looking for a speaker or facilitator for your next colorism event, learn about Dr. Sarah Webb’s colorism keynotes and workshops.
MYTH 6: White people do not perpetuate colorism.
White people are just as likely, if not more likely, to perpetuate colorism than people of color. It is very often so subconscious that they may not recognize it. White people may be less likely to engage in the overt forms of colorism, but they do perpetuate it in social institutions like the legal system, schooling and education, employment, sports, etc.
We must also remember that in the African American context in particular, colorism is a direct result of how white people treated us, perceived us, and described us based on our complexions.
MYTH 7: Colorism is less important than racism.
All of the same structural and social inequalities folks care about when it comes to racism are paralleled by colorism, especially in countries like the United States where someone can be legally classified as Black even though they look exactly like people who are legally classified as white. The wage gaps, the employment gaps, the education gaps, the crime and punishment gaps between races are mirrored very closely among individuals of the same race. Several studies find, in fact, that for very light-skinned African American or Latinx groups there is no measurable difference between their life outcomes and the life outcomes of white people. Shocking.
This is also why I now prefer the lens of colorism and anti-Blackness over the lens of racism. I’ll keep saying it: Most of the ills we attribute to racism are much better explained through the lens of colorism and anti-Blackness specifically.
Also, race is a social construct partially based on the physical differences among people that are easily observable to the human eye, especially differences in skin tone, hair type, facial features, and body type. Thus, it was early forms of colorism, meaning the differential assignment of value, virtue, and legal rights to groups of people based on their skin color and other features, that lead to the creation of the notion of race and consequently racism to begin with.
MYTH 8: Talking about colorism causes division.
Colorism is the cause of division (and inequality). It has been creating division for generations. Staying silent enables continued division. Talking about it enables us to find solutions.
Also, rather than talking about “division,” let’s talk about the inequalities that exist due to colorism. Staying silent about colorism perpetuates the inequalities caused by colorism. And folks use the accusation of causing “division” to shut down conversations that might rectify those inequalities (because they are, for some reason, invested in them).
Any so-called “unity” that demands my silence is not unity. It’s just old-fashioned oppression. There can be no true unity amongst us without equity and justice and accountability amongst us. Don’t be fooled by those who actively undermine dialogue on colorism in the name of “unity.” They’re not protecting our unity, they’re protecting the status quo.
MYTH 9: Light skin privilege doesn’t exist. / Light skinned people have the same experience as dark-skinned people.
Light skin privilege is a very real thing. Light skin privilege exists. I’ve already noted the research on the systemic inequalities and the implicit biases that all favor lighter skinned people, so I won’t spend much time on that part.
But what I’d like to add here is 1) You don’t have to be aware of your privilege to have it.
2) Every aspect of our identities impacts our experiences in the world. Skin color is no different. People can call out white feminists who say “we’re all women” and then proceed to say “we’re all Black.” But, Fam, intersectionality matters.
3) Privilege is not all-or-nothing. Just because your marginalized for your race doesn’t mean you can’t be privileged because of your skin tone.
4) There are plenty of light-skinned people who have actively invested in, perpetuated, and exploited their privilege. Rather than complaining on a dark-skinned woman’s post about “not being Black enough,” go hold your fellow light-skinned people accountable.
MYTH 10: Dark-skinned women who talk about colorism are insecure and jealous.
Would you accuse Martin Luther King Jr. of being jealous of white people and insecure about his Blackness because he spoke out about racism???
No, a dark-skinned person speaking about harmful systems is actually displaying radical, audacious self-love. It’s precisely because we do love ourselves that we are standing up for ourselves.