Colorism disadvantages dark-skinned people while privileging those with lighter skin. Research has linked colorism to smaller incomes, lower marriage rates, longer prison terms, and fewer job prospects for darker-skinned people. Colorism has existed for centuries, in and out of black America.
Discrimination based on skin color, also known as colorism or shadeism, is a form of prejudice or discrimination in which people are treated differently based on the social meanings attached to skin color.
Colorism definition, differential treatment based on skin color, especially favoritism toward those with a lighter skin tone and mistreatment or exclusion of those with a darker skin tone, typically among those of the same racial group or ethnicity. See more.
Colorism news and opinion. Those of us with light-skin privilege who speak up about the injustices that we all face as Black people should not have their message minimized while being vilified for their appearance.
Colorism is a global phenomenon with a complex history and roots that extend far into the past. A common explanation in many societies is that European colonialism and the international slave trade spread the idea of white supremacy.
DEFINITIONS. Colorism: A practice of discrimination by which those with lighter skin are treated more favorably than those with darker skin. This practice is a product of racism in the United States, in that it upholds the white standards of beauty and benefits white people in the institutions of oppression (media, medical world, etc.).