“There are levels to this shit”
The internet is an interesting place. You encounter many different viewpoints, and I find that it can be a useful tool for calling out ignorance and privilege. Whether that ignorance is someone else’s or your own, there the ability lies to create a learning experience. Through sharing on social media, our generation has begun to de-stigmatize and de-normalize habits and social norms that have been ingrained in us through our upbringings, external societal customs, and the people we surround ourselves with. One of the ways in which I see Twitter, is a platform of both modern storytelling and opinion pieces. It can be a great device in recognizing how we benefit from systems of oppression, hopefully changing the way we behave and think about these things, and become strong allies to movements we support. That being said, Nick Offerman’s face photoshopped onto every character in the opening credits of Full House is also something you can find on Twitter. It’s a mixed bag.
I recently encountered a tweet where it was being implied that some white people were of the belief that being gay absolved them of their white privilege, and therefore could not be racist because they were being oppressed through some source. As that is clearly a very flawed (and unfortunately, common) understanding of oppression, I responded with an attempt to clarify how interlocking oppression works. For example, being queer myself, I face challenges that a straight person necessarily wouldn’t, but as a white person who is queer, I face less challenges (both in quantity and intensity) than say, a person of colour who is queer, whom is also subjected to racism - both on a systemic and individual level. Of course the concept goes beyond that depth, and there are more layers and variance within those consequent layers. To quote one of my favourite YouTubers, “There are levels to this shit” (I Am Eloho).
This is where I want to bring the discussion towards colorism - a phenomenon that is clouded with intersectional oppressions and discrimination, often plagued within and across all marginalized communities which contain spectrums of skin tone.
The multiple oppressions that all Black people face is undeniable, there is no doubt. In spite of this oppression, there can also be collectives within racialized groups that carry privileges - for example, Black men being of the ‘dominant sex.’ What comes with this privilege is often blindness or ignorance to the additional oppression and discrimination that less privileged people within the community face.
This is not to say however that Black men are the only members of the Black community exhibiting colourist thought towards the women OR that they do not experience colourism themselves. Many people also experience colourism from friends and people in their family due to these same internalizations. My focus lies solely on dissecting the experience of colourism from women in the Black community, their unique perspective, and the complexity of it.
The commentary from Black women on this topic has flooded over social media, especially by dark skinned Black women. Many of my close friends and family have also spoken on the topic. There have been worldwide debates on Twitter that literally pose lighter skinned and dark skinned people from the same race against each other, and also more complex debates about how hair types of black women are an important aspect of the way that they experience colorism.
“It’s hard enough being the lowest on the love pyramid and having to constantly convince the world that I am beautiful but having to convince those who you’d assume should be able to see your beauty already is even harder and perhaps even a worst heart break” (Lauriane M).
What Lauriane talks about as being the ‘lowest on the love pyramid’ is something I wanted to investigate further. Specifically how Black women are seen by the opposite sex and Black men’s role in the colourism of Black women.
“It’s something that people within our own race are still so ignorant about. Men don’t see that they’re prejudice or discriminating against dark skin women. Because of society and culture they don’t want to explicitly say it, using ‘thats my preference’ as a cover up” (Kaiha M).
As Kaiha describes, relying on the notion of preference for partners of certain races can be dangerous, and result in phenomenon like ‘yellow fever’ or ‘jungle fever,’ whether intentional or not.
“Take a beautiful darker skinned woman, compare her to an average lighter skinned woman, share that picture to men, more men will choose the lighter skinned women because they see it as a power grab. They also have that insecurity within themselves. ‘OK I’m getting a white female’ or a mixed female; has the black features but she also has fair skin, looser texture of hair coloured eyes, colonialist version of beauty mixed in with the Black features, so in a way think that they’re winning” (Kaiha M).
The insecurity that some Black men have within themselves that Kaiha references can also be looked at as the internalizing of racism and intergenerational trauma - from colonization, eras of slavery, modern-day police brutality and discrimination. Being of a lighter skin tone was always associated with wealth, success, being of a higher class, and it also often meant safety. We all know that governments and institutions built on white supremacy and colonialism protect and praise fair people. Does that make it okay for Black men to continue to discriminate Black women, or dark skin women, and continue the thought that deems them worth less? Do I really need to answer that?
The problem is, when some Black men are questioned about this, they react kind of similarly to the way the aforementioned gay white people thought they could not be oppressive, because they were being oppressed. The conflict is met with both denial and misunderstanding of how oppression works. It can also be very upsetting to realize you are contributing to a system of oppression that also oppresses you, speaking from experience.
This treatment is not coincidence, but calculated, and damaging to Black women of all shades. It can also make lighter skinned women feel as if they don’t belong to the Black community, creating isolation and tension between sisters – “I wanted to distance myself from Blackness” (Yawa I).
“My hairdresser is Sudanese, and they are often at the end of the spectrum, as in they are the darkest shade of black. Not only was she expressing how hard it is for her to fight against the rest of us black girls but because she’s not as dark (big misconception that all Sudanese people are dark) she gets hate from her own family. She’s not light enough to be part of the world and she’s not dark enough to be identified as being part of her own community” (Lauriane M).
As many women of colour agree that colorism isn’t talked about enough, I wanted to bring light to the topic because it affects my community and women I care about. “It’s a toxic mentality – especially when you’re young and growing up and don’t see a lot of people that look like you” (Yawa I).
Social media can often be looked at as damaging, but it is useful for some things. I think sharing these experiences of voices that are too often marginalized or ignored is an important part of its use – especially with things that are difficult to talk about and address. As Yawa continues, it can also help with representation – “Seeing examples in media or real life where it’s true that your skin is beautiful and there are people that look like you that are doing great things” (Yawa I).
Through the analysis of the theoretical flaws in the real communities around us, making those problems known and denaturalizing them is how change can happen. Most often, analysis within our own trauma cycles and internalizations are also necessary for change.
“Having me reinforcing colourism myself was 10x worse than any Black guy’s ‘racial preference’ – overtime I have been able to accept my skin and realize that lighter skin is not better than darker skin or anything like that, and I try my best not to reinforce those notions” (Yawa I).
To close, I just wanted to thank the lovely women - Lauriane, Kaiha & Yawa - for sharing their valuable perspectives with me.
