Colorism's History and It's Future

In this article, Through the Past, Darkly from The Washington Post ,  it talks about the difference of colorism and racism. Colorism and racism both date back to the slave days when these two terms of judgement were vital. Colorism and racism dictated whether you were a slave or a slave owner and how you were treated in society. The lighter your skin was the better you were treated. This article makes it clear that the human race is one. There are no different groups to the human race, we are all united as human beings despite our differences; however, if only everyone in the world could think like that. Dark skinned men and women, especially celebrities, continually are bleaching their skin. People who keep in tune with the media are seeing this, seeing how natural and attractive it looks on the celebrities, and are performing the same act of bleaching at home. Why does society have to be this way? History was already made with the slaves, but we can make the future a place where we are not worried about our skin tone, where we are not worried whether we are light skinned, medium tone skinned, dark skinned, and where we are not judged by the color of our skin. Colorism has come to a whole new level. It is 2013, and many dark skinned people still feel the need to lighten their skin so they look more attractive or are more socially accepted. We need to come together as a community, as one, and know that each and every one of us are beautiful in our own way, despite our skin colors. We are all equal. 

Many people bleach their skin to a lighter tone, but many do not. I think it has become less common for a person to bleach their skin. People are learning more and more about our history each day, each year. They are coming to conclusions why being dark skinned was a "bad thing" back in the day. They are coming to conclusions that they are proud of their skin color. They are proud of where they come from. Hopefully the amount of people bleaching their skin will decrease as time goes on, as well as the amount of people going to tanning salons. 

Why Is Colorism Still Alive Today?

This video I found on YouTube, Why Isn't "Colorism" Gone, discusses the relevance that colorism has on our society today. Colorism is a form of racism. In today's form of colorism, unlike the slave days, colorism is used towards all different types of skin colors. Colorism is a form of racism solely based on someone's color of their skin. The man that is speaking in this video comes to good points about the topic of colorism. Colorism is still relevant in 2013 because the mentality of people during the slavery days. Being lighter skinned was valued during the slavery days and this mind set has been there ever since; therefore, many dark skinned people bleach their skin for it to become lighter. It is almost as if it is considered common sense that extremely dark skinned is not wanted or desired  Colorism should not be relevant today. It should not be going on, but unfortunately it is. People used to think that a person's skin color determined their intelligence and their character. The darker a person's skin color was, the less smart they were considered and the less they were thought to be a "good" person. Society and times have changed with this concept; however, in today's society many dark skinned people continue to bleach their skin because they feel more beautiful and many light skinned people continue to go tanning to make them feel more beautiful and better about themselves. When a person looks good, they feel good; however, a person should not think they are less beautiful because of the tone of their skin such as being very dark skinned or very light skinned. All skin tones should be more appreciated and represented in society and in media. We, the people, need to embrace our bodies!

Colorism in the Media

Throughout the media, colorism is displayed. Many dark skinned celebrities bleach their skin or do whatever is necessary to make their skin even just a shade lighter than what it already is. Many light skinned celebrities are always going tanning or using all different types of tanning sprays and/or makeup to get a "healthy glow" or a certain kind of "beach tan". Most people, celebrities and non celebrities, are never fully satisfied with their skin color. 

In this video, Fair & Lovely Fairness Ad, a high sense of colorism is shown. It tells of a woman who is slightly dark skinned, uses this product, and is left being four skin shades lighter than she was before all in only four weeks! She also includes at the end of the commerical that her "life has changed" and then proceeds to ask "has yours?" By saying these words at the end of the commercial she is implying to the viewers that her life has changed positively from using this miraculous product that has drastically lightened her skin in such a short amount of time. She is using it, it worked for her, so why isn't everyone else using it? The company is so confident in themselves that it works that they guarantee your money back if it doesn't work for you so why wouldn't you try it? This commercial also shows her "new face" on the front of a magazine. This is implying to the audience that because her skin is lighter she is becoming more famous, became prettier, is getting attention, and is getting noticed more. This is a prime example of media showing viewers and even almost pressuring them into using this product. Celebrities use it and get good results so you should too. I personally do not understand why dark skinned people want light skin and why light skinned people want dark skin. All shades of skin are beautiful and it is a good thing to be unique with yours; however, the media doesn't think so.