Alice Walker is a novelist, poet, short fiction writer and activist. Author of the renowned novel ‘The Color Purple,’ which was adapted to film, Ms. Walker is believed to have devised the term “colourism.” However, discrimination or hate based on skin colour existed hundreds of years before Ms. Walker, now almost 75, first uttered the word “colourism.” Though it is a result of racism caused by white supremacy, which evolved from colonialism, which itself birthed slavery and indentureship, colourism is mostly perpetuated by those within the same ethnic group. It is darker people who are predominantly negatively affected.
But what impact does colourism have on our society in which the majority of the people are of Asian or African origin?
People are trained to perpetuate colourism intentionally and unintentionally from birth. It is so deep-rooted in some families that a baby’s ears are examined when he or she is born to estimate how dark they will be. In many families, those who are born with lighter skin are more esteemed. In schools colourism often results in bullying by way of name calling. In many instances, when teenagers begin to date it is the lighter-skinned, girls or ‘red women’ as we Guyanese say, who are more desired, even by the darkest boys. And though there are dark-skinned girls who are also desired, often when a dark woman is beautiful, though they are everywhere, it is seen as an anomaly; so instead of just telling her she is beautiful mention often has to be made about the colour of her skin.
While many people evolve to appreciate beauty in every shade, some remain captivated by what they consider to be more beautiful or more acceptable. Some say that it is preference and not necessarily disdain or discrimination.
As aforementioned, it is darker-skinned people who are mostly affected by colourism, but some lighter-skinned people are also affected. There have been instances where light-skinned women were perceived as weak, dense and submissive. Many light-skinned men have also been seen as weak and sensitive.
Tall, dark and handsome is often said to be the ideal man. Darker-skinned women are sometimes perceived as mean and angry, while lighter skinned women are seen as polite and worthier of protection. Some Guyanese men fetishise and desire ‘red women,’ while dark women are invisible to them even though their mothers and sisters may be as dark as midnight. It is not the women’s fault and often it is the learning that has taken place over the course of the men’s lives that result in their worldviews and actions. But not every man who marries a lighter-skinned woman fetishises her or does not acknowledge and also appreciate darker women; often, people simply fall in love or are attracted to people for the simple fact that they feel a connection that has little or nothing to do with skin colour.
There are those who say, ‘I don’t see colour.” But, often, those people are fighting their own prejudices. Everywhere we look, we see colour. The problem is not that people have been created with different skin tones. There is nothing wrong with any colour of skin. Beauty should be more about the mental and moral qualities of a person; but even outer beauty has more to do with the contours of one’s face and one’s physique rather than colour. But what may be attractive to some, might not be to others.
In recent years, establishments like Hollywood, which are guilty of racism, have attempted to celebrate the beauty of dark skin. Movies like Black Panther are a good example of their efforts. Still, actresses of a lighter complexion still remain the ones who are most often seen on screen.
I was told that even in Guyana, years ago, it was mainly people of lighter complexion, most often of European descent or ‘red people,’ who were allowed on stage. Theatre was for the bourgeois in those days. I could not imagine that system continuing today, but 40, 50 or 60 years ago was not so long.
In a recent conversation, someone argued that the effects of colourism are becoming worse now. They were concerned with the number of people now bleaching their skin. But is it really getting worse? Can we be surprised that many dark-skinned people choose to bleach despite knowing how damaging it is? Is it really that the effects of colourism are worsening or that people are bolder now in expressing their desires for lighter skin in an attempt to feel more accepted and appreciated by society?
I read ‘Roots’ many years ago. It was written by Alex Haley, who traces the origin of an enslaved ancestor, Kunta Kinte, back to Africa in the book. I remember reading that in Kunta Kinte’s culture, the darker a woman was the more desired and beautiful she was thought to be. I remember a friend laughing and thinking it was most ridiculous. And I, a teen then, replaying all the experiences I had had that forced me to feel unworthy and unattractive, thought that perhaps I was born at the wrong time in the wrong place.
I cannot say that the colour of my skin has ever affected my career. Certainly, racism has affected people’s careers in Guyana. I cannot say that colourism has affected my access to education. I have never had issues attracting men.
I believe what is most harmful about colourism is that it can destroy the victim’s self-esteem. It is a recipe for depression and self-destruction. Sadly, because it is one’s family and friends who often continue the narrative that dark skin is not good enough or as desired, it is even more destructive.
Colorism causes some dark little girls to look at their lighter-skinned mates and wish that their skin too was light. It affects the self-esteem of boys to think they are not good enough. It is women and men wanting to erase the blackness in their children by seeking partners that are lighter. It is men thinking that they need a light-skinned woman to be seen as successful.
People are constantly battling feelings of unworthiness and struggling to find acceptance. It may affect mental health, productivity and, therefore, the overall health of society. Society links many things that are bad to blackness. In certain religions, God is white and the Devil dark. In many fairy tales and movies, the villains are dark and the saviours are light. Lighter eyes are seen as more beautiful; and white is said to represent purity and all that is good.
Eradicating colourism may seem like an impossible task. More positive images of darker peoples need to be seen in religion, on screen, in books, everywhere. Instead of continuing to utter statements like ‘black and ugly,’ more positive words need to be spoken.
Colourism is the way we hate ourselves. It is the way we continue to say that what began with ‘Massa,’ as they elevated the lighter-skinned enslaved Africans above the darker-skinned ones, is what was right, and what we accept as our truth.
