“Keep the skin as light as possible”: what is colorism, which is rampant in Asia, Africa and the West?

“ As a child I thought I had to be uglier than my little sister, because she has lighter skin than mine.. Some of our mutual friends told me it was Too bad I’m not as clear as she is, because I would seem kinder and less aggressive says Sarah, a 28-year-old woman of Franco-Cameroonian origin. With her little sister, although they are both black, their complexions are different. A distinction Sarah may have suffered throughout her life.

In question? What is called colorism, that is, intra and intra-community discrimination of individuals based on their complexion. The darker a racialized person is, the more the collective imagination steeped in racist and class prejudices will be tempted to associate them with ugliness, but also to attribute to them moral traits traditionally perceived as negative, such as aggression.

How colonization spread colorism as a result of racism

In both Black and Asian communities, colorism is rampant. It is impregnated in all areas of the daily life of the people who are victims of it: beauty, friendship, love, work … Hence the stereotype ofangry black woman for example: this racist prejudice that a dark-skinned black woman will be more likely to be perceived as aggressive, always angry, and this in an unjustified or disproportionate way.

As a corollary, the lighter a person’s skin, the more likely we are to find them beautiful and attribute positive moral traits to them. And this postulate does not come out of nowhere: it is largely a legacy of colonization. Hence the international significance of colorism, as already deciphered by Martinique psychiatrist and intellectual Frantz Fanon, in his key work Black skin, white masks (1952):

” Colonized peoples ended up integrating stigmatization discourses, the feeling of being inferior, despising their culture, language and people and the desire accordingly looks like the colonizer. “

Partly due to colonization, this form of internalized racism which is colorism is therefore rampant in both Africa and Asia. The study “Fifty Shades of African Clarity: A Bio-Psychosocial Review of the Global Phenomenon of Skin Lightening Practices” published in 2016 thus quantifies the number of women indulging in the use of lightening creams in some countries: 77% of Nigerians , 52% of Senegalese and 25% of Malians, for example.

In Asia, the interest in skin whitening dates back to antiquity (for reasons of social distinction: tanning gives the impression of hard work outdoors), and the colonization of some countries by Westerners has not only accentuated the phenomenon. As noted by Public Radio International, citing market research firm Synovate, 4 out of 10 women surveyed would use a lightening cream in Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines or even South Korea. The money laundering market in Asia thus weighed 19 billions of dollars in 2009.

Colorism, a racist discrimination that begins in childhood

Besides Asia and Africa, colorism also works in Western countries against racialized people. Because even there, Afro-descendants and Asians continue to pay the costs of all these prejudices invented in an attempt to prioritize and justify the worst (racism was partly invented in an attempt to justify slavery, recognized as a crime against humanity in France since 10 May 2001 thanks to the Taubira law).

Having persisted for centuries, the ravages of colorism unfortunately begin in childhood, as evidenced by Amanda, 32, of Cambodian origin, member of the collective slashasiaticowhich is fighting in France for a better representation of the Asian people.

Despite having a fairly fair complexion, she has heard from an early age about the need to keep her complexion as pale as possible:

” When I was playing with my friends outside, my mother always told me “don’t tan”. When I started growing up, everything was an excuse to avoid the sun to be as clear as possible. “.

According to Doctor of Social Psychology and psychologist specializing in issues of racism, Racky Ka-Sy, colorism can certainly come from whites, but also from members of one’s own community:

” It can come from friends, but very often from family. This is distressing because colorism is present from the birth of the individual, the entourage wonders whether or not he will have fair skin. “

For example, when Amanda got pregnant with her first child, one of her family’s great fears was that she would go dark: ” The day my daughter was born, my mother told me “I think it will be dark because her earphones are.” “

Thoughts that are constant. As a result, the young mother avoids leaving her children alone with their grandparents, so that they do not suffer coloristic comments.

How colorism benefits the lucrative skin whitening market

Because colorism can affect morale and self-esteem. This discrimination can do devastation on self-confidence ” according to psychologist Racky Ka-Sy. So much so that some, like Sarah, think they can find a remedy for this social malaise:

“I was so complex that I tried in every way to lighten the skin. So I bought lightening creams, which only damaged my skin. “

A solution that is anything but trivial. While France has since 2001 banned the sale of cosmetic products based on hydroquinone (an organic compound that promotes skin whitening, previously used as a rubber vulcanizer for protective gloves) due to its toxicity, it is still possible to obtain it via the Internet. According to a survey by the Directorate-General for Competition, Consumers and Fraud Prevention (DGCCRF), 60% of skin whitening products checked in 2018 in France contained ingredients that are hazardous to health. This is double what it was in 2009relieves Le Figaro.

Indeed, the global depigmentation sector is a huge financial market, especially in Central Africa and Southeast Asia.. According to the Global Industry Analysts Institute, the turnover of this niche could reach 31 billion dollars from here 2024. ” By dint of being told that you are not beautiful, of suggesting that you lighten your skin, of course you can pass. If society tells us that our skin is not the right one, we will do everything to have the right skin. », Analyzes Racky Ka-Sy, who nevertheless maintains that this phenomenon is far from being the majority in France.

Fortunately, the works want to combat colorism. Like it The Jada trail (Cambourakis), a children’s story published in January 2020 by the author Laura Nsafou, a beautiful lesson in tolerance and self-esteem for brunette girls, more precisely black, who suffer from lack of consideration due to their complexion.

Front page photo credit: pexels-nappy-935985