{"id":27,"date":"2019-04-01T19:14:20","date_gmt":"2019-04-01T23:14:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onp02.sheridanc.on.ca\/?page_id=27"},"modified":"2019-04-26T15:41:04","modified_gmt":"2019-04-26T19:41:04","slug":"the-colour-of-racism","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/onp02.sheridanc.on.ca\/?page_id=27","title":{"rendered":"Colour of Racism"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

col\u00b7our\u00b7ism \/k\u02c8\u028cl\u0259\u0279\u02cc\u026az\u0259m\/<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

noun<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. differential treatment based on skin colour, especially favoritism toward those with a lighter skin tone and mistreatment or exclusion of those with a darker skin tone, typically among those of the same racial group or ethnicity. <\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
    \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    \"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    In this section, we’ll examine colourism, how it manifests into controversial practices like skin lightening and the concept of white privilege. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Colourism around the Globe<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Colourism is a huge problem around the world. For example, in China and some East Asian countries dark-skinned people are looked down upon<\/a> while lighter-skinned people are praised and given more opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In China dark-skinned people are seen as poor or low class. Your skin tone determines socio-economic status, with those with darker skin subjected to working outdoors doing manual labor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In Brazil<\/a>, dark-skinned Black people are called \u201cpretos\u201d and brown-skinned or lighter-skinned Blacks are \u201cpardos.\u201d Although, historically those who were “not so Black”<\/a> may have been treated better by society, they still didn’t have the advantage of white privilege. These terms do, though, create division amongst people of colour in Brazil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In the United States<\/a>, colourism has seen division between light-skinned
    Black people and dark-skinned Black people and other racialized groups. A light-skinned Latino can make $5,000 more than a dark-skinned Latino. Researchers found that of the 12,000 African American women imprisoned in North Carolina, the light-skinned Black women received shorter sentences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Dark skin is sometimes associated with a more threatening presence. An infamous controversy arose when TIME Magazine darkened and modified OJ Simpson\u2019s mugshot on the cover of the magazine in 1994. Responding to the backlash and criticism, <\/a>editors said they intentionally darkened the image to give him \u201ca more sinister appearance.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"This
    The middle image shows OJ Simpsons mugshot.
    Time’s cover is on the left, Newsweek’s on the right.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    Readers didn\u2019t perceive it as evil, but racist. James R. Gaines, the managing editor of Time<\/em> at the time spoke out about the accusations stating, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cIt seems to me you could argue that it’s racist to say that blacker is more sinister, but be that as it may: To the extent that this caused offense to anyone, I obviously regret it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In a society where we dehumanize someone based on their skin colour, marriage is more complicated when you or the person you\u2019re marrying is not good enough because of skin colour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In many countries, interracial marriage or marrying someone of a darker complexion is seen as wrong.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In India, fair-skinned women are perceived as preferred candidates for marriage, while dark-skinned women are rejected. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    A lot of the time, colourism starts at home, with parents and family members comparing siblings’ skin colour. Our project coordinator, Manesa Dhanabalan, shares her personal story of as a child being told she would be “prettier” if her skin were lighter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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