Who's the Fairest of Them All?

Today we’ll be talking about colorism, a very touchy subject.

What exactly is colorism?

According to Meriiam-Webster, colorism is the prejudice or discrimination especially within a racial or ethnic group favoring people with light skinned over those with darker skinned.

While there are stereotypes associated with being black, there are stereotypes associated with blackness depending on their shade.

Dark skin is associated with masculinity, aggression, poverty, and less intelligence.

Light skin is associated with femininity, softness, attractiveness, and higher income.

Black people come in many shades, and unfortunately our shades play a role in how people treat us. In TV shows and movies, colorism impacts the casting of black women.

As I’ve talked about my favorite character’s these past few weeks, I’ve even noticed how dark skinned characters are depicted as more aggressive or mean than light skinned characters.

This video goes into colorism in popular black sitcoms.

There were two major casting changes in the popular black sitcoms The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and My Wife and Kids.

My Wife and Kids

Michael Kyle is a loving husband and comedic father of three children.

In Season 1 of the show, Jazz Raycole, a dark skinned girl, played Claire Kyle. Her character was smart and sassy, the typical teenage girl. Claire was not afraid to speak her mind and was a force to be reckoned with.

In Season 2 of the show, Jazz is replaced by Jennifer Freeman, a light skinned girl. This new Claire did a complete 180. She changed complexion and her character went from being the smartest in the room to being dainty and funny. This new, light skinned Claire never stood up for herself. Her character was kind of a dumb blonde.

The Fresh-Prince of Bel-Air

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is a sitcom about a teen from Philly living with his family in Bel Air.

As I talked about last week. Aunt Viv was a college professor married to a high ranking judge. They lived in a Bel-Air mansion.. She was quick witted, ambitious, fearless, and loving. While Viv was an older woman, she reminded us that she still got it.

That was until season 4. Season 4 Aunt Viv was almost the complete opposite. The writers made this new Aunt Viv a submissive, stay-at-home mother. She rarely disciplined the kids or stood up to her husband. We rarely even saw her character leave the house.

The character difference between the original Aunt Viv played by dark skinned actress Janet Hubert and the second version of Aunt Viv played by light skinned actress Daphne Reid is the most talked about character swap.

This video goes into details on why fans like the original Aunt Viv better.

I ask the same questions to the writers of both shows. Why not just find actresses that look the same as the originals? Why did the personalities have to change?

Is it hard to believe a light skinned girl can be smart and sassy or that dark skinned girls can be dainty and silly? Why are dark skinned women always the workers and disciplinarians while light skinned women are always soft and submissive?

Just looking back at my blog from last week. Did you notice Lisa Landry was the only mom who I could describe as fun? The only mom who wasn’t the disciplinarian? You know why? Because she was the light skinned one.

In A Different World, Whitley was the only one that came from a family with money. The darker characters all came from working class backgrounds. You know why? Because she was the light skinned one.

Having to Fight Back

Some dark skinned actresses and writers for black sitcoms have been fighting for more diversity in the representation of dark skinned women.

When Mara Brock Akil created the show Girlfriends she had to fight for Toni to be played by a dark skinned girl. Toni’s character is hyper-feminine, conceited, and rich. Ya know, things people don’t imagine dark skinned girls as.

Erika Alexander, a dark skinned actress known as Max from Living Single talks about the lack of variety of roles for dark skinned women. In this podcast she recalls the only roles available for her were slaves, prostitutes, and foster children. We see similar storylines for dark skinned children today.

How does the representation of dark skinned women impact their real lives?

These depictions of dark skinned women have real life consequences. Kaitlyn Greenidge writes about her own experiences and provides more insight into how colorism looks in real life.

School

The Relationship Between Skinned Tone and School Suspension for African Americans explains how dark skinned girls are more likely to be suspended from school. The depiction of dark skinned as aggressive causes educators to look at them as a threat whereas lighter skinned students are viewed more innocently and avoid suspension more often.

Relationships

The depiction of dark skinned women as unattractive or aggressive impacts their love lives. According to the American Sociological Association, dark skinned women are less likely to be married compared to light skinned women. The association of femininity and attractiveness with lighter skinned leads to lighter skinned women finding partners.

While we should fight for more representation of black women in television and film, we have to be careful how we want them to be represented. If the representations often push stereotypes with harsh consequences, then we should not support it.

Which brings us into next week's blog. Next week, we’ll talk about how many black women are in television and film on a surface level and how women of different complexions are represented. Be on the lookout for an infographic next Monday morning at 11!