'Colourism A Social Phenomenon: The Impact Colourism has on Interpersonal Relationships

Audiences:#Caribbeandiospora#AfricanAmericans#Youngprofessionals#Mediapractitioners #Colouredsociety#Colouredfolks#ethnicgroups

Building bonds or forming a relationship with others in our immediate social circle is inevitable. One’s social circle will include, but is not limited to, family, close friends, co-workers and or community members et al. However, these social circles tend to be susceptible to external influences that can shift the dynamics within one’s social circle. Where you find people of colour can usually turn to the support of their communities in the face of racism. That’s not necessarily the case with colourism, where members of a person’s own racial group may reject or resent them due to the skin colour biases rooted in the West’s history of white supremacy. Colourism turns intensely personal when it shows up in families. It can lead to parents favoring one child over another because of their skin colour. This may erode the rejected child’s self-worth, break the trust between parent and child, and foster sibling rivalry. In Jamaica, for instance, persons can recall hearing their parents or neighbor complimenting their lighter-skinned counterpart whether it is their sibling or partner. Compliments such as, “yuh brown and nice eh”, “nice clean browning” However, there always seem to be a shortage for compliments towards the sibling or partner that is of a darker complexion. Historically, persons of a darker hue tend to expose to degrading comments such as “yuh black and ugly like” “lawd im black eh”, when being in a dispute with an individual who is lighter or sometimes darker too.

The deliberate colour bias as mentioned above can birth toxicity in relationships whether amongst family members, close friends, community members et al. Moreover, for example, If a child is born with dark skin and learns that dark skin is not valued by his/her peers, community, or society, he/she may develop feelings of shame. This is especially true if the child is unaware of colourism’s historical roots and lacks friends and family members who shun skin colour bias. Without an understanding of racism and classism, it’s difficult for a child to understand that no one’s skin colour is innately good or bad.

Therefore, my readers, to what extent do you agree with my examples mentioned, and if you can you share your thoughts and experiences below? Let us discuss this.

Reference

Why black people discriminate among ourselves: the toxic legacy of colorism. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/apr/09/colorism-racism-why-black-people-discriminate-among-ourselves