Colorism and Social Media
On Monday night, the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr’s 86th birthday, Oprah Winfrey aired two documentaries on issues surrounding colorism within the Black community. The documentaries, each titled “dark girls” and “light girls” brought to the surface issues of slavery and perceptions of race and skin color which developed out of that time period which are still very painful and relevant today. Although it is highly documented that African Americans are the ones who perpetuate the stereotypes associated with the tone of their skin color, it was also noted in the Washington Post that Whites can also be guilty of colorism.
The documentary “Dark Girls”, created in 2011 by Bill Duke, chronicled the lives for African American women in the united states and some of the issues they’ve had to face because of the tone of their skin. From being perceived as unattractive, or only sexually desirable, Black women told stories of rejection and self-hate which often stemmed from their childhoods. In an effort to give voice to lighter skinned African American women, Duke filmed a second documentary in which Black women who were often perceived as more beautiful due to the color of their skin and more euro-centric features, told stories of pain and frustration from a different perspective. Often seen as not being “Black enough” light skinned women have often felt the need to play-up their Blackness as much as possible either through their relationships with other Black men or through their mannerisms, or tone of voice. They also spoke about how they’d always be asked what their ethnicity actually was and often had to prove to their peers that they in fact were African American. Despite attempts to move forward and be more unified, there still exists a tension surrounding colorism within the Black community, much of which can be viewed though social media. In an unpublished study, I looked into the power of societal ideology within femininity, masculinity and beauty norms in the digital space though Instagram hashtags. Hashtags referencing “#lightskinned” and “#darkskinned” revealed additional related hashtags that were also added to the search criteria.
As Instagram has no demographic data, the ethnicity and gender of the users posting the images could not be gathered. However, it was very apparent that most of the procurers of the images shown within these specific hashtags were Black themselves. The results of the study revealed overt themes of colorism that are still very prevalent for members in the Black community. Results of the study revealed an overwhelming emphasis on attractability and hypersexulization.
Light skinned women were painted as always desired and highly attractive by those who posted their images, whereas, dark skinned women, often producers of their own images, were featured promoting self-love and inclusivity for their complexion in hypersexualized positions. It was essentially harder to cat te attention of a light skinned woman, and harder to keep her interested, a fact that either intrigued or repelled some of the users posting these images. Additionally, while portrayals of light skinned women paint them in an arrogant light which automatically assumes beauty, the portrayals of darker complected women appear to ask permission from society for the same type of recognition.
The color spectrum with men on the other hand created slightly different results. Light-skinned males were also perceived as highly attractive however, not as sexually alluring as their Dark-skinned male counterparts who were often featured in images that which displayed them as alpha males who were a dominating force in the bedroom. Additionally, shade seemed to indicate degrees of aggression, masculinity and authenticity to blackness with dark skinned males serving as the conduits for anything associated with black manhood and masculinity. Light skinned men then represent a diluted form of Black masculinity, aggression and authenticity which places the degree of their manhood in the forefront for critical analysis and speculation. Dark skinned males were often also portrayed as animals or as inhumane, monstrous creatures that no one should want to be associated with.
Although the documentaries did not deal with the effects of colorism on black men, MadameNoire.com noted in recent blog post how many the guest speakers, who just so happened to be Black men ,seemed to perpetuate some of the stereotypes associated with colorism themselves. Essentially, the blog purports that Black men have traditionally tried to make this issue a “Black female” problem, when in fact, Black men too have issues with their own experiences based on their complexions and often select particular attributes in Black women to idolize or criticize because of it:
“The point I’m making here is that men have issues with their skin, hair texture and other African features just like women do. And whether you call it protective styling or trying to look like Caesar, it’s all based in the same color-obsessed pathology.
“The point I’m making here is that men have issues with their skin, hair texture and other African features just like women do. And whether you call it protective styling or trying to look like Caesar, it’s all based in the same color-obsessed pathology.
In a previous interview with Duke, he spoke to me briefly about how he didn’t get to go to his senior prom in high school, and he was certain that it was because of his dark skin. A discussion on how that made him feel, as well as how it shaped who he is as an adult (even on a cellular level), is a documentary I would have loved to see. Instead, we were given another project where the brothers, once again, talk about what they feel is wrong with us. And while this tactic might work for shielding their personal egos, if the brothers are truly concerned about “healing” the community, it is time that they man up, start being honest about their sh*t and stop hiding emotionally behind what the girls supposedly do.”
All is not lost however. Through the collection and sifting through images gathered from Instagram, an emerging trend was also discovered: one of societal acceptance of all races and ethnicities. Memes were often found highlighting the perceived ignorance surrounding colorism and stereotypes created around skin ton. Dave Chappell, a popular Black comedian, was featured in an image with the text “only Black people act like ‘dark skinned’ and ‘light skinned’ are two different races”. Another image featuring two non-black women whispering to each other about the light skinned vs. Dark skinned debate with the words “[I don’t know] if they know but they both look black to me!” which highlights the idea that issues dealing with colorism exist most often between Blacks themselves than any other races.
In addition to users believing the debate is an outdated issue, there are multiplle images promoting light skinned and dark skinned friendship bonds. With the spotlight on colorism again on a global scale, hopefully there will be movement in a direction that creates room for discussion and healing.
Originally published on January 23, 2015.