There is a new -ism coming!

There's a story on some lady called Maya Jama who had a years-old tweet brought up to attack her, but what I'd really like to talk about is the video lower down about "colourism". This can happen in a variety of ways.

One way is that they hear a man express his preference for a lighter skinned woman. I think we can all agree this is fine unless it was communicated as "I think dark skinned girls like you are ugly". Another way is that there isn't make up dark enough. I don't know the truth of this, but I have found it perfectly okay to not wear make up myself, and know many women who do just fine without it too. Yet another way this happens is when darker skinned girls are generally portrayed more negatively in the media than lighter skinned girls. I can't say I've noticed this, but if true it should be rectified. Then again, rap music doesn't do great for women in general.

I was surprised they didn't mention being pressured into using "skin lightening creams", aka bleach for your skin. And there's also the other side where people want to get a tan so badly they risk skin cancer to get it. And yet another side where it applies to men too - one of the music videos shown included a rather pale looking south Asian man too.

Do you think the concerns about colourism are valid? Perhaps you have more to add to the list?

(edited 5 years ago)

Reply 1

BitMel

Concerns with colourism is very valid, especially in America, but all over the world such as Jamiaca and India. It's alive and real and isnt a new term, but just isnt talked about as much because people dont really like to address it tbh.
Ive heard from both black and asian people saying they wish they were light skin or feel sorry for someone being darkskin.
No white people want to tan that badly and the risks to bleaching your skin are greater and more unnatural.
Apparently there is actually a lot of makeup catered to black shades but they arent shown in the shops because they dont have enough space to put all the shades so they put all the white ones because they're more white people.

Examples of colurism- black males primarily going/ drooling over light skin or mixed women even if they;re next to black darkskin women of the same physical attractiveness, light skin/mixed race/ racially ambigious women being portrayed in the media as beautiful 'black women' with no representation of darkskin or sometimes brownskin black women' (America), Jamaicans bleaching their skin to literally look white because 'It makes them look pretty and younger' (Jamaican Documentary), the De-feminisation of dark skin black women and their hair, the over representation of mixed-race women in the natural hair movement (of course they are part too, but why are they so popular when most black people cant relate to their hair story or more importantly hair routines) ((no shade im mixed-race myself), Negative and invaid or untrue stereotypes of black women's personalities and why they dont date them (not sure if this one is as true).
That's all i can think of at this time.

There is a new -ism coming!

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