In America, these variations in complexions produced an unspoken hierarchy: Black people with lighter complexions ended up being granted some of the rights of the master class. The United States has its own complicated history with skin color, primarily because “mulatto” skin – not quite black, but not quite white – often arose out of mixed-race children conceived between slaves and slave masters. READ MORE: ‘Dark Girls’ Documentary Explores Skin Color Bias According to Japanese tradition, a woman with fair skin compensates for “seven blemishes.” In Japan, long before the first Europeans arrived, dark skin was stigmatized. In India, dark-skinned Dalits, for thousands of years, were viewed as “untouchables.” Today, they’re still stigmatized. In many Native American communities, “Red-Black Cherokees” were denied acceptance into the tribe, while those with lighter skin were welcomed.īut it is in Asia where dark skin has seen the longest and most intense level of stigma. Many Latin American countries have laws and policies in place to prevent discrimination relative to skin color. There are few places in the world where dark skin isn’t stigmatized. Though they might criticize lighter-skinned black people, many people of color – deep down – abhor dark skin.
The article noted that while these treatments have become hugely popular in Asia, “it is also cropping up among certain communities in Britain and the United States,” with demand “slowly growing.”Īs someone who has studied and written about the issue of skin color and black identity for over 20 years, I believe the rise of glutathione treatments – in addition to the growing use of various bleaching creams – reveal a taboo that African-Americans are certainly aware of, but loathe to admit.
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