# data[].attributes.body
I was speaking with a muslim friend of mine who is versed in the bible, about my project, and they told me about the biblical origins of colorism. The story is named "The Curse of Ham" and starts with Noah, who after being tried by the actions of his son Ham, he cursed him and all his sons there after with being “the servants of servants”. Ham in this story represents all dark skinned people of African ancestry. While Noah’s two other children Japheth, and Shem were of lighter skin/white complexion. They were "blessed" for their whiteness as the book says. This story is the source for why even today having lighter skin if though of as being blessed and darker skinned as a curse.

# data[].attributes.body
1) "Colorism":
https://www.irmaherrera.com/post/2019/09/02/colorism

2) "The Blessing of Whiteness in the Curse of Ham: Reading Gen 9:18–29 in the Antebellum South":
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/12/11/928/htm

3) "The Causes, Contributors, and Consequences of Colorism Among Various Cultures" Essay By Mahima Rahman:
https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1069&context=honorstheses#:~:text=The%20origin%20of%20colorism%20in,spread%20of%20colorism%20within%20them.

4) "Colourism in South Asia: a neo-colonial quest for profit?":
https://meridian-magazine.com/colourism-in-south-asia-a-neo-colonial-quest-for-profit/

5) "Have you noticed that reboots of kids' casrtoon sometimes lighten the colour of dark skinned characters?":
https://twitter.com/unlearn_com/status/1338169943041445893

6) "Skin Lightening Products Market Analysis Report By Product, By Nature, By Region And Segment Forecasts From 2019 To 2025":
https://www.millioninsights.com/industry-reports/global-skin-lightening-products-market

7) "Skin Lightening Market Size And Forecast":
https://www.verifiedmarketresearch.com/product/skin-lightening-market/

8) "Global Hair Relaxer Market – Industry Trends and Forecast to 2028":
https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-hair-relaxer-market

# data[].attributes.body
I have grown up with colorism constantly being a prevalent issue in my life. Because I am mixed race and light skin, I realized at a young age that although I am black, I benefit from light skinned privilege. I have alot more opportunities available to me than that of my darker skinned friends as I am usually counted as the "acceptable black woman".
Through the conversations I had with all the friends that helped me with this project, I was able to also get other peoples perspective on how colorism has effected them. It surprised to me to see that these girls lives were all heavily impacted by colorism and that they were excited to finally talk about how much it has effected them.
I learned through this project and all the research that went into it, that colorism isn't just about a cliche attraction preference, it effects many peoples lives in HUGE ways. That little girls and boys are heavily influences by the media they consume and having shows that represent them is very important to their overall development. That because of the historical practices of colorism, darker skinned people of each minority group are significantly economically impacted even today because of practices like "The Brown Paper bag Test". Thus making it so that generational wealth is far more likely for lighter skinned people than darker skinned people.
Colorism is much like racism, where talks of "ending it" is a long process that must happen over generations. So the first step to atleast making it so the younger generation can grow up without being heavily effected by it, is by educating others on colorism. And urging them to appreciate their dark skin and natural ethnic features, seeing them as a blessing rather than a curse.

# data[].attributes.body
Colorism is mainly focused on skin tone, but another aspect of colorism is also texturism. Texturism is preference for looser/straighter hair type, and discrimination against those who have kinkier or curlier hair. Usually darker skinned people have kinkier hair and lighter skinned people have wavy/looser curls.
One thing much of the black population uses to achieve this straighter hair is Hair Relaxers. This product is used to straighten kinky hair, to make it more "manageable", so that our hair won't revert back to its natural afro state.

# data[].attributes.body
A symptom of colorism, is how people in an attempt to reach to the beauty standard will permanently alter their appearence to being more eurocentric. And capitalism benefits from this, and example is with the million dollar global industries that are Skin Bleaching, and Hair Relaxing

# data[].attributes.body
1.     How have you experienced Colorism?

Yes, I am from a community/society where pale, whiter skin fits in the beauty standard. I’ve seen people getting whitening injection (aka glutathione injection) at clinics to brighten their skin.

2.    Has your experience with colorism affected your views on beauty?

My experience with colorism definitely affected my views on beauty as I bought more than a couple of skin-brightening beauty products and applied them everyday. I also remember I would wear a long sleeve shirt even in summer just because I didn’t want my skin to get tanned.

# data[].attributes.body
When a person of a minority group with a lighter skin tone and more eurocentric features has more privileges than the dark skinned people of that group. People with lighter skin experience preferential treatment in all areas, employment, networking, making friendships, relationships, ect. To have light skin privilege does not mean you do not experience racism, it just means that you don't experience it as heavily as the darker skinned people of that group, as you still have the privilege of being lighter skinned.

# data[].attributes.headline
Reflection: So why does any of this matter?

# data[].attributes.subject
Reflection: So why does any of this matter?

# data[].attributes.body
This all matters because of the effect seeing only lighter skinned people in the media could have on minorities perceptions of beauty, not to mention the effect on developing minds/children. If growing up all you see is lighter skin women being deemed as beautiful, then you are bound to internalize it and resent your ethnic features.
I spoke with some friends on the issue of colorism; how they see it in everyday life, how it's effected them now. Their names are Esmeralda(Esme) Martinez and Kaylah Austin, and they both pointed out the influence of heavy filtering used in social media apps like Instagram and Snapchat and how they significantly lighten your skin tone in order to make you "prettier". They told me, how because of these filters they find it hard to feel "pretty" when taking videos without them. They even agreed to send some videos to me to help prove their point.
I also conducted a small interview with my other friend Grace Bae, as colorism has effected her life in significant ways. And she exposed me to new information on colorism within the Asian community.

# data[].attributes.body
Even in Childrens media, black characters are being "white washed" in newer versions.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Dark Skin Roles But STILL No Dark Skin Actors

# data[].attributes.body
The origins of colorism specifically in Asia is notoriously hard to pin point as there could be many reasons for it. One of them focuses mainly on colorisms connection to classism, being that historically in Asia lighter skin meant you are of a higher caste and better wealth, as your paleness was due to lack of sun exposure. But to be darker skinned meant that you had worked long and hard days in the fields causing for you to be exposed to the sun and darken. And working in the fields was something you only did if you were working/lower class.
Another very likely way colorism originated in Asia, specifically south asia is during European colonialism. The British Empire rulled over India for 200 years and when their rule was over their ideas of lighter skin being superior remained. This then effected the way caste systems were made, usually with the darker skinned on the bottom and making it far harder for them to move up castes.

# data[].attributes.body
In modern day movies /shows it is far more common for light skinned actresses to be casted for roles than darker skinned actresses. In telenovelas it has been an ongoing problem where those who are casted are mainly, if not only, spanish or lighter skinned with less “ethnic” features. The same goes for majority black media, in shows/movies like Black-ish, The Hate You Give, and even in the X-men movie franchise. These are just examples of shows that have casted lighter skinned actresses and actors when the roles were intended for darker skinned people. Lastly you also see this same trend in Asian media, for example Crazy Rich Asians, k-dramas, the entirety of the Bollywood film industry. In most shows/movies where the intended audience is Asian, those casted in them are almost always lighter skinned, and this doesn’t at all reflect the diversity in shades of people that are within the Asian community.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Why Are Novelas So White? | The Kat Call | mitú

# data[].attributes.body
My intent with this project is to explain how colorism started in the African American community, Latinx community, and Asian community. I will be focusing mainly on the U.S., but since colorism is a worldwide issue I will be touching on some problems that are popular in different countries, aswell. I will explain the different ways in which colorism is not just a surface level issue but how it affects many people's ability to live peacefully. And lastly, the way that colorism is used today, in the media to push a certain beauty standard on young minority girls.

# data[].attributes.body
For African Americans, colorism also started back during colonization. Europeans came to the Americans with African slaves. Raped African women commonly and the resulting child would be lighter skinned, and some were favored by their slave masters/father, and because of this they were given less back breaking work. This then started the stories of the lighter skinned African Americans being house slaves, while darker skinned slaves had to work far harsher, more deadly work out in the fields. In the Jim Crow Era (1877 - 1964) the practice of the “Brown Paper Bag Test '' was commonly used in hiring practices to determine if a person was light skinned enough to work in an establishment, if they were darker than the shade of the paper bag they were denied.

# data[].attributes.body
The history of colorism in the more historically accurate story is through colonization. When the Spaniards came to South American and pillaged and rape the Indigenous women, creating the Mestizos population or as we know today The Latinx/Hispanic population. These children for their closeness in appearance to the Spaniards and/or European appearance, were given far more privileges and treated much better than their darker skinned counterparts. Also, when the spaniards came to South America they brought with them African slaves. The result of the African and the Mestizos intermixing are Afro-Latinos. Afro-latinos were treated much worse because of their African descent and features, and this birthed the ongoing problem of colorism in Latin America/South America

# data[].attributes.body
In places like Asia and the Caribbean skin bleaching is a very popular practice. In the second chapter of Assata Shakur’s autobiography, she speaks about how as a young girl it was very common for young black girls to bleach their skin to achieve a certain skin tone. Skin bleaching, although a global business, more than half of their sales profits come from Asia, primarily china. In the Caribbean skin bleaching is also growing in popularity, mainly in Jamaica by women users.

# data[].attributes.body
“Prejudicial or preferential treatment of same-race people based solely on the color of their skin.” Colorism as coined by social activist and novelist Alice Walker in 1983 in her book In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens: Womanist Prose. Commonly colorism results in those of lighter skin tone and more euro-centric features to be favored over those with darker skin and ethnic features. Racism is ultimately what Colorism is branched off from, it’s main purpose division. Colorism is apparent through-out the world, manifesting itself into beauty standards, hiring practices, the media , ect.