Scholarship@WashULaw
The Ubiquitousness of Colorism: Then and Now
Document Type
Book Section
Publication Date
2014
Publication Title
Color Matters: Skin Tone Bias and the Myth of a Post-Racial America
Abstract
Black smoke represents the devil; white smoke brings us a pope. Black vs. White: These words have meaning, and they are not limited to good vs. evil or dark vs. light. They also govern how we feel about the people who wear the skin associated with these colors. The term “colorism” is believed to have been first coined in 1982 by Pulitzer Prize-winner Alice Walker. It was defined by her as the “prejudicial or preferential treatment of same-race people based solely on their color.” It not only applies within racial communities but also between them. It is a global phenomenon, and because of its tie to beauty it affects women more than men.
Keywords
Colorism, Black vs. White, Racial Bias, Skin Tone, Prejudice, Beauty Standards, Gender Inequality, Social Perception, Intra-Racial Discrimination
Publication Citation
Kimberly Jade Norwood & Violeta Solonova Foreman, The Ubiquitousness of Colorism: Then and Now, in Color Matters: Skin Tone Bias and the Myth of a Post-Racial America 9-28 (Kimberly Jade Norwood ed., 2014)
Repository Citation
Norwood, Kimberly Jade and Foreman, Violeta Solonova, "The Ubiquitousness of Colorism: Then and Now" (2014). Scholarship@WashULaw. 635.
https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_scholarship/635