A Different Kind of Civil War

Courtesy of African American Lectionary

Look at the picture above. Which doll would you choose? According to the Doll Study done in the 1940s, you would most likely choose the lighter colored doll. Why is this true? What makes lighter skin more preferential over darker skin?

Skin color has always been a major factor in the discussion of beauty. In fact, America has come to admire the eurocentric look, defining it as the standard of attractiveness. Eurocentric  features usually include white or light skin, a narrow nose, blonde or brown long straight hair, and thin lips. 

According to “Brotherman: The Odyssey of Black Men in America - an Anthology,” darker slaves were often forced to work in the slave fields and received no privileges, placing light skinned blacks at a higher ranking than their black counterparts. 

Obviously the racism against African Americans, centered about their “colored” skin, has been something instilled in our society; it may even be a reaction to this desire for lighter skin. Not only is this present among blacks and whites, but in the African-American community there has generally been more of a preference for lighter-skinned individuals. The media has showcased this a multitude of times; in movies, TV shows, magazines, makeup campaigns, and even songs. Honestly, even I been subjected to this as I find myself avoiding the sun in the summer, hiding myself from the possibly of tanning. 

Spike Lee, a famous filmmaker, exposed this debacle in the movie School Daze, in which light and dark skinned individuals, attending a historically black university, had several conflicts with each other.  A notable scene from the movie involves the opposing groups of light skinned versus dark skinned women as they argued in a hair salon about which group has “good” hair. 

Magazines will often employ a skin lightening technique on Photoshop that can lighten the skin color of the person on the cover, which is often incorporated in photos of darker celebrities or models. 

Courtesy of Become Gorgeous

Even contouring and highlighting, highly used makeup techniques, are frequently used to manipulate the color and dynamics of the face. 

Courtesy of YouTube

Rappers have also spoken on this topic; Feel this Way, a song by Consequence and John Legend, contain the lyrics: "light skin is the right skin," which offended many members of the African-American community.

 

You may be wondering: why is this a problem? Is it even wrong to emphasize light-skinned individuals over dark-skinned? For one, a controversy like this can make darker-skinned individuals feel more insecure within their own skin. This discrimination has often lead to skin bleaching and disputes among lighter and darker skinned people over social media:

Courtesy of Twitter

Funny enough, this same kind elevated image of light skin color is known to be true in an assortment of different cultures, most notably in the caste system set in India. The lighter a person is, the more power that person holds, while the darker they are makes them more prone to living a harder life. 

Have any of you found yourself naturally preferring lighter skinned people or objects over darker ones?