This Wednesday Workshop is the first follow-up to my introductory session on intersectionality. This week I provide some historical context to the specific intersection of gender and colorism and identify how this intersection plays out systemically and interpersonally. I default to the American (United States in particular) context, but as I briefly mention in the recording, this can apply to other cultural contexts as well.
Overarching Systems of Oppression
Color is an intersection of gender. Gender is an intersection of color.
There are three primary systems that apply pressure to this interection:
- Patriarchy– A vast system designed to maintain male dominance and power socially, sexually, economically, politically, etc.
- Misogyny– Defined as hatred for women, but “hatred” might be too strong a word for many people. Misogyny most often shows up as a negative bias against women and things associated with women, femaleness, or femininity. Quite often, though, misogyny is expressed as outright, explicit hatred. This culture of misogyny sustains patriarchy.
- White Supremacy– I don’t bother making a distinction between colorism and white supremacy (though I do distinguish between racism and colorism!). Phenotype is a big factor in classifying who is white and who isn’t.
Historical Roots of How Gender and Colorism Interact
The broad white supremacist and antiblack cultural beliefs that have been entrenched over centuries in many Western or colonized societies are structured as follows:
The human ideal was white (man). The foil used as leverage to support this premise was the positioning of black (woman) as the extreme opposite, as subhuman. So not only, according to the established social hierarchy, were white men positioned as the ideal human, but black women were simultaneously positioned as less than human. At one point in the united states, this was quantified as black people being 3/5 human so that land-owning white men in Southern states could have more political power in government.
White men were positioned as the pinnacle of humanity for their supposedly superior intelligence, civilization, morals, leadership etc. White women were positioned as the pinnacle of female humanity. They were the models of feminine ideals of beauty, morals, purity, virtue, innocence, intelligence, civilization, delicateness, etc.
Black men were seen as unintelligent, uncivilized, amoral, deviant brutes. But the association with brutishness also made them recognized (stereotyped) for their physical dominance, athletic abilities, etc. In contexts where this is prized, we see a high degree of representation and acceptance of dark-skinned black men: sports, security, disciplinarians, etc. However, this stereotype of physical dominance combined with the perception of amoral, deviant, uncivilized brutishness positions black men as the ultimate criminal threat.
Unlike the dichotomy between white men and white women, there was no distinction given between black men and black women. Black women were perceived in exactly the same ways as black men. Therefore they were perceived as masculine, unintelligent, amoral, deviant, criminally inclined, brutish, physically dominant (strong), etc. Therefore, black women are susceptible to the same dangers as black men: higher rates of policing and disciplining, excessively penalized, inequitable punitive measures, etc. However, because they are women, they do not socially benefit from perceptions of masculinity the way dark-skinned men do. The association of dark-skin with masculinity and strength often benefits dark-skinned men socially, but it deeply marginalizes dark-skinned black women, and often makes them the targets of more violence and punishment. It also discourages people from helping black women, from coming to our aid, standing up for us, etc.
This stereotype of dark-skinned black women also makes us less desirable in heteronormative romances and marriages. Dark-skinned black women are less than half as likely to be married compared to white women and light-skinned women (23% vs. 50-55%). For the sake of time, I won’t go into the impact this has on the socioeconomic outcomes of women, but just know that it’s not just a matter of “being chosen.” This lack of interest in dark-skinned black women as romantic or marriage partners coupled with the stereotype that dark-skinned women are stronger, more sexually deviant and available, etc. results in a high degree of sexual exploitation and violence such as rape. Because of the stereotypes, however, it’s often not even perceived as exploitation or violence against us. People are more likely to condone this violence when it is perpetrated against dark-skinned women and girls.
Light-skinned black men and women benefit socially and systemically from perceptions that they are closer to whiteness and therefore more intelligent, professional, moral, etc. than dark-skinned black men and women. We see this manifest in trends of employment, income, schooling, sentencing for crimes, etc. Although many light-skinned men report being negatively stereotyped as not masculine enough, this is only a negative because of our patriarchal and misogynistic culture that demands men be “masculine” and that defines masculinity in such narrow and oppressive ways.
Although light-skinned women benefit in the romance/marriage market, they have also historically been sexually exploited and raped due to the fetishization of both white and black men. A difference, however, is that because light-skinned women are perceived as being softer, more civilized, more feminine, more beautiful, etc. they benefit from receiving more empathy from others.
There’s still far more to say about this topic, but this is where I leave it for now. I will return to it again because gender dynamics in our culture have so much to do with our experiences of colorism. This was an important start, though, and as always, I leave you with homework.
Homework: 1) Take the Harvard Implicit Association Test on Color (and any other topic of interest!). 2) Begin to de-colonize your mind in small ways (consume different images, educate people who use anti-black rhetoric (or distance yourselves from them), etc.
Affirmation: We are capable and powerful enough to bring about meaningful change. Don’t let cynicism hold you back!
