Colorism is the discrimination and or prejudice of one based not strictly on ethnicity but on skin color. Despite the belief that colorism does not exist in “post racial” America, it is actually true that colorism still exists in America today. In the novel I AM NOT Sidney Poitier by Percival Everett the main protagonist was a victim of colorism by his girlfriend’s parents. They believed he was too dark to date their light-skinned daughter. Despite disputing assertions, this blatant prejudice is not an uncommon issue. Even across cultures, dark-skinned individuals are often met with prejudice and oppression by their light-skinned counterparts. This is due to the racist ideals spread throughout European colonization. In America, the people
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Skin bleaching is one of the most common lengths that some dark-skinned African-American women go through in order to feel beautiful. Skin bleaching is a process in which one applies a bleaching ointment or regular household bleach to the skin in order to appear lighter. Cosmetic surgery is another extreme measure that is taken by dark-skinned women. Many dark-skinned African-American women have had nose jobs and lip reduction surgery in order to gain the features that have been deemed most beautiful by society. For example, rapper Lil Kim has been the face of skin bleaching and cosmetic surgery in the African American community for years now. In June of 2000 in an interview with Newsweek Lil Kim went on record and stated that “All my life men have told me I wasn 't pretty enough--even the men I was dating. And I 'd be like, 'Well, why are you with me, then? ' "It 's always been men putting me down just like my dad. To this day when someone says I 'm cute, I can 't see it. I don 't see it no matter what anybody says." By being told repeatedly that she was not beautiful enough Lil Kim who is a dark-skinned African-American woman went to great lengths to change that by having multiple cosmetic surgeries as well as bleaching her skin. Like many dark-skinned African-American women in America the words of people in her life whom she cared for scarred her from childhood on into adulthood and she felt inadequate and went through great lengths to improve her self-image and
Skin bleaching is one of the most common lengths that some dark-skinned African-American women go through in order to feel beautiful. Skin bleaching is a process in which one applies a bleaching ointment or regular household bleach to the skin in order to appear lighter. Cosmetic surgery is another extreme measure that is taken by dark-skinned women. Many dark-skinned African-American women have had nose jobs and lip reduction surgery in order to gain the features that have been deemed most beautiful by society. For example, rapper Lil Kim has been the face of skin bleaching and cosmetic surgery in the African American community for years now. In June of 2000 in an interview with Newsweek Lil Kim went on record and stated that “All my life men have told me I wasn 't pretty enough--even the men I was dating. And I 'd be like, 'Well, why are you with me, then? ' "It 's always been men putting me down just like my dad. To this day when someone says I 'm cute, I can 't see it. I don 't see it no matter what anybody says." By being told repeatedly that she was not beautiful enough Lil Kim who is a dark-skinned African-American woman went to great lengths to change that by having multiple cosmetic surgeries as well as bleaching her skin. Like many dark-skinned African-American women in America the words of people in her life whom she cared for scarred her from childhood on into adulthood and she felt inadequate and went through great lengths to improve her self-image and