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Alla olevassa tutkimuksessa kerrotaan paljonkin ihonväristä ja afrokeskisestä ulkonäöstä, joten valitsin noiden perusteella otsikon. Tässä tutkimuksessa, jota en muista ennen nähneeni vaikka siinä on paljon tuttua näyttää sisältävän valtavan paljon mielenkiintoista tietoa kuinka esim. Yhdysvalloissa mulateilla ja vaaleamman ihonvärin omaavilla on elämässä paremmin asiat, mutta muuallakin maailmassa on hyötyä vaaleammasta ja eurokeskisemmästä ulkonäöstä, kuten esim. Latinalaisessa Amerikassa.
Although formal racial classifications were developed in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the preference for white skin, blonde hair and European features is rooted in antiquity. Beginning with Greek sculptures of Aphrodite and Roman depictions of Venus, and into the European Renaissance, pale complexions, blue eyes, and flowing blonde hair have been the gold standard for feminine beauty. When Europeans colonized Asia, Africa, and the Americas, they imposed their standards of beauty on the indigenous groups and on the Africans they imported and enslaved. Today, the European norm for beauty and attractiveness is ubiquitous and constantly reinforced in movies, magazines, television programs, online and elsewhere. Young children assimilate these conceptions at an early age, and they remain embedded in their psyches as they mature into adults.Lähde
African-Americans, South Asians, Latin Americans, and other people of color have, for many generations, internalized this Eurocentric standard of attractiveness. Using hair straighteners and skin-lightening creams, they attempt to look white without consciously realizing they are doing so. The evidence indicates that in America, socioeconomic disparities resulting from colorism can be as severe as those traditionally attributed to racism. As America becomes a more multi-racial society, old fashioned “Jim Crow” racism has slowly diminished, while color bias persists.
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In The Skin Color Paradox and the American Racial Order, the authors used surveys to develop an empirical analysis that found:
[D]ark-skinned blacks have lower levels of education, income and job status. They are less likely to own homes or to marry; and dark-skinned blacks’ prison sentences are longer. Dark-skin discrimination occurs within as well as across races. Some evidence suggests, in fact, that intraracial disparities are as detrimental to a person’s life chances as are disparities traditionally associated with racial divisions. . . . With some exceptions, most Americans prefer lighter to darker skin aesthetically, normatively and culturally. Film-makers, novelists, advertisers, modeling agencies, matchmaking websites–all demonstrate how much the power of a fair complexion, along with straight hair and Eurocentric facial features, appeals to Americans.
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Skin-lightening creams increased $432 million in sales in South Asia during the first nine months of 2008, and the industry expects to continue growing as the levels of urbanization and affordability augment their target populations by expanding the market for men in the following decade. However, this phenomenon is not limited to South Asia. An increasing number of East Asians are using their rising incomes to purchase skinlightening products. In Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, South Korea, and Taiwan, four of every ten women use a whitening cream.98 And, as is the case elsewhere, the cosmetics industry is reaping enormous profits. In Hong Kong, pale Asian models dominate the flat-screens and multimedia billboards of public transit. They appear on the pages of glossy magazines and cinema advertisements promoting such products as Blanc Expert, White-Plus, White Light, Future White Day, Active White, and Snow UV. Skin lightening has a long history in Asia. In ancient
Colorism is also pervasive in Latin America. Unlike America’s “onedrop rule” in which any amount of African ancestry classifies an individual as Black, Latin America exhibits a more fluid classification system based on color gradations and appearance. Racial distinctions are based on phenotypes that focus more on physiognomy than ancestry. The flexibility in Latin America’s racial designation system is limited to those whose lighter complexions and European phenotypes allow them to distinguish themselves from darker-complexioned Blacks, since Blackness is subjectively perceived as an offensive racial category in the social hierarchy. In Latin America, individuals are valued by how closely their appearances, status, and progeny approach whiteness.
Mexico’s colonization illustrates how discrimination on the basis of color influenced the creation of a racialized hierarchy, which continues to affect the socioeconomic and political systems at present. Spanish colonizers imposed a stratified status system in Mexico where Whites were the elites and Native Mexicans the slaves. These groups intermingled creating a large population of mixed-race mestizos that resulted in the creation of a color hierarchy. Light-complexioned persons occupied the upper rungs of the social strata. The darkest persons were relegated to the lowest levels
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There is a conspicuous absence of dark-skinned Mexicans in telenovelas, commercials, and other forms of advertising, which are an inadequate representation of the country’s inhabitants. A study that examined the content of six Spanish-language telelenovelas and a drama on three Spanish language television networks in the United States (Telemundo, Univision, and Azteca America) found that “lighter skin characters were more likely to play major roles, were more fit and younger, and more likely to be upper class than their darker skin counterparts.” A promotion for Televisa’s popular program, “Destilando Amor” (Distilling Love), presents an example of how color status is portrayed. In one scene, an upscale woman with blonde hair sits at a dinner table expressing her displeasure with a family member for falling in love with a working-class woman. As the fair-skinned woman speaks, a servant with dark, indigenous features stands silently in the background.
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Despite the Brazilian efforts to project a racially neutral structure through what is known as a racial democracy, scholars have shown that a racial hierarchy composed of a graduated scale of color persists. The data shows that Afro-Brazilians are more economically, socially, and politically disadvantaged than their lighter-skinned counterparts.
Brazilian media also reinforces the social preference for Whites by portraying them as symbols of “beauty, happiness, and middle-class success.” The concept portrayed in television seems consistent with the perception of reality. As indicated by Patricia de Santana Pinho, “the power of whiteness is lived by everyone in Brazil, and it is always operating either in opening or closing doors of opportunity and achievement.”
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Puerto Ricans perceive that having lighter skin and European features increases an individual’s socioeconomic opportunities. Darker complexions and African features severely limit an individual’s economic and social mobility. According to Wendy D. Roth, medium skin tones confer upon people a certain amount of status compared to those further toward the dark end of the color spectrum.
Research suggests that being discriminated against on the basis of color produces feelings of shame and embarrassment. Many Latin American Blacks harbor internalized attitudes about color and phenotype. Skin color, nose width, lip thickness, and hair texture weigh heavily on the self-esteem of Afro-Latinos, since these are considered racial signifiers of denigrated African ancestry. The belief exists among some Latin Americans that color is something that can be controlled by utilizing whitening creams and to “‘improve the race’” of their children.
Marrying someone with a lighter complexion is referred to as adelantando la raza (improving the race) under the theory of blanqueamiento. The concept of blanqueamiento refers to ethnic, cultural, and racial “whitening.” It is an ideology and a social practice that places a higher value on White culture while implicitly devaluing non-White cultural norms. Blanqueamiento perpetuates a social hierarchy based on race by linking whiteness to status, wealth, power, modernity, and development, while implicitly associating blackness with a lack of cultural refinement, ambition, and civilization.
Despite the national ideologies of racial democracy, mestizaje, and racial blindness in Latin America, skin tone is a major marker of status and a form of symbolic capital. Light complexions and European features are highly valued; the darker, more African an individual appears, the lower that person is likely to be on the socioeconomic scale.
In America, skin color is an important signifier of beauty and social status. African-Americans’ preference for light complexions and European features dates back to the antebellum era when skin color determined an enslaved person’s work assignments. Dark-skinned slaves worked in the fields, while light-complexioned slaves worked in the slave owner’s home.
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Colorism lives on. Today, African-American entertainers and actors are far more likely to have light coloring than dark complexions. With the exception of an occasional dark-skinned exotic, most Black models can easily pass the “paper bag” test, and many have racially ambiguous coloring and features. African-American news anchors and reporters rarely have dark complexions. Female entertainers, in particular, tend to have light skin and hair that is dyed blonde and made longer with hair extensions. Consider Halle Berry, Rihanna, and Alicia Keys. In her hit song, “Creole,” Beyoncé Knowles sings about her Creole heritage and being an attractive combination of “red bone” and “yellow bone” (terms that refer to light-skinned Black women).
Pop singer Fantasia Barrino rose to fame as the 2004 winner on the popular television show, American Idol. She was the object of a barrage of negative publicity surrounding her affair with a married man and the lawsuit his wife filed against her. Barinno attempted suicide and later told reporters that the media criticism was based on her dark skin and ethnic features. She said: “[w]hen I did [American] Idol, it seemed like everybody there was Barbied out. Slim, long hair, light eyes, lightskinned. And here I come with my dark skin, full nose, short hair and full lips—it was hard.” “Barbied out” referred to the appearance represented by the Barbie doll, one of the most successful toys of the twentieth century. Barbies are grown-up looking dolls that allow girls to reflect their personality and dreams in the roles imagined for them. Their appearance is an icon of female beauty and the American dream. The classic thin figure, blonde hair, and blue eyes reflect the Eurocentric ideal, a look that a dark-skinned person with African features could never achieve. Interestingly, when Barbies were introduced at the 1959 Toy Fair, blonde dolls outnumbered brunettes two to one.
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During the Renaissance (ca. 1300–1600), the aesthetics of the Classical period were revived. Botticelli’s Birth of Venus depicts the goddess emerging from the sea as a full-grown woman. Her cascading blonde hair accentuates her slender body and alabaster complexion. In another Botticelli, Venus and Mars, Venus lies opposite her lover Mars, god of war, who has fallen asleep apparently after making love to her. Her alertness, as the goddess of love, represents the triumph of love over war. Although it is believed that Simonetta Vespucci inspired the work of Boticelli, Venus was the expression of the artist’s ideal perception of beauty. During the Renaissance, realistic interpretation was avoided and positive attributes were highlighted. Venus has perfect skin, a high forehead, and a sharply defined chin. Her hair is strawberry blonde, she has delicate eyebrows, a strong nose, narrow mouth, and full lips. This idealized depiction shows the conception of perfect beauty that prevailed during the Italian Renaissance.
Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, Titian’s Venus with a Mirror and Tintoretto’s Leda and the Swan are examples of art that celebrate beauty in the “whiteness” of European women. Other Renaissance expressions of feminine beauty were along the same lines: Caucasian women with pale complexions and fine features.
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In Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies, and Bucks, Donald Bogle identified other stereotypes depicted in popular films. Toms were always loyal, never turning against their White masters or employers. Coons, in contrast, were irresponsible, lazy, and dishonest. The Mammy was depicted as outspoken, overweight, and cantankerous. The Black Buck was a large, fearsome, dark-skinned, and hyper-sexualized male. The Tragic Mulatto was a fair-skinned female attempting to pass for White. She was a sympathetic character confused by a divided racial heritage. More recently, the “Jezebel” was depicted as seductive, promiscuous, and predatory. Racial stereotypes were a staple of films, cartoons, comic books, and novels well into the 1960s.
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Colorism is a vestige of the colonial era when European countries invaded Africa, Asia, and the Americas and imposed their standards on the indigenous populations along with the Africans they imported and enslaved. Perhaps unconsciously, Michael Jackson and Sammy Sosa wanted to make themselves more physically attractive, which to them meant having a light complexion, European features, and straightened hair. Colorism is well documented in academic research but largely ignored by policymakers. It is as alive today as it was a century ago. Dark skinned African-Americans and other minorities do not have the same opportunities for advancement as those with light complexions. This form of discrimination is as injurious as invidious racism. Colorism is a combination of overt and unconscious discrimination that places a high value on light complexions and European features while devaluing dark skin and African phenotypes. As America becomes a more multi-racial society, old-fashioned racism is declining, but colorism and unconscious bias persist. If this trend does not change, it will mean that the darkest complexioned, most African-looking people will continue to receive the worst treatment.
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Background: The parameters of beauty and facial attractiveness have a significant impact on the population because aesthetic standards are important factors of social acceptance. The aim of this study was to assess the major determinants of facial profile aesthetics and attractiveness according to laypeople and correlate the obtained results with ethnicity.Lähde
Methods: A cohort of 125 patients (or their guardians) receiving treatment in municipal or private health care services in Caruaru, PE, Brazil, was analyzed. A defined sequence of 6 photos was shown to each individual, who then assigned a score of 0-10 for evaluation of aesthetics and beauty. The images were previously treated and manipulated using Adobe Photoshop CS3 and corresponded to the main criteria of facial profile (classes I, II, and III) and ethnicity. Results: Average values of 8.02 ± 1.63 were obtained for Caucasian class I, 6.60 ± 2.35 for African class I, 4.72 ± 2.71 for Caucasian class II, 4.23 ± 2.29 for African class II, 4.54 ± 2.33 for Caucasian class III, and 3.49 ± 2.10 for African class III. African facial profiles were considered statistically less attractive than Caucasian facial profiles.
Conclusions: The facial criteria of both Caucasian class I and African class I were the most attractive, whereas to the facial criteria of class III were less attractive. However, in this study, the African class received lower scores for aesthetics and attractiveness in all criteria.
The Asian-American female group demonstrated statistically significant preference for the orthognathic profiles, followed by negligible acceptance of the protrusive profiles and rejection of the retrusive profiles. A body of work exists which suggest that male and female Asians tend to rank orthognathic profiles as the most acceptable (e.g., Soh73 and Maganzini et al.75).Lähde
A PREFERENCE FOR PLACEMENT ALONG THE ANCESTRAL-TO-DERIVED DISCRIMINANT IN AN EUROPEAN POPULATION
