African American Adolescent Girls’ Beliefs About Skin Tone and Colorism

Colorism is a pervasive system of inequality shown to negatively affect psychosocial and economic outcomes among African American adults. Among African American women and girls in particular, the social and psychological implications of colorist practices can be severe. The present study aimed to be...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of black psychology 2020-03, Vol.46 (2-3), p.169-194
Main Authors: Abrams, Jasmine A., Belgrave, Faye Z., Williams, Chelsea D., Maxwell, Morgan L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent girls
African Americans
Beliefs
Bias
Coding
Females
Focus Groups
Girls
Inequality
Internalization
Phenomenology
Psychosocial factors
Skin
Social status
Teenagers
Women
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Summary:Colorism is a pervasive system of inequality shown to negatively affect psychosocial and economic outcomes among African American adults. Among African American women and girls in particular, the social and psychological implications of colorist practices can be severe. The present study aimed to better understand African American girls’ understanding of this phenomenon during adolescence. Using a phenomenological approach, interviews and focus groups were conducted with African American girls (N = 30) in order to determine which colorist messages are perceived and potentially internalized as communal beliefs. Iterative coding and subsequent thematic analysis revealed three primary themes and four subthemes: (a) Skin tone and attractiveness (Subthemes: Light skin as beautiful; Dark skin as unattractive), (b) Skin tone and social standing and education level (Subthemes: Dark skin as lower class; Light skin as higher class), and (c) Skin tone and personality/behavioral traits. Findings revealed that African American girls reported contemporary colorism biases similar to those found among African American women, suggesting temporal and generational continuity.
ISSN:0095-7984
1552-4558
DOI:10.1177/0095798420928194