In debates and news about racial issues it is very likely that you have come across the term colorism. Still a little-known theme, but with great importance to understand the nuances of the impact of racism on the black population, colorism has gained increasing prominence.
An expression that appeared in 1982 in the book “If the Present Looks Like the Past, What Does the Future Look Like?”, translated into Portuguese as “If the present looks like the past, what will the future be like?”, by writer Alice Walker , colorism is used to differentiate the different shades of black skin and how, depending on the tone, there is greater or lesser inclusion in society.
If you have never heard about colorism and how it is crucial to the life of a large part of the Brazilian population, now is the time to get to know it.
What is colorism?
Unlike the concept of racism that is based on discrimination against a certain race, colorism (also known as pigmentocracy) is guided in discrimination by skin pigmentation.
However, in Brazil, colorism is not only due to the color of the skin, but also to other physical aspects, such as curly hair, broad nose and so many other Negroid traits common to people of African descent.
And it is precisely on these traits that the “scale” of colorism is based: the more people have, the more exclusion and social discrimination they will suffer. That is, the darker the skin tone, the more frizzy the hair, there will be less access to opportunities and the treatment that this person will receive from others will be different.
And to understand this concept a little better, nothing better than hearing from someone who knows the subject. Watch the video of the Salon Line ambassador Ana Paula Xongani:
How does colorism work in practice?
As an offshoot of racism, colorism exemplifies a “scale” of tones, from the lightest to the darkest. Individuals closer to the light, that is, white, have a greater acceptance in society, being able to move between spaces with less impact of discrimination; on the other hand, those that are close to dark tones suffer greater exclusion, even impediment to access certain places, services and, consequently, opportunities.
In a mixed country like Brazil (which had a “whitening policy” in the 20th century in order to whiten the population to create an “advanced” country), there is a huge variety of tones and physical characteristics, causing differentiation as far as to racism within this diversity.
Even though light-skinned black people may, in many cases, suffer less prejudice, it does not mean that they are not impacted by racism. Discrimination may be less, as in some spaces they are “read” as white, but they are not – and this identification happens at some point.
Colorism vs. Racism
Just as the initiatives to combat racism work, to understand and decimate the levels of prejudice that people of the same race suffer according to the skin tone, anti-racist actions that value and rescue Afro-Brazilian history and culture are needed.
Colorism cannot be seen as a hierarchization and division within the black community, after all, for the lighter-skinned, being tolerated does not mean being accepted – even if there are advantages over blacks with dark skin, prejudice will come in other ways .
Understand the concept of colorism as an offshoot of racism and which needs to be fought with the same intensity.
