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Writing with Color: Words for Skin Tone

A blog dedicated to writing and resources centered on racial & ethnic diversity.

• Reviews (3)

How do you describe the color of someone’s skin? This page is all about that. “This final portion focuses on describing skin tone, with photo and passage examples provided throughout. I hope to cover everything from the use of straight-forward description to the more creatively-inclined.”​ (I wanted to give a URL but this insists on inlining the content) ​

Recent Reviews

Very useful reference. Skin color is something I typically have trouble with.

Like TVTropes, Springhole, and Wikipedia, an author could spend hours following one link (Black Panther Fanfic Writing) to the next (Bad to have a Disabled Love Interest?) and the next (Baby Banks in an Infertile World, Eugenics and Racism) into the wee hours of the morning, only this one is tailored specifically to people who want their fiction to have as much positive impact as possible on the real people who are reading their stories in the real world.

Love this! I had it bookmarked a few years ago on my old computer, then lost it. Thanks for posting it. I've used this as a reference in many of my novels over the years. It's incredibly helpful in coming up with creative ways to describe characters.

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The Evolution of Skin Color

Penn State anthropologist Nina Jablonski is reimagining how we look at skin color.

We inherit our skin color from our ancestors, and so it is obviously a trait that is tied to our biology and genetics. But what is it that brought about such a diversity of human skin colors? And how can knowledge about the natural history of skin inform questions surrounding societal notions of skin color and our health?

These are a few questions that form the basis for what Penn State anthropologist Nina Jablonski calls an explanatory framework of the evolution of skin pigmentation in modern human beings. It all began in the early 1990s when Jablonski began exploring gaps in the literature about the evolution of human skin and skin color.

Up until that point, Jablonski was known for her work in primatology and research on Old World monkeys. Shifting that focus not only resulted in fascinating discoveries about what makes us the color that we are, but a body of work highlighted by dozens of papers, two books, public education programming on the origin of skin color, television and radio appearances on NPR, PBS, late night talk shows, and a TED talk that has garnered more than a million views.

Nina Jablonski, Evan Pugh University Professor

College of the Liberal Arts

Department of Anthropology

WATCH The Evolution of Skin Color

“My ultimate goal in this research is for people to understand that their skin color is a result of evolution. That’s it. Skin color has no connection to the evolution of other traits.”

Artist’s rendition of a map created by Nina Jablonski and George Chaplin showing predicted skin colors of human natives of various regions based on levels of ultraviolet radiation from the sun in each region. Cut-Paper Illustration by Gail McCormick

The Sepia Rainbow

In the early 1990s, the evolution of skin color was regarded by many of her peers as an intractable problem. Theory held that darker skin had evolved in order to afford early humans—who had recently lost the cover of fur—a protection against skin cancer under the tropical sun. But skin cancers, Jablonski knew, almost always arise later in life, when an individual is past reproductive age. Blocking their occurrence would offer little or no evolutionary advantage.

In a 1978 paper by two American medical researchers, Jablonski found evidence linking exposure to strong sunlight with low levels of folate, an essential B vitamin, in the blood. Other research tied folate deficiency in pregnant women to various birth defects. In men, she learned, folate is vital for sperm production.

These and other observations gradually led her and her husband and collaborator George Chaplin, Senior Research Associate in Penn State’s Department of Anthropology , toward a new hypothesis: that humans evolved the ability to produce melanin, the dark-brown pigment that acts as a natural sunscreen, as a way of safeguarding the body’s store of folate.

At the outset, then, living near the equator, all humans would have had dark skin. But that’s only half the riddle. Why and how did lightly pigmented skin come about? The answer, Jablonski reasoned, involves another key vitamin—and the history of human migration.

“I’m hoping this research gives people the appreciation that their bodies are the products of evolution. We’ve undergone evolutionary change just like the bodies of other creatures. And this evolution has implications for our health.”

As Jablonski explains, the sun’s ultraviolet rays, in addition to causing cell damage and other forms of harm, play a vital role in human health: They trigger the production of vitamin D in the skin. Vitamin D, as most of us learned in elementary school, is critical for strong bones and healthy teeth. More recent studies show its value in immune function and for fighting off certain cancers and even heart disease.

In tropical climates, enough UV penetrates even dark skin to provide an adequate dose of vitamin D. However, as our forebears began to migrate, wandering far from the equatorial sun, not enough UV could make its way through the protective melanin. At higher latitudes, particularly in winter, vitamin D levels dropped, to the point where health was compromised. Dark skin became a disadvantage. The evolutionary response, Jablonski says, was a loss of pigmentation. Individuals with less melanin in their skin had a better chance of surviving where there was not as much sunlight available.

In the late 1990s, Jablonski and Chaplin found support for this idea in a set of NASA satellite data, which provided a precise record of surface-level UV radiation at every point on the globe. When they compared these data with geographical records of skin color variation, they found an overwhelming degree of correlation. Skin color was darkest where surface UV was strongest, the overlay clearly showed, and lightest where surface UV was weak.

After ten years of digging, the two had arrived at what amounts to the first comprehensive theory of human skin color. What Jablonski calls “this beautiful sepia rainbow” evolved as a response to human migration, local UV regimes, and the body’s need for vitamin D.

“I’m hoping this research gives people the appreciation that their bodies are the products of evolution,” says Jablonski. “We’ve undergone evolutionary change just like the bodies of other creatures. And this evolution has implications for our health.”

“People want to know how they can help, and I think that speaks to the truly collaborative environment of Penn State from my colleagues all the way up to leadership. Their support and that willingness to be intellectually adventurous allows me to have greater impact.”

Finding Your Roots

Since arriving to Penn State in 2006, Jablonski has not only found tremendous support for her research, but also in considering new ways to apply it.

Along with Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., she has gathered a group of historians, artists, biologists, geneticists, genealogists, and educators to develop a curriculum that would bridge her work in the evolution of skin color to inviting students to consider who they are genetically, genealogically, socioculturally, and intentionally.

The result—the Genetics and Genealogy Curriculum Project — is aimed at middle-school-aged children and offers a curriculum that explores personalized genetics and genealogy in the classroom as a way to get kids to connect with their heritage, while at the same time, creating an interest in science.

“The buy-in we’ve gotten from the University community, the Eberly College of Science , and across other colleges and academic units has been tremendous,” Jablonski said. “People want to know how they can help, and I think that speaks to the truly collaborative environment of Penn State from my colleagues all the way up to leadership. Their support and that willingness to be intellectually adventurous allows me to have greater impact.”

The program introduces students to key concepts in biology and evolution, human variation, and health using hands-on measurement and quantitative analysis and the visual display of their personal information. Students take on the role of the scientist in exploring their own genomes and heritage.

“If you really want to have an impact on people’s lives with something that truly matters to them, then you need to find ways to reach them in ways that make sense.”

“Kids want information and they’re very naturally curious about what they see around them,” Jablonski said. “They want to know where they came from, and why they look the way they do. Using the tools of modern genomics and genealogical reconstruction, we can reconstruct some of this precious history, and help students answer the question, ‘Who Am I?’ Our hope is that this experience will ignite a spark of interest in science that will burn throughout their lives.”

Given the nature of the curriculum and the social implications involved in discussing the evolution of skin color and race, it was important to Jablonski that the curriculum be truly useful and relevant—not only to the students, but to teachers, school administrators, and families as well. In piloting the curriculum, Jablonski and fellow instructors treated it as a research study—observing and taking notes on students’ reaction to the curriculum, initiating student-based reflection and interviews as a way to understand the true effectiveness of the program.

“This has been an important focus of my science and career—to make my research worthy and relevant to kids and their families,” Jablonski said. “As a scholar, there are of course the traditional ways of getting information out—academic papers and science journals—and that’s really important for scholarly grounding. But, if you really want to have an impact on people’s lives with something that truly matters to them, then you need to find ways to reach them in ways that make sense.”

For Jablonski, passing on this understanding of human skin color is what she hopes is a step toward greater understanding within humanity.

“The educational aspect is the tangible result of my research,” says Jablonski. “Learning about science and our place in nature can actually help in making the world a better place. And the journey is what engages them [the students]. When students realize they can investigate themselves, it’s truly exciting for them.”

In Nina Jablonski’s TED Talk —which has been viewed more than one million times—she explores the origins of differing skin colors, their importance to our health, as well as how this research fits into anthropological history.

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• Majority of Latinos Say Skin Color Impacts Opportunity in America and Shapes Daily Life

Latinos with darker skin color report more discrimination experiences than Latinos with lighter skin color

Table of contents.

• 1. Half of U.S Latinos experienced some form of discrimination during the first year of the pandemic
• 2. For many Latinos, skin color shapes their daily life and affects opportunity in America
• 3. Latinos divided on whether race gets too much or too little attention in the U.S. today
• 4. Measuring the racial identity of Latinos
• Acknowledgments
• Methodology
• Appendix: Additional tables

Pew Research Center conducted this study to understand the role of skin color in the life experiences of Latino adults. It also measures attitudes of Latinos about race and race relations and their personal experiences with discrimination. In addition, the study explores four different ways to measure racial identity, including an assessment of skin color.

For this analysis we surveyed 3,375 U.S. Hispanic adults in March 2021. This includes 1,900 Hispanic adults on Pew Research Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP) and 1,475 Hispanic adults on Ipsos’ KnowledgePanel. Respondents on both panels are recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. Recruiting panelists by phone or mail ensures that nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. This gives us confidence that any sample can represent the whole population (see our Methods 101 explainer on random sampling), or in this case the whole U.S. Hispanic population.

To further ensure the survey reflects a balanced cross-section of the nation’s Hispanic adults, the data is weighted to match the U.S. Hispanic adult population by age, gender, education, nativity, Hispanic origin group and other categories. Read more about the ATP’s methodology . Here are the questions used for our survey of Hispanic adults, along with responses, and its methodology .

The terms Hispanic and Latino are used interchangeably in this report.

Skin color is self-assessed based on a 10-step scale, ranging from lightest (1) to darkest (10). Latinos with lighter skin color or Latinos with lighter skin selected 1-4 on the scale while Latinos with darker skin color or Latinos with darker skin selected 5-10.

U.S. born refers to persons born in the United States and those born in other countries to parents at least one of whom was a U.S. citizen.

Foreign born refers to persons born outside of the United States to parents neither of whom was a U.S. citizen. The terms foreign born and immigrant are used interchangeably in this report. For the purposes of this report, foreign born also refers to those born in Puerto Rico. Although individuals born in Puerto Rico are U.S. citizens by birth, they are included among the foreign born because they are born into a Spanish-dominant culture and because on many points their attitudes, views and beliefs are much closer to Hispanics born abroad than to Hispanics born in the 50 states or the District of Columbia, even those who identify themselves as being of Puerto Rican origin.

First generation refers to foreign-born people. The terms “foreign born,” “first generation” and “immigrant” are used interchangeably in this report.

Second generation refers to people born in the 50 states or the District of Columbia, with at least one first-generation, or immigrant, parent.

Third or higher generation refers to people born in the 50 states or the District of Columbia, with both parents born in the 50 states or the District of Columbia.

Language dominance is a composite measure based on self-described assessments of speaking and reading abilities. Spanish-dominant people are more proficient in Spanish than in English (i.e., they speak and read Spanish “very well” or “pretty well” but rate their English-speaking and reading ability lower). Bilingual refers to people who are proficient in both English and Spanish. English-dominant people are more proficient in English than in Spanish.

The perceived impact of skin color in the lives of U.S. Latinos is broad. From impacting their ability to get ahead in the country to shaping their daily life experiences to dealing with discrimination, skin color is seen by Latinos as an important factor affecting their lives and life chances.

A majority (62%) of Hispanic adults say having a darker skin color hurts Hispanics’ ability to get ahead in the United States today at least a little. A similar share (59%) say having a lighter skin color helps Hispanics get ahead. And 57% say skin color shapes their daily life experiences a lot or some, with about half saying discrimination based on race or skin color is a “very big problem” in the U.S. today, according to Pew Research Center’s National Survey of Latinos, a bilingual, national survey of 3,375 Hispanic U.S. adults conducted in March 2021.

Colorism is a form of discrimination based on skin color, usually, though not always, favoring lighter skin color over darker skin color within a racial or ethnic group. While it can be tied to racism, it is not necessarily the same. (Racism is prejudice directed at members of a racial or ethnic group because of their origin.) For example, Hispanics in the U.S. may face discrimination because they are Hispanic (a form of racism), but the degree of discrimination may vary based on skin color, with those of darker shades experiencing more incidents (a form of colorism). And because of colorism’s deep roots in the histories of Latin America and the United States, discrimination based on skin color can occur among Hispanics just as much as it can be directed at Hispanics by non-Hispanics.

To measure this dimension of Latino identity in the United States, the survey asked respondents to identify the skin color that best resembled their own using a version of the Yadon-Ostfeld skin-color scale. Respondents were shown ten skin colors that ranged from fair to dark (see text box below for the images and scale used). Fully 80% of Latino adults selected a color between one and four, or lighter skin colors, while 15% selected a color between five and ten on the scale, or darker skin colors. 1

Discrimination and skin color

Colorism in the americas.

Discrimination based on skin color has deep historical roots in Latin America and the Caribbean. Centuries ago, a hierarchical or caste system was established in the Americas, tying privilege, individual worth and access to opportunities to one’s skin color, race and birthplace. This was further shaped by the arrival of slaves from Africa across the region and the mixing of Indigenous, European and African populations.

Today, skin color remains an important determinant of outcomes across the region. Individuals with darker skin achieve lower levels of educational attainment or have less access to health care , for example. And those of lighter skin color experience less discrimination than those of darker skin color.

Colorism is present in the U.S. as well and has similarly impacted the lives of Hispanics, Black Americans and Asian Americans, existing alongside racial discrimination. And it is similarly linked to a number of outcomes . For example, racism may impact both Hispanics of lighter skin and darker skin color, but Hispanics with darker skin may experience more discrimination.

Overall, about half (54%) of Hispanic adults experienced at least one of the eight discrimination incidents asked about in the survey, reflecting broader and ongoing experiences with discrimination among U.S. Hispanics no matter their skin color. However, the new survey finds Hispanics with darker skin color are more likely to have experienced at least one discrimination incident than Hispanics with lighter skin color. Nearly two-thirds (64%) of Hispanics with darker skin say they personally experienced at least one of the eight discrimination incidents during the year previous to the survey, while 54% of Hispanics with lighter skin color say the same.  

Among the discrimination experiences included in the survey, being treated as if they were not smart is the most reported. Some 42% of Latinos with darker skin say this happened to them, as do 34% of Latinos with lighter skin.

The next most common discrimination experiences were those directed at Hispanics by non-Hispanics and Hispanics alike, with the chances of these incidents happening linked to skin color. Some 42% of Hispanics with darker skin personally experienced discrimination or were treated unfairly by someone who is not Hispanic , while 29% of those with lighter skin say the same happened to them. And 41% of Hispanics with darker skin say they personally experienced discrimination or were treated unfairly by someone who is Hispanic , while 25% of those who have a lighter skin color say they too experienced discrimination by someone who is Hispanic.

Still, no matter their skin color and despite the notable gap, Latinos are experiencing discrimination. About one-third (32%) of Latinos with darker skin say someone told them to go back to their country, for example, as did 20% 0f those with lighter skin. Some 33% of Latinos with darker skin say someone criticized them for speaking Spanish in public, as did 22% of those with lighter skin. And 27% of Latinos with darker skin say they feared for their personal safety while 20% of those with lighter skin say the same.

While Latinos’ skin color is linked to discrimination experiences, those with darker skin and lighter skin alike say skin color affects opportunity and life experiences in America. For example, majorities of both groups say skin color shapes their daily life experiences – 62% among Latinos with darker skin and 57% among Latinos with lighter skin. And both groups are just as likely to say darker skin color “hurts” Latinos’ ability to get ahead in the U.S. (63% and 64% respectively). About half (49%) of Latinos with lighter skin say discrimination based on race or skin color is a very big problem, as do 41% of those with darker skin.

Impact of race, skin color is a topic of conversation with relatives and friends for Hispanics

Race, skin color and the state of race relations sometimes come up in conversations Latinos have with family and friends. Roughly half (48%) say discrimination based on race or skin color is a topic in conversations at least sometimes with friends and relatives. But these conversations are not happening frequently among all Latinos. About half (51%) say these conversations with relatives and friends happen rarely (30%) or never (21%).

Conversations about racial or skin color discrimination are happening more often among Hispanics with darker skin than those with lighter skin. Six-in-ten Hispanics with darker skin color (60%) say they often or sometimes talk with family and friends about discrimination based on race or skin color, a share that falls to 46% among Hispanics with lighter skin.

And 44% say the topic of U.S. race relations often or sometimes comes up when talking with family and friends. About half (52%) of Hispanics with darker skin say this, as do 43% of Hispanics with lighter skin.

Racial identity and experiences with racism have been a part of some Latinos’ experiences growing up as well. About one-in-four Latinos (27%) say their family talked to them at least sometimes about the challenges they might face due to their race or ethnicity when they were growing up. This is more common among Latinos who indicate they have darker skin (41%) than among those who indicate they have lighter skin (25%).

Capturing skin color among U.S. Hispanics

A self-assessed measure of skin color was included in the survey as one of four measures of racial identity. The survey used a version of the Yadon-Ostfeld 10-point skin color scale, where one represents the lightest skin color and 10 the darkest. (The scale used in the survey is reproduced below.) Survey respondents were asked to select the color that most closely matches their own, even if none of them were exactly right.

Responses were distributed mostly toward lighter skin colors. Eight-in-ten Hispanics selected one of the four lightest skin colors, with the second-lightest ranking on top (28%), followed by the third (21%) and fourth lightest colors (17%). By contrast, 15% of Latino respondents selected one of the six darker skin colors, with only 3% in total selecting one of the four darkest skin colors (7-10). For this report, those who indicated their skin color is between one and four are identified as of a lighter skin color, while those who indicated their skin color is between five and 10 are identified as of a darker skin color.

Half of Latinos say there is too little national attention on racial issues concerning Latino people

After nearly a year of national engagement over issues of race following the killing of George Floyd in May of 2020 and subsequent nationwide racial justice protests, Latinos are split over whether there is too much or too little attention paid to race and racial issues in the country today. Overall, 37% say that too little attention is paid to these issues, while 36% say there is too much attention and 25% say the amount of attention given to race and racial issues is about the right amount.

The views of Latinos on this have shifted as the share saying too little attention is paid to race relations has dipped compared with 2019 and 2020 , when 50% and 46% of Latinos respectively said the same. At the same time, a growing share say there is too much attention paid to race and racial issues nationally. Some 36% say this today, up from 27% who said the same in 2019.

Even before recent events, Latinos were downbeat about race relations in the U.S. In another 2019 Pew Research Center survey, six-in-ten Latinos (60%) said race relations in the country then were generally bad and getting worse. In the same survey, more Latinos said people not seeing racism where it really does exist was a bigger problem in the country than people seeing racial discrimination where it really does not exist. 

Yet, when it comes to how much attention is paid to race and racial issues concerning Hispanic people, about half of all Hispanics (51%) say too little attention is paid to them today. Among Hispanics with darker skin, 57% say too little attention is paid to racial issues concerning Hispanic people, a higher share than the 50% of those with lighter skin color who say the same.

About as many Hispanics hold this view about the level of national attention paid to race and racial issues concerning Asian people. Over half (55%) of Hispanics say too little attention is paid to race issues concerning Asian people in the country today. Meanwhile, 29% of Hispanics say the amount of national attention paid to race issues concerning Asian people is about right and 14% say too much attention is paid to these issues. (The survey was fielded just as the number of hate and violence incidents focused on Asian Americans drew wide national attention.)

At the same time, 30% of Hispanics say too little attention is paid to race and racial issues related to Black people today, while 45% say too much attention is paid to them and 23% say the right amount of attention is paid to these issues.

Hispanics often hear other Hispanics make racially insensitive comments and jokes about Hispanics and non-Hispanics alike

Hispanics are hearing racially insensitive comments and jokes coming from other Hispanics, according to the survey. Nearly half (48%) of Hispanic adults say they have often or sometimes heard a Hispanic friend or family member make comments or jokes about other Hispanics that might be considered racist or racially insensitive. Similar shares of Hispanics who identify with a lighter skin color (48%) or darker skin color (52%) say they have heard these types of comments or jokes from friends or family at least sometimes.

And 45% of Hispanic adults say the same about hearing a Hispanic friend or family member make racist or racially insensitive comments or jokes about others who are not Hispanic often or at least sometimes. Among Hispanics with darker skin color, 53% say this, a higher share than among Hispanics with lighter skin color (44%).

This is little changed from 2019 , when a similar share of Hispanics (47%) said they heard a Hispanic friend or family member make what might be considered a racist comment about people who are not Hispanic. In the same 2019 survey, half of those who heard these comments or jokes from people close to them said they confronted a friend or family member about it.

While Hispanics say skin color affects their ability to get ahead in America, other factors are seen as important as well

While a majority of Latinos say skin color impacts Latinos’ opportunity in the U.S. today, education and immigration status are viewed by more as having an impact on the ability to get ahead.

About eight-in-ten Hispanics (82%) say having a college degree helps the ability of Hispanics to get ahead in the U.S. these days. And 78% say the same about living in the U.S. legally. Both are higher than the 59% saying a lighter skin color helps Hispanics get ahead in America and the 62% saying a darker skin color hurts Hispanics.

When asked if gender affects Hispanics’ ability to get ahead in the U.S. today, about half (52%) of Hispanics say being a man helps, while 21% say the same about being a woman. Roughly one-in-three say that being a Hispanic man or woman is neither an advantage nor disadvantage in America today.

For Latinos, discrimination experiences and views about skin color and race are linked

Latinos’ views on topics related to race or skin color differ by their own experiences with discrimination. Those who reported experiencing at least one of eight specific forms of discrimination asked about in the survey were more likely than those who did not report one to say having a lighter skin color helps at least a little in the ability of Hispanics to get ahead – 66% vs. 51% respectively. 2

About two-thirds (68%) of Latinos who had a discrimination experience in the past year say skin color shapes their daily life experiences a lot or some, compared with 43% of those who had no discrimination experiences that say the same.

In addition, those who had at least one discrimination experience in the past year were more likely than those who did not have such experiences to say discrimination based on race or skin color is a “very big problem” in the U.S., that discrimination based on skin color comes up often or sometimes in conversations with family and friends and that too little attention is paid to race and racial issues in the U.S. these days.

• The survey explored other measures of race identity among Latinos. These include a measure of how other people would describe respondents if they saw them walking past on the street (their street race); an open-end question asking respondents to describe their race or origin in their own words; and a standard race question in a style similar to that used by the U.S. Census Bureau and other researchers. See Chapter 1 for more on these alternative racial identity measures. ↩
• Eight discrimination incidents were tested in the survey, with respondents asked if they experienced each in the 12 months prior to March 2021: Been called offensive names because you are Hispanic; been criticized for speaking Spanish in public; someone made a remark that you should go back to your home country; personally experienced discrimination or been treated unfairly by someone who is also Hispanic; personally experienced discrimination or been treated unfairly because of your Hispanic background, by someone who is not Hispanic; been unfairly stopped by police; people acted as if they thought you were not smart; feared for your personal safety. ↩

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• Published: 15 June 2017

Adaptation of human skin color in various populations

• Lian Deng 1 , 2 &
• Shuhua Xu 1 , 2 , 3 , 4  

Hereditas volume  155 , Article number:  1 ( 2018 ) Cite this article

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Skin color is a well-recognized adaptive trait and has been studied extensively in humans. Understanding the genetic basis of adaptation of skin color in various populations has many implications in human evolution and medicine.

Impressive progress has been made recently to identify genes associated with skin color variation in a wide range of geographical and temporal populations. In this review, we discuss what is currently known about the genetics of skin color variation. We enumerated several cases of skin color adaptation in global modern humans and archaic hominins, and illustrated why, when, and how skin color adaptation occurred in different populations. Finally, we provided a summary of the candidate loci associated with pigmentation, which could be a valuable reference for further evolutionary and medical studies.

Previous studies generally indicated a complex genetic mechanism underlying the skin color variation, expanding our understanding of the role of population demographic history and natural selection in shaping genetic and phenotypic diversity in humans. Future work is needed to dissect the genetic architecture of skin color adaptation in numerous ethnic minority groups around the world, which remains relatively obscure compared with that of major continental groups, and to unravel the exact genetic basis of skin color adaptation.

Since modern humans ventured out of Africa ~100,000 years ago, they spread across continents into a variety of habitats, from tropical zones to the arctic, and from lowlands to highlands. During migration, selective pressures in local environments (e.g., the cold climate, hypoxia, and endemic pathogens), together with random drift, have resulted in population-specific genetic variants, which further influenced variable phenotypes, such as lactose tolerance, height, immune system, and metabolic efficiency.

Skin color variation is one of the most striking examples of human phenotypic diversity. It is dominated by melanin, a pigmentation located in the base of the epidermis and produced by melanocytes. Melanin has two forms, pheomelanin (yellow-reddish) and eumelanin (black-brown). The former is mainly accumulated in the light-complexioned people, while the latter is mostly produced in the dark-complexioned people [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]. In addition, the number and size of melanin particles differ among individuals, and is even more important than the proportions of the two forms of melanin in the determination of human skin color [ 5 ]. Other skin-related factors, e.g., keratin, also contribute to skin color variation [ 6 , 7 ].

In global populations, skin color is highly correlated with latitude, and fundamentally, the distribution of ultraviolet (UV) radiation (Fig. 1 ). Populations closer to the equator tend to have dark skin for protection against UV, since overexposure to UV may decrease folic acid levels [ 8 , 9 ] and cause skin cancer [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ]. The lighter skin in populations at higher latitudes is underlying selection to maintain vitamin D photosynthesis, which is a UV-dependent process [ 14 , 15 ].

Correlation between skin color and latitude (from Barsh (2003) [ 5 ]). ( a ) A map of human skin color distribution. ( b ) A plot of skin reflectance against latitude

Although UV has been assumed to be a driving force for the evolution of human skin colors, understanding the exact genetic mechanism of selection would be crucial to reconstruct human evolutionary history and elucidate the microevolution of adaptive traits. Describing a full picture of regional skin color adaptation in humans would be challenging because it includes not only the genes identified to be under selection, but also the extent to which these genes could explain phenotypic variation, the interactions and joint effects of genes, and the way they react to the external environments. In this article, we reviewed several cases of skin color adaptation in various populations of modern humans and archaic hominins. These cases show the similarities and differences of mechanisms of skin color adaptation across populations, and provide some insights into human evolutionary history.

Skin color adaptation in modern Eurasians

In Europeans, SLC24A5 and SLC45A2 [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ] are two golden genes related to the evolution of the light skin color. SLC24A5 encodes the NCKX5 protein, which is a member of the transmembrane protein family and regulates the calcium concentration in the melanosome [ 16 ]. This gene has been confirmed to affect pigmentation in zebrafish and mice [ 16 , 20 ]. Especially, the derived allele of rs1426654 in SLC24A5 was found to be nearly fixed in Europeans, but almost missing in populations without any European ancestry (Fig. 2 ) [ 21 ]. A 78-kb haplotype around SLC24A5 , which is in linkage disequilibrium with rs1426654, was also identified to accumulate in Europeans [ 22 ]. A similar pattern can be observed at rs16891982 in SLC45A2 [ 23 ], which has been reported to be associated with pigmentation in several species, e.g., mice, fish, birds, and horses [ 24 , 25 , 26 ]. Other variants in this gene, including rs26722, rs2287949, and rs40132, were also shown to be coloration-associated in Europeans [ 23 , 27 , 28 ]. Another important pigmentation-related gene identified in European is MC1R [ 29 , 30 , 31 ]. This gene is expressed in melanocytes and plays a key role in controlling the switch from pheomelanin to eumelanin [ 31 ]. The pigmentary phenotypes associated with MC1R has been studied in a wide range of animals [ 32 , 33 , 34 ]. Many variants have been identified in MC1R , such as rs1805007, rs1805008, and rs3212357 [ 35 , 36 ], despite its small size (951 bp). Other important European-specific loci include rs1393350 in TYR , rs2733831 in TYRP1, and rs1900758 in OCA2 [ 17 , 28 , 37 , 38 , 39 ]. The derived allele frequencies at these loci are high in Europeans but low in Africans and East Asians, which could be a clear signal of positive selection in Europeans, as indicated by statistical analysis [ 40 ].

Evolutionary model of human pigmentation in three continental populations. The rooted tree shows the genetic phylogeny of human populations from Africa, North Europe and East Asia, with the colors of the branches roughly indicating the generalized skin pigmetation level of these populations (adapted from McEvoy et al. (2006) [ 39 ]). Genetic loci reported to be under positive selection in the common ancestor of modern Eurasians are represented by rs1881227 in KITLG , and those independently evolved in Europeans and East Asians, indicating possible convergent evolution, are represented by rs12913832 in OCA2 and rs885479 in MC1R , respectively. The maps of allele frequency were drawn using R (version 3.2.1, https://www.r-project.org ), based on these loci in 53 global populations provided by the Human Genome Diversity Panel CEPH (HGDP, http://www.hagsc.org/hgdp/index.html ). Blue and red colors denote the ancestral and derived alleles, respectively

Genes involved in the skin color adaptation in East Asians are not that well studied compared to the long list of adaptive genes identified in Europeans. Notable examples include OCA2 and MC1R . Each harbors several non-synonymous mutations, e.g. rs1800414 and rs74653330 in OCA2, and rs885479 in MC1R [ 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 ], which exhibit high derived allele frequencies in East Asians, but low derived allele frequencies in Europeans and Africans (Fig. 2 ). The OCA2 protein is thought to be a mature melanosomal membrane protein [ 44 ], with a potential role in protein transportation into melanosomes [ 45 ]. The East Asian-specific variant of rs1800414 was first reported in an exome sequencing study aiming to figure out albinism-related variants [ 46 ]. The derived allele at rs1800414 was thought to contribute to the skin lightening in an association study of Han Chinese, which measured the skin color of individuals using the melanin index [ 47 ]. Another non-synonymous variant in OCA2 , rs74653330, has also been confirmed to be pigmentation-related in an association study of Japanese [ 48 ]. Additional examples of East Asian-specific pigmentation-associated alleles include rs10809814 in TYRP1 and rs1407995 in DCT [ 40 , 49 ], both of which show differentiation between Asians and non-Asians [ 47 ], and strong signals of positive selections in Asians [ 43 , 49 ].

Despite distinct genes and variants under respective local adaptations in Europeans and East Asians, some genes have derived alleles reaching high frequencies in both continental groups. For instance, KITLG exhibits a selective sweep in non-Africans [ 50 , 51 , 52 ]. This gene is widely expressed in multiple tissues, including the skin, and functions in organ morphogenesis and cell proliferation. The Kit-ligand encoded by KITLG is known as the steel factor and plays a crucial role in the normal development and maintenance of the melanocyte lineage in adult skin [ 53 ]; this has been proved in human, fish, and mice [ 54 , 55 , 56 ]. The effects of this gene on pigmentation have also been confirmed in a series of association studies [ 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 ]. One of the key variants is rs642742, which is located at 326 kb upstream to the transcription start site of KITLG . At this variant, the ancestral allele frequency is over 90% in Africans, comparable to the derived allele frequency in Europeans and East Asians (Fig. 2 ). Similar patterns were observed in other genes, e.g., ASIP and BNC2 [ 39 ].

Two models of the evolutionary architecture of human pigmentation were proposed on the basis of the above results and other related studies (Fig. 2 ). One is a convergent evolution model [ 17 , 40 , 43 , 49 ], suggesting that depigmentation has, to some degree, evolved independently in Europeans and East Asians, as different genes and variants have been suggested to explain the light skin and positive selection in these two continental groups. A recent study estimated the time of selective sweeps for the European-specific pigmentation variants to be around 11,000–19,000 years ago, after the divergence of Europeans and Asians [ 61 ]. An alternative model fits for the shared selective sweeps of Europeans and East Asians, which could possibly occur in proto-Eurasians. The onset of the sweep was estimated to be approximately 30,000 years ago, right after the “Out-of-Africa” migration, but earlier than the European-specific evolution on pigmentation [ 61 ]. The coexistence of these two models suggests a complex evolutionary history of skin color in modern humans.

Another clue of the complex genetic basis of skin color evolution is the allelic heterogeneity observed in a single gene, like OCA2 and MC1R . In each of these genes, some alleles are specific to Europeans, whereas others are specific to Asians, although they all have been proved to be depigmentation-related. In addition, OCA2 provides evidence of independent sweeps as well as convergent evolution in Europeans and Asians. Since results were obtained from studies using different samples, data, and methods, there could be some confounding factors leading to these different observations. However, more importantly, skin color is a complex trait that could not be simply explained by a single gene or variant; rather, it is likely to involve a huge network of genes and phenotypes. For instance, ASIP , an adaptive pigmentation gene in populations with European ancestry [ 62 , 63 ], encodes the agouti signaling protein, which blocks MC1R in the eumelanin synthesis in response to the UV-induced DNA damage [ 40 ]. In the melanin production, TYR acts as the catalyzer of the key initial step, and its stability is maintained by TYRP1 and DCT .

In addition, scans for selection on skin pigmentation indicate two different selection behaviors acting on de novo mutations and standing variations, respectively. Some variants, represented by rs1805007 and rs1805008 in MC1R (in Europeans) and rs1800414 in OCA2 (in Asians), only show derived alleles in populations under positive selection at these loci, from which we could conjecture that they are new mutations that appeared after modern humans settled in Europe or Asia. In contrast, some variants, such as rs3212357 in MC1R (under positive selection in Europeans), present low frequencies in Africans. Regardless of possible mutation events and genetic drift in African populations, it is more likely that the derived allele at this locus has presented for some time before they became favored. Similar cases have been found in the high-altitude adaptation of Tibetans and the immunity adaptation in some modern human populations, and even in the evolution of pigmentation phenotypes in non-human species [ 56 , 64 ].

Skin color adaptation in the admixed populations

Admixed populations, the hybrid offspring of two previously isolated populations, may provide important insights in understanding the genetics of geographical variation for two reasons. First, the loci underlying phenotypic differences in ancestral populations are also overlapping the highly informative markers of ancestry, which makes the admixed populations particularly useful for tracing population history. Second, the admixed populations usually have a wide range of variations regarding some specific phenotypes, which may increase the power of locating genes associated with complex traits/diseases after controlling potential population stratification.

Despite these advantages, admixed populations have rarely been considered in studies of human pigmentation variation. Current studies investigating pigmentation genes in admixed populations mainly involved those with African and European ancestry, such as African Americans, European Africans, and Latin Americans, since their ancestral populations are substantially differentiated in skin color. The ancestral genetic makeups differ among these three populations. African-Americans obtained the largest genetic contribution (~80%) from the African ancestry [ 65 ], Latin American mestizos have the least proportion of African ancestry (~10%) [ 66 , 67 ], while in European Africans, the genetic components inherited from Europeans (~42%) and Africans (~58%) are comparable [ 68 ]. Uniquely in the Latin Americans, a considerable proportion of Native American ancestry (~45%) exists [ 66 , 67 ]. Moreover, on the individual level, the proportion of each ancestry exhibits a large variance in each admixed population. For instance, the fraction of European ancestry varies from 2% to 98% among African American individuals [ 65 ]. The large variance of skin color in admixed individuals could result from their highly diverse genetic makeup, as a substantial correlation has been observed between ancestry proportion and skin color [ 68 , 69 , 70 ].

Multiple well-known candidate genes for pigmentation in Europeans have also been identified by admixture mapping (Fig. 3 ) or association studies in admixed populations. For instance, TYR , carrying a non-synonymous substitution rs1042602 (S192Y), was identified in African Americans [ 69 ] and European Africans from Cape Verde [ 68 ]. Variants in ASIP, such as rs6058017, which has been found to occur at different frequencies in global populations [ 63 ], were also reported to be associated with dark hair and brown eyes in European Americans [ 71 ], African Americans [ 62 ] and Brazilians [ 72 ]. Furthermore, KITLG showed strong signals of selective sweep in African Americans [ 51 ], with a significant preference to homozygotes of the African-specific allele (ancestral allele) at rs642742 in individuals with high melanin index (dark skin) [ 69 ]. Similar cases include rs1426654 in SLC24A5 in European Africans [ 68 ] and Latin Americans [ 72 ], and rs35395 in SLC45A2 in European Africans [ 68 ].

A framework of admixture mapping to detect positive selection. The average faces of African, European, and African America were downloaded from http://www.mediadump.com/hosted-id167-average-faces-from-around-the-world.html#.WLkMU-kfU1A

However, some studies reported discrepant results. The correlation between Native American ancestry and skin pigmentation reported in a Hispanic population [ 73 ] was not observed in a group of Puerto Rican women [ 70 ]. One of the key single nucleotide polymorphism loci (SNPs) in OCA2 , rs1800404, showed a significant effect on skin pigmentation when analyzing African Americans and a combined population of African American and African-Caribbean, but was absent in an independent analysis of the African-Caribbean samples [ 69 ]. It is possible that different genetic mechanisms of skin color variation exist in various populations, but cautions should be taken regarding detailed information in the data, such as sample size and the ancestral populations selected for analyzing the admixed populations, which could lead to biased results [ 67 , 69 ].

The identification of genetic determinants of natural variation of skin pigmentation was also conducted in other admixed populations. One successful example is a genome-wide association study of a population of South Asian descent [ 74 ], in which polymorphisms in SLC24A5 , TYR and SLC45A2 showed significant associations with the melanin content in skin. The light skin alleles in South Asian could possibly be inherited from their European ancestors [ 75 ], who initially arrived at this region around 3500–4000 years ago along with Indo-European language expansion [ 76 ], followed by recent colonization in the last few centuries. In addition, Central Asia and Southeast Asia are home to various admixed populations, which are likewise of great potential in the study of skin color adaptation. Admixed population analyses may greatly enrich our understanding of skin color variation in modern human populations.

Skin color adaptation in the aboriginal populations

The aboriginal populations in different areas around the world have many implications for human evolutionary history. They have been regarded as the early settlers in respective areas. Despite having been assimilated by their surrounding agriculturalists to some extent, some aboriginal people have preserved their traditional livelihoods as hunter-gatherers, as well as their original physical traits – dark skin, short stature, and curly hair.

The hunter-gatherer populations with dark skin, short stature and curly hair have attracted much attention (Fig. 4a ). The genetic mechanism underlying the shared phenotypes among these geographically distant populations (collectively called Negritos or Pygmies), from Central Africa, the Andaman Islands, Southeast Asia and Oceania, are still controversial; for example, whether they were the common descent from a pre-Neolithic substrate of humanity or a consequence of convergent evolution [ 77 , 78 ]. To date, most genetic studies on this issue have focused on height [ 78 , 79 , 80 , 81 ]. One study provided clues for convergent evolution from the view of skin pigmentation adaptation by analyzing MC1R diversity in the Melanesians [ 82 ]. This study showed that the ancestral haplotypes of MC1R are not highly conserved between Northern Island Melanesians and Africans, although both populations live in the high UV region, which is in contrast to previous findings based on very limited samples [ 30 , 83 ]. Besides, a non-synonymous polymorphism, rs2228479, shows enriched derived alleles specifically in East Asians, but is not significantly associated with skin or hair pigmentation in Melanesians. Actually, the Melanesian population exhibits striking skin pigmentation variation [ 84 ], and consistently, some variants have been identified to be region-specific, which could partly explain this phenotypic variation. A notable example is a non-synonymous variant, rs387907171, in TYRP1 [ 85 ]. It is restricted to the Solomons and parts of the Bismarck Archipelago, and might contribute to the ‘blond hair’ in this region [ 85 , 86 ]. These results emphasize the complex genetic architecture of pigmentation phenotypes, and also highlight the role that population history (e.g., the complex population history of the Southwest Pacific [ 87 , 88 , 89 ]) can play a role in influencing phenotypic diversity. Skin pigmentation studies on other modern aboriginal populations (besides Melanesians) are scarce, except for one investigating the Senoi population (an indigenous population) from the Malay Peninsula, which is an admixture of the Negrito (dark-skinned) and the southern Mongoloid from Indo-China (yellow-brown-skinned), and has a wide skin color spectrum [ 90 ]. The authors of this study found that despite the low derived allele frequency, the A111T mutation (rs1426654) in SLC24A5 is significantly associated with the light skin in Senoi, which was suspected to result from the admixture of the Mongoloid and South Asians.

Skin color of aboriginal people in the Equatorial zone and the Arctic. ( a ) Skin color comparison between Bateq (a subgroup of Negrito) and Malay from Peninsular Malaysia. ( b ) Skin color comparison between Inuit and Swedish from similar latitudes. Portraits of Malay and Swedish individuals are provided by the Joshua Project ( http://joshuaproject.net ), the Bateq portrait is from http://www.businessinsider.my/ , and the Inuit portrait is from http://www.arcticphoto.co.uk/

Another interesting issue concerning human skin color adaptation comes from the arctic people. The Inuit people, in far North Eastern Asia and the American Subarctic, have yellowish-brown skin despite the far northern latitude at which they live, unlike other populations living at the same latitude, such as the Swedes and Finnish (Fig. 4b ). This makes the Inuit population an exception of the latitude-correlated distribution of skin color. One possible reason is that the dark skin could protect the Inuits from the severe UV exposure because of the long daylight hours in winter and high levels of UV reflection from the snow. While the dark skin is a disadvantage for vitamin D production, plenty of vitamins including vitamin D could be compensated from their diets [ 91 , 92 ]. Another cause could be the founder effect of the ancient East Asian ancestry of the Inuits, who have inhabited the arctic region since nearly 5000 years ago, and had higher melanin production than the European ancestry. However, very few genetic studies have been conducted to determine the genetic basis of dark skin in arctic populations.

Skin color adaptation in the ancient hominins

The dark skin in modern humans was established around 1.2 million years ago, driven by the loss of body hair after divergence from apes, presumably to protect against UV-induced damages [ 13 , 93 , 94 , 95 , 96 ]. Then, when did modern Eurasians start to depigment? The studies on skin color adaptation summarized above are based on modern population genetic data, which may suffer from limited temporal resolution caused by the population demographic history, and insensitivity to selection acting on standing variations [ 97 ]. The advent of ancient DNA analyses makes it possible to directly observe the evolution processes, and thus would facilitate our understanding of this key question.

A study on the genomes of Anatolian Neolithic farmers in West Eurasia (6500–300 BC), who are probably the source population of the first European farmers, suggests that the light skin color has been evolved since at least 6500–4000 years ago [ 98 ]. Several popular genes identified in modern Eurasians, e.g., SLC45A2 , GRM5 and HERC2 / OCA2 showed strong signal of selection in these ancient samples. This conclusion is supported by another study based on the Eneolithic (6500–5000 BP) and Bronze Age (5000–4000 BP) samples, representing the early European farmers or late hunter-gatherers in central Europe [ 99 ]. One possible motivation of the skin depigmentation in prehistoric Eurasia is agriculturalization, which led to a switch from vitamin D-rich hunter-gatherer diet to a vitamin D-poor agriculturalist diet, together with the increased danger of folic acid deficiency at higher latitudes [ 14 , 100 ]. Moreover, the selective pressures have kept operating for a long time after they initiated the adaptation of skin color, as some ancestral pigmentations alleles were identified in a Mesolithic European (7000 BP), and some adaptive alleles under selection in the ancient Eurasians are still evolving in modern humans [ 98 , 99 , 101 ].

Recent studies on archaic hominins (e.g., Neanderthals, an extinct hominid group living in Eurasia ~400,000–28,000 years ago [ 102 ]) further improved our understanding of skin color evolution in modern humans. Neanderthals met modern humans in the Middle East ~60,000–50,000 years ago, and contributed to about 1–4% of modern human genomes [ 103 , 104 , 105 ]. Some pigmentation-associated genes are identified in the introgressed haplotypes from Neanderthals in modern Eurasians, such as POU2F3 , BNC2 and MC1R [ 106 , 107 ]. Specifically, the introgressive alleles were reported to result in light skin color, suggesting an ‘adaptive introgression’ strategy of human skin color adaptation. Other introgressive genes related to skin phenotypes include HYAL genes, which are associated with cellular responses to UV and are under strong positive selection in East Asians [ 108 ], and those involved in keratin filaments formation [ 109 ]. Although these genes are not direct determinants of skin pigmentation, they, like those pigmentation-related genes, possibly helped modern humans adapt to non-African environments.

When drawing conclusions of adaptive introgression, we are actually claiming that Neanderthals could be light-complexioned. This inference is just based on some pigmentation-associated genes or alleles identified in existing modern human populations, since visible phenotypes of Neanderthals and other extinct species are not available. However, when using some other priory genes as potential clues, different results can be obtained. For instance, the derived state of MC1R , which is responsible for pale skin, presents in Neanderthal individuals from Italy and Spain but is missing in Croatian Neanderthals and Denisova [ 110 ], suggesting skin color variation in the archaic hominins. In addition, the light skin in Neanderthals and modern Eurasians could also result from convergent evolution, rather than adaptive introgression [ 111 ].

The hypothesis of adaptive introgression seems to predate when modern human became pale – long before the late Mesolithic age, as Neanderthals went extinct around 28,000 years ago. However, we should reconsider whether the genes affecting skin color in archaic hominins indeed determined skin color in modern humans. Even if this is the case, it is also possible that modern human retained these introgressive variants until they showed some phenotypic effects under some specific strong selective pressures. Thus, more data resources and analyses are necessary to address this issue in the future.

Selection coefficient and effect size

As one of the most obvious changes in the environment after modern human migrated out of Africa to higher latitudes, UV has exerted considerable selective pressures on human skin pigmentation, which can be reflected by selection coefficients of the pigmentation-related genes. The estimation of selection coefficients largely depends on the genes considered and the methodologies. Beleza et al. estimated the coefficient of selection at several loci representing SLC24A5 , SLC45A2 , TYRP1, and KITLG [ 61 ]. For example, the estimates are 0.05/0.04 for SLC45A2 and 0.16/0.08 for SLC24A5 under a dominant/an additive model of inheritance in Europeans. Meanwhile, López et al. reported the selection coefficient of a variant in SLC45A2 to be 0.01–0.02 in a South European populations [ 112 ]. These estimations are comparable to the selection coefficients inferred directly from serially sampled data at HERC2 , SLC45A2 , and TYR , ranging from 0.02–0.1 [ 99 ]. The selection coefficients estimated for pigmentation genes are best understood in the context of estimates for other recently selected loci. The selection advantages are inferred to be 0.01–0.08 for LCT , a gene strongly associated with lactase persistence in populations with European ancestry [ 113 , 114 ], 0.019–0.048 for G6PD , a gene conferring malaria resistance in African populations [ 115 ], 0.03–0.19 for EDAR associated with the increased scalp hair thickness and changed tooth morphology in the Han Chinese [ 116 ], and 0.0004–0.0023 for EGLN1 and EPAS1 gene regions contributing to the high-altitude adaptation in Tibetans [ 117 ]. The selection coefficients for pigmentation genes are among the most strongly selected genes in the human genome, indicating a severe selective pressure caused by UV or some other environmental changes in non-African regions.

Although a large number of genes have been identified to contribute to skin color variation, how much could they explain the skin color variation in modern humans? Is there a gene or variant that has a dominant effect on the skin color? Some genes could possibly play a major role in determining skin color in specific populations. For instance, the light skin variant at rs1426654 in SLC24A5 could explain 22–32% of the variance of the melanin index in South Asian [ 75 ] and 25–38% in African-American and African-Caribbean populations [ 118 ]. Additionally, the derived allele at rs642742 in KITLG may account for lightening of a person’s skin by 6 to 7 melanin units, nearly 1/5 of the overall skin reflectance difference between West Africans and Europeans (30 melanin units) [ 56 ]. However, there are relatively more genes and variants with smaller effects. One of the key variants in OCA2 , rs1800414, could explain around 4% of the pigmentation variation in East Asian populations [ 47 ]. In South Asians, rs16891982 in SLC45A2 and rs1042602 in TYR account for 3.6% and 2.5% skin color variation, respectively, much less than the effect size of rs1426654 in SLC24A5 [ 74 ]. The inheritance mode of skin pigmentation follows an additive model, or at least an incomplete additive model [ 16 , 17 , 47 , 56 , 75 ].

Conclusions

Overall, human skin color is a highly variable and complex trait as a consequence of strong selection pressure and is controlled by multiple genetic loci (summarized in Table 1 ). Skin color adaptation is a complex process because different populations have shared and independent genetic mechanisms involving a large number of genes with different effect advantages on the phenotype. Skin color adaptation is also a long evolutionary process influenced by various historical, even pre-historical, population genetic events. Current studies provide comprehensive insights into the natural selection process and mechanisms of human skin color variation. A richer resource of high-coverage whole-genome sequences and phenotype data may provide opportunities to further speculate an accurate model of genetic architecture and gene-environment effects, and advance our understanding of skin pigmentation in certain minor ethnic groups, such as hunter-gatherers and highlanders. We believe that these studies may greatly enrich our knowledge of human evolution history and elucidate the genetic basis of complex traits in humans.

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We thank LetPub ( www.letpub.com ) for its linguistic assistance during the preparation of this manuscript.

S.X. acknowledges financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) grant (91331204 and 31711530221), the Strategic Priority Research Program (XDB13040100) and Key Research Program of Frontier Sciences (QYZDJ-SSW-SYS009) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (31525014), and the Program of Shanghai Academic Research Leader (16XD1404700); S.X. is Max-Planck Independent Research Group Leader and member of CAS Youth Innovation Promotion Association. S.X. also gratefully acknowledges the support of the National Program for Top-notch Young Innovative Talents of The “Wanren Jihua” Project. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

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Colorism: Understanding Skintone Discrimination

Cheryl S. Grant is a writer, and nutritionist. She has written for brands such as Cosmopolitan, Brides, Glamour, Yoga Journal, and others.

Adah Chung is a fact checker, writer, researcher, and occupational therapist. 

Verywell / Madelyn Goodnight

Colorism Is Rooted in Racism

Colorism in minority groups, colorism in the white community, in the media, the skin lightening industry, how to combat colorism.

Colorism is the practice of favoring lighter skin over darker skin. The preference for lighter skin can be seen within any racial or ethnic background.

While some say that they are color-blind when it comes to race, it's hard to deny that many people not only see color but they also use it as a way to judge or determine someone’s character.

This article explains colorism, its relationship to racism , and offers ways you can help to combat the pervasiveness of colorism.

Colorism finds its roots in racism because, without racism, someone’s value and perceived superiority wouldn't be based on the color of their skin.

Colleen Campbell, a Ph.D. candidate in Sociology and African Studies at Princeton University noted, "When we think of racism in the U.S. especially, we think of anti-Black attitudes or institutional processes that entrench whiteness at the top of the social hierarchy."

Furthermore, the preference for lighter skin tones is a result of slavery and since then there are many methods people have used and still use to determine someone's value in society.

Slavery and the Preference for Lighter Skin

During the enslavement of Black people, those with lighter skins tones (the children of a slave and their master) received preferential treatment.

One of the reasons for this favoritism is because Black people with lighter skin have more European features and a closer "proximity to whiteness."  

Additionally, “We know that, historically, lighter-skinned aristocratic Blacks engaged in opportunity hoarding practices to keep darker-skinned poor Blacks from their social networks," says Campbell.

The One-Drop Rule

The enslavement of Africans in America brought us the "one-drop rule," which impacts our definition and impression of our varying shades. The one-drop rule dates back to a 1662 Virginia law that addresses mixed-race people. It asserts that anyone with even one ancestor that is Black is considered Black.  

Blue Vein Societies

After slavery, the preference for lighter skin continued and became evident within the Black community and Black people showed a preference for lighter-skinned Black people.

Consequently, "a dark-skinned individual not only faces discrimination from white society but will also be discriminated against by Black society," says Campbell.

For example, light-skinned Black people formed clubs that catered only to other light-skinned Black people. These types of exclusive clubs were knowns as Blue Vein societies and its organizers only admitted Black people who were light enough to see the blue veins in their skin.  

The Paper Bag Test

The “paper bag test,” was used to determine if someone was allowed to enter churches, night clubs, and fraternities. So, people who were darker than the color of a brown paper bag would not be allowed to enter.  

Colorism, a global cultural, social construct with its roots deeply embedded in racism, exists within many groups, including Black, Asian, and Latino American communities.

“Colorism can occur intra-racially (i.e., within groups) and interracially (i.e., across ethno-racial groups). It can manifest both interpersonally and systemically,” says Campbell.

Colorism Impacts Societal Advancement

As the inculcation of racism is detrimental to Black Americans' advancement, colorism can be equally crippling and maybe even more so.

The preference for lighter-skinned Blacks by Whites and Blacks can cause darker-skinned Blacks to have poorer outcomes in many areas such as education and income than their fairer counterparts. It can even affect health and marital status.  

"The same stratification that we witness in racial outcomes between Black and White is also visible within groups. In ways, the gap between light and dark skin Blacks have been more pronounced than the Black-White gap," says Campbell.

Suffice it to say that colorism is so prevalent it isn't limited to minorities but can even exist with White Americans. 

In a study published by the Journal of Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience , researchers used MRI to determine activity in the amygdala (a region in the brain that processes potential threats, emotions , from sensory, social, and emotional stimuli), when shown photographs of unfamiliar Black and White faces with varied skin tones.

However, while there was noticeable activity in the amygdala for light- and dark-skinned Blacks, dark-skinned Whites elicited more significant amygdala activity than light-skinned Whites.

The prevalence of colorism isn't limited to our day-to-day lives; it even extends itself into areas that one might assume to be liberal and thus inclusive , Hollywood.

"It is visible in the media and advertising industries," says Campbell. "Actress Lupita Nyong'o accused a magazine of airbrushing her hair to look more European," she says.

We have even seen it played out on screen in movies such as Spike Lee's movie "School Daze" where dark-skinned and light-skinned girls called each other names such as "tar baby," "Barbie doll," and "wannabe white."

In a recent episode of the tv sitcom "Black-ish," titled " Black Like Us ," when Diane (actress Marsai Martin) looks darker in a classroom photo, it was made clear, we are still grappling with colorism.

The storyline drew on the experiences of one of the show's executive producers Peter Saji , who is of mixed-race and admits he never really acknowledged his light-skinned privilege.

BlPOC will face struggles whether they are mixed or not, but preferential treatment is given to those on the lighter end of the spectrum.  

"For dark skin Black women, it not only means being passed over for lighter skin women in the dating and labor market, but it also means rarely seeing a dark skin woman as the love interest of the main character."

In 2016, Zoe Saldana was deemed as not being dark enough by some to play the eponymous Nina Simone and had to use makeup to darken her skin, but usually, it is the opposite.

"The skin lightening industry is a multi-billion-dollar industry profiting from the stigmatization of dark skin everywhere (India, Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and Araba countries)," says Campbell.

The centuries-old practice, which is common in the U.S. and throughout the world, is achieved through pills, creams, and soaps, is still ever so popular. 

The World Health Organization reports that skin lightening is widespread in many African, Asian, and Caribbean countries.

"When the media or advertising industry uses dark skin actors, it tacitly engages in bleaching or lightening these actors," says Campbell.

The practice doesn't show any sign of slowing down as it is estimated that the industry market could be valued at $31.2 billion by 2024. "It breeds destructive colloquialisms, such as, 'you're beautiful for a dark skin woman,'" she says. "Skin lightening advertisements reinforce the stigma against dark skin people."

As is the case with racism, uncomfortable and honest conversations need to take place in order for there to be self-reflection and change. We need to get to a place where it is intolerable to judge someone based on the color of their skin.

Use Your Social Privilege for Good

If you have lighter skin, you are much more likely to be afforded privileges that people of darker complexions (of any race/ethnic background) do not have access to. You can, however, use this privilege to advocate for the better treatment of people with darker skin.

“Lighter skin people (like myself) must be cognizant of their social privilege and consider how to use it to remedy some of the harm against dark skin individuals,” says Campbell.

“For those men who rarely date darker skin women, perhaps they might reflexively consider how colorism affects their dating preferences,” she says.

Challenge the Beauty Industry

The cosmetic industry must be challenged, and actors of all backgrounds must address practices that suffocate, stigmatize, and diminish others.

The attitude and acceptance that aligns whiteness with beauty have real-world consequences. “At the very least, I think we must center colorism in the wider conversation of racism in America,” says Campbell. 

Colorism is rooted in racism and can have devastating impacts on those who are affected by it. It's important that you take the necessary steps to learn about colorism so that you can properly address it when you notice that someone is being treated differently because of their skin tone or if it's happening to you.

An understanding of colorism will allow you to have more informed and effective conversations about race and skin color.

Reece RL. Genesis of U.S. Colorism and Skin Tone Stratification: Slavery, Freedom, and Mulatto-Black Occupational Inequality in the Late 19th Century . Rev Black Polit Econ . 2018;45(1):3-21. doi:10.1177/0034644618770761

Uzogara EE, Lee H, Abdou CM, Jackson JS. A comparison of skin tone discrimination among African American men: 1995 and 2003 . Psychol Men Masc . 2014;15(2):201-212. doi:10.1037/a0033479

Khanna N. One Drop Rule . In: Ritzer G, ed. The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons; 2019. doi:10.1002/9781405165518.wbeoso011.pub2

Jones T. The Significance of Skin Color in Asian and Asian-American Communities: Initial Reflections .  UC Irvine Law Review . 2013;3:1105-1123.

Cuevas AG, Dawson BA, Williams DR. Race and Skin Color in Latino Health: An Analytic Review .  Am J Public Health . 2016;106(12):2131-2136. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2016.303452

Laidley T, Domingue B, Sinsub P, Harris KM, Conley D. New Evidence of Skin Color Bias and Health Outcomes Using Sibling Difference Models: A Research Note .  Demography . 2019;56(2):753-762. doi:10.1007/s13524-018-0756-6

Ronquillo J, Denson TF, Lickel B, Lu ZL, Nandy A, Maddox KB. The effects of skin tone on race-related amygdala activity: an fMRI investigation . Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci . 2007;2(1):39-44. doi:10.1093/scan/nsl043

World Health Organization. Mercury in skin lightening products .

Shroff H, Diedrichs PC, Craddock N. Skin Color, Cultural Capital, and Beauty Products: An Investigation of the Use of Skin Fairness Products in Mumbai, India . Front Public Health . 2018;5:365. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2017.00365

“What’s ‘Colorism’?”

When I began teaching in Boston, I was struck by how often students of color referred to each other as “light-skinned” or “dark-skinned.” Almost daily, I witnessed high school students identify, categorize and stereotype their peers based on skin tone. Having grown up African American in Louisiana, I was used to white people’s ideas of white superiority and even those “colorstruck” black people who preferred lighter skin. But I did not expect that so many young people of diverse ethnicities—including Dominicans, Puerto Ricans and Cape Verdeans—would actively engage in everyday forms of skin-color bias. As one teacher in one classroom, what was I to do? 

Any response to this question is complicated due to the deep legacy and influence of skin-color preference in the United States and in other parts of the world. Within-group and between-group prejudice in favor of lighter skin color—what feminist author Alice Walker calls “colorism”—is a global cultural practice. Emerging throughout European colonial and imperial history, colorism is prevalent in countries as distant as Brazil and India. Its legacy is evident in forums as public as the television and movie industries, which prefer to cast light-skinned people of color, and as private as the internalized thoughts of some Latino, South-Asian or black parents who hope their babies grow up light-skinned so their lives will be “just a little bit easier.”

It makes sense that teenagers—who are working out their own identities on a day-to-day basis—also engage in color-conscious discourse. But how do young people negotiate such powerful stereotypes, particularly when many of the contributing elements are out of their control? 

Research Shows …

Skin-color bias affects perceptions and interactions in ways that are at once subtle and profound. Since Kenneth and Mamie Clark’s famous doll study of the 1950s, researchers have known that young people of color are profoundly aware of our nation’s disdain for all that is dark. Color-conscious banter between students reflects unconscious and unspoken biases—otherwise called implicit biases—that favor lighter skin. 

A more modern example of research on colorism comes from Eddie Fergus, an assistant professor of education at New York University who conducted a study on Latino high school males. Fergus found that Mexican and Puerto Rican males with white-looking skin are perceived as white and sometimes treated more favorably, while boys of the same ethnicity who had darker complexions are perceived as black and often experience discrimination. Not only did the boys in the study navigate the world as Mexican and Puerto Rican, but each navigated different racial expectations based on external reactions to their appearances. Despite being close or even related, people of the same ethnicity face different expectations, different realities and—potentially—different educational and economic outcomes, solely based on their skin color. 

Fergus’ findings are not unique. Implicit bias related to skin color—within and between racial groups—is so sweeping that, until relatively recently,  it has remained largely unquestioned and unexamined. And such bias is not just a failure of adulthood. Developmental psychologist Margaret Beale Spencer found in a CNN-commissioned pilot study of skin-color bias among U.S. children that white children attribute positive traits to lighter skin and negative traits to darker skin, and—while black children also show some racial bias toward whiteness—white children in particular hold on to these prejudices more strongly as they grow older. “Our children are always mirrors,” says Spencer in a CNN broadcast. “And what we put out there, kids report back. … We are still living in a society where dark things are devalued and light things are valued.”

The association of dark skin with criminality has become one of the most deep-seated stereotypes in American society, many social scientists say. Multiple studies have shown that dark-skinned people are perceived to be more suspicious, more likely to misbehave and more likely to commit crimes.

Recent research by psychologist Phillip Goff and his colleagues at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) found that police officers routinely overestimate the ages of black and Latino children, but not white children. Participants in the study estimated black boys as young as 10 to be an average of four and a half years older than they actually were. What’s more, the participants in the study who reported the most dehumanizing ideas about black individuals (viewing them as nonhuman and apelike) also overestimated black children’s ages to the largest extent, were more likely to presume black children were guilty and were more likely to support the use of force against them. 

Why Care About Colorism?

What relevance do these studies hold for educators? First, they force the realization that implicit bias is pervasive and must be examined if we are to serve students of all skin colors equally well. Jerry Kang, a law professor at UCLA,  notes that teachers with unchecked implicit biases are likely to interpret student behavior and performance through the prism of stereotypes that can have long-term effects on how students see themselves and on their opportunities. “Educators, like lawyers and judges, probably assume that they don’t have bias because they chose to enter a profession helping others,” he says. “But whatever assumptions others have, teachers also have.” Fergus describes moments in which teachers will experience “color triggers” when talking with students about race-related topics, behaviors and ideologies. Without self-reflection and acknowledgement of bias, these triggers can cause educators to react in ways that are counterproductive to anti-racist classroom discourse. 

The false colorblind premise that under-pins the rhetoric of equality is not lost on many young people. 

Another reason schools should pay attention to the research on colorism? It offers the opportunity to launch necessary conversations. “My principal and just about all my colleagues are afraid to talk about race at all or how our interactions with students may differ based on how we see them,” says Katherine * , a white teacher at an elementary school in Brooklyn, New York. Adds her colleague Zack * , “There are many problematic things—interactions with students and blatant statements—that simply go unchecked.” Both educators acknowledge that the leadership at their school keeps the conversation focused on “academic achievement,” with no acknowledgement of the racialized discipline and achievement patterns they continue to witness. In order to sustain themselves, they support each other through critical research-driven discussions about justice, race and teaching and learning.

These types of investigations and conversations also help teachers avoid the pitfalls of colorblindness, which can be a major obstacle in redressing institutional and internalized racism. While many people, educators included, do not want to talk about who does and does not benefit in a system that is supposed to be “equal,” the false colorblind premise that underpins the rhetoric of equality is not lost on many young people. Jasper * , an Asian-American teacher in Sacramento, observes that his overwhelmingly black middle school students are very aware that their teachers treat them slightly differently. “Students say that the afterschool teachers, who happen to be black, prefer the lighter-skinned students,” he says, “which is funny because some of our strongest students are dark-skinned.” To Jasper, this revelation shows that moving beyond colorblindness—and color ism blindness—is not simply about white people learning about the experiences of people of color. “It’s about how each of us, regardless of our own color, owns up to our own bias[es] and then does some thing about it,” he says. 

Suggestions for Teachers

Returning to the question I have tried to answer for myself over the years: What does one teacher in one classroom do to help address an issue as pervasive as colorism? Staying current on the research related to colorism and implicit bias is an important first step. You can also do what Jasper does: Pose questions about color, status and bias to your students. “When I asked students to think about the famous black women they know, and if they are light-skinned, they smile,” he chuckles. “They haven’t articulated or thought about these issues as deeply. They collect the data of their experience, but have not come up with an hypothesis as 12-year-olds.” Or, you can do what the Brooklyn teachers have done by building a community of critically minded teachers in and beyond your school.

Teachers may not be able to control what happens within their institutions, but they can facilitate critical conversations within their classrooms and professional learning communities. Perhaps in doing this work, a colleague or two may begin to see—and ideally talk about—colorism.

*Teachers' names have been changed .

Break the Silence

Many students of color (and other minority students) perceive that their experiences with discrimination, injustice and stigma neither belong, nor hold much value, in school. Establishing an inclusive classroom environment where students’ experiences with implicit bias and colorism are validated can help empower young people to speak up for change.

Provide students with language to explain the phenomena they witness on a regular basis. Teach students words such as implicit bias and colorism.

Share examples of these concepts in U.S. history and culture. Point to examples of implicit bias in historical events and literature (e.g., eugenics, genomics and the use of human subjects in science).

Create opportunities for students to interact with each other across multiple lines of identity (race, religion, gender, socioeconomic class, ability, national origin and sexual orientation). This work requires organizing learning tasks so that students regularly talk with, challenge and learn from each other. Conscientiously grouping students so that they learn from each other’s differences can help students witness one another’s humanity.

Hear what your students have to say about colorism with this activity.

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The Everyday Impact of Racism on People of Color

July 20, 2022  • Mariah Robinson

What should every American know? This question has long been debated, discussed, and deliberated. And while answers need to come from all of us—not just a powerful few—young people have often been excluded from these conversations. An ongoing partnership between Chicago Public Schools and the Aspen Institute’s program on Citizenship and American Identity aims to change that. Together they will elevate youth perspectives, beliefs, and values as vital to our national conversation of civic purpose.

Mariah Robinson is a 12th grader at Dyett High School for the Arts and lives in the Austin neighborhood on the west side of Chicago.

When I was younger, I took a trip to Disney World for the first time. I was very excited to see all the Disney princesses and meet new people.

I quickly made friends while I was there. We played, danced, and laughed together. When I noticed that one girl wasn’t playing with me, I introduced myself and invited her to join me. I was not prepared for her answer.

“My parents told me not to play with your kind of people,” she said. I didn’t understand, so I asked if this was because I was taller than her. She turned to me and replied, “My parents told me not to talk to you brown people.”

The girl was referring to my race, though I never understood how the color of my skin could harm anyone. At 14, I didn’t know what racism was, only that my Black ancestors were enslaved based on their skin color—and therefore, the color of my skin could affect the way I was treated in US society. However, I never fully understood how the concepts of race, racism, and racial profiling would affect my life .

After that moment at Disney World, I realized hate isn’t something you are born with; it’s something that you’re taught. When we hear the word racism, we usually think of hating somebody based on the color of their skin. But racism isn’t just about interpersonal interactions or explicitly racist comments; it’s about the systemic inequalities that impact the everyday experiences of Black people and other people of color—from pay gaps to police brutality and everything in between.

Racism isn’t just about interactions or comments; it’s about the systemic inequalities that impact people of color.

Understanding the history and everyday implications of racism makes someone civically powerful because it can help you become an anti-racist —a person who opposes and promotes racial tolerance in all aspects of their life. This means learning about race and racism outside of internal group discussions, combating your prejudices, and challenging yourself to understand these issues from an anti-racist standpoint. These issues include historical events, current topics like the criminal justice system , and even the everyday experiences of people of color like the one I had at Disney World.

Talking about race and racism can guide us in creating a better society. If people understood more about race and racism, we could reach our ambitions not only for peace but also for shared understanding among people and communities. Even the simple acknowledgment that we are all equal no matter your cultural background or the color of your skin would have a significant impact.

The first step to this is challenging your own beliefs and biases. As James Baldwin once said, “not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” Baldwin meant that we cannot expect a change if we are not willing to stand up for what we believe. We cannot sit on the sidelines. We need to actively work to create a better and safer world, no matter your race.

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When ultraviolet sunlight hits our skin, it affects each of us differently. Depending on skin color, it’ll take only minutes of exposure to turn one person beetroot-pink, while another requires hours to experience the slightest change. What’s to account for that difference, and how did our skin come to take on so many different hues to begin with? Angela Koine Flynn describes the science of skin color.

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Home — Essay Samples — Social Issues — Diversity — Embracing Diversity: Skin Color Doesn’t Matter

Embracing Diversity: Skin Color Doesn't Matter

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Essay on Discrimination Of Skin Color

Students are often asked to write an essay on Discrimination Of Skin Color in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Discrimination Of Skin Color

Understanding skin color discrimination.

Discrimination of skin color, also known as colorism, is when people are treated differently based on the social meanings attached to skin color. It’s a worldwide problem that affects many people. It means judging people by their skin color, rather than their abilities or qualities.

Causes of Skin Color Discrimination

Skin color discrimination often comes from wrong beliefs and stereotypes. People may think that those with lighter skin are better or more attractive. This can be due to influences from media, society, or history. It’s important to remember, these beliefs are not true.

Effects of Skin Color Discrimination

Colorism can hurt people’s feelings and self-esteem. It can also limit their opportunities in life, like jobs or education. This unfair treatment can cause stress and sadness. Everyone deserves respect, no matter their skin color.

Combating Skin Color Discrimination

To fight colorism, we need to change our attitudes and beliefs. We should celebrate all skin colors and challenge stereotypes. Education plays a key role in this. Learning about the harm of colorism can help us to treat everyone equally.

250 Words Essay on Discrimination Of Skin Color

What is skin color discrimination, the roots of colorism.

Colorism has roots in many cultures and societies. Sometimes, it is tied to historical events. For example, during colonial times, colonizers often favored those who had lighter skin. This favoritism created a belief that lighter skin is better or more beautiful. This belief has been passed down through generations and continues to influence people today.

Colorism can have many negative effects. People who face this discrimination may feel sad, angry, or even ashamed of their skin color. They might also face challenges in getting jobs, education, or fair treatment. It can also lead to low self-esteem and mental health problems.

Ending Skin Color Discrimination

To end colorism, we need to start by recognizing that it exists. We should educate ourselves and others about its harmful effects. We can also stand up against colorism when we see it happening. It’s important to remember that every skin color is beautiful and should be respected.

In conclusion, skin color discrimination is a harmful form of prejudice that we must work to end. By understanding its roots and effects, and taking action against it, we can help to create a fairer and more equal world.

500 Words Essay on Discrimination Of Skin Color

Introduction to skin color discrimination.

Skin color discrimination, also known as colorism, is a form of prejudice where people are treated differently based on the social meanings attached to skin color. It’s a global issue, affecting societies across the world. It’s crucial to understand this problem because it can cause pain and suffering for many people.

The reasons behind skin color discrimination are complex. They can be traced back to historical events and social beliefs. In some societies, lighter skin is seen as more attractive or desirable. This belief can lead to discrimination against those with darker skin. Media often promotes this idea, showing people with lighter skin as more successful or beautiful. This can make people feel that lighter skin is better, which is not true. Everyone is equal, no matter their skin color.

Skin color discrimination can hurt people in many ways. It can make them feel less valuable or important. This can lead to low self-esteem, sadness, and even depression. It can also limit their opportunities in life. For example, they might not get the same chances for education or jobs. This can make it harder for them to achieve their dreams and goals.

Schools can also play a role in this fight. They can teach students about the unfairness of skin color discrimination and encourage them to treat everyone equally. Parents can do the same at home, teaching their children to respect all people, no matter their skin color.

Skin color discrimination is a serious problem that affects many people. It’s based on unfair beliefs and can cause a lot of harm. But by changing our attitudes and standing up against this form of prejudice, we can make a difference. Everyone deserves to be treated fairly and with respect, regardless of their skin color. It’s time for us to stand up against skin color discrimination and work towards a world where everyone is treated equally.

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Skin color discrimination, feminist perspective on colorism, factors promoting colorism, impacts of colorism, prejudice and colorism.

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How I Overcame Colorism and Learned to Love My Dark Skin

I remember the day I opened up my Social Studies textbook in fifth grade, and for the first time noticed someone who looked like me on the page. It was a portrait of Harriet Tubman, eyes fixed at the camera, with what appeared to be an expression of discomfort. I closed the book, immediately rejecting the image I saw, then rapidly looked from left to right to make sure my classmates with their bouncy curls or freshly straightened hair didn’t come to the same conclusion I did. Although at that moment I should have been proud to learn about a revered influencer of American history, I couldn’t move past the fact that I was painfully embarrassed by my resemblance to Harriet Tubman.

Back then, I had eight kinky short braids that barely hung past my ears, high cheekbones which made my eyes seem extremely squinty, a super large smile with a gap in the center of my teeth, and a rather button-shaped nose. My skin was chocolate brown, but by society's standards (and according to my classmates who were just as confused about their blackness and identity as I was), I was no beauty queen. I understood as a tween that I could never be the Beyoncé of Destiny’s Child or the Adrienne Bailon of 3LW. I was dark-skinned and my complexion reminded me of a culture I didn’t quite connect to and a history I was ashamed of embracing.

My insecurities with my complexion made me want to hide my culture. Instead of embracing my Nigerian and Guyanese heritage I downplayed it by intentionally not mentioning my very Igbo last name in conversations, refusing to join the African dance club or intentionally not bringing curry chicken for school lunch. I dreamed of the moment my mother would finally allow me to get a perm so my hair would blow in the wind and not shrink in the heat. No matter how desperately I searched to find many beautiful representations of women like myself in magazines, billboards, music videos, and movies, I was overwhelmed by rejection and saturated with ads that endorsed skin-lightening creams.

“You're pretty for a dark-skinned girl” was something that I heard often growing up. Unfortunately, due to my low self-esteem and longing for flattery and acceptance, I took this offensive statement as a compliment. I had no idea at the time, that my acceptance of this statement only created an inferiority complex within me. It wasn’t until later that I came to identify statements like this as colorism, a principle that those with lighter skin are treated with a higher regard than those with darker skin. I learned that colorism was not only a problem within the black community, but within Hispanic, Asian, and Middle Eastern communities as well.

After changing my hairstyle and look weekly throughout high school, as I desperately searched for a style that made me feel beautiful, I decided to shave my head bald like Amber Rose for my high school graduation. I was obsessed with her fearlessness. I wanted to start anew as I was moving to New York City to attend film school at New York University and it was my opportunity to be fabulous. It was time for me to leave the pain of childhood teasing behind and begin a journey of self-love.

During my freshman year of college, I visited the beautiful motherland. From the moment I stepped out of the airport in Ghana, I was pleasantly overwhelmed with all the melanin and beautiful chocolate people that I saw. For the first time in my life, I was truly considered beautiful, and many people said I was a warrior princess from the Royal Asante Tribe in my past life. My reconnection to my African heritage, traditions, and ancestry empowered me to take great pride in my African and Caribbean culture, my melanated complexion and also surprisingly my being American. I realized that I didn't have to abide by western ideologies of beauty because there were people who lived across the Atlantic Ocean who saw the richness of my complexion and the strength and beauty within me.

Upon my return home from Africa, I wrote my first short film entitled "The Love Below,” which chronicles the broken relationship between a mother and daughter that stems from her mother's hatred of her daughter's dark complexion. This film for me was the final stage of my healing process as I shared my voice and pain through my main character who, like me, was on a journey of self-love. Although this film isn't autobiographical, the internal heartache my character feels due to her dark complexion is a compelling story that will hopefully work to stop this ignorant lighter skin versus darker skin mentality that still exists today. Colorism not only presents itself between different racial groups but also within racial groups.

After making "The Love Below,” I not only realized my innate black girl magic but my responsibility as an artist to shed light on colorism, which is often pushed under the rug and overlooked in our own communities. I realized that as an arts activist and filmmaker, I needed to showcase positive traditional images of African Diasporan people to show the beauty and diversity of my blackness. Since my trip to Ghana four years ago I’ve fully adopted the princess warrior aesthetic. I have my head shaved bald, I wear a faux septum ring, and rock the hottest custom-made Ankara wax print outfits. Confidence exudes out of my pores as people say to me, “What’s up my African Queen?” and children from all races ask me, “Are you a princess?”

As my big brother always says, I became free when I stopped being afraid and thankfully I am no longer afraid to love me and like what I see. Loving yourself is the first step in being happy and this stark realization is now enabling me to achieve my full potential. Being “Very Black” is and will always be cool. Just embrace it.

Related: The Truth You DON'T Know About the Black Panthers, As Told From a Former Party Member

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Uncovering the roots of skin bleaching: Colorism and its detrimental effects

Karishma daftary.

1 Department of Dermatology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago Illinois, USA

Neha S. Krishnam

2 University of Washington School of Public Health, Seattle Washington, USA

Roopal V. Kundu

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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The authors confirm that the ethical policies of the journal, as noted on the journal's author guidelines page, have been adhered to. No ethical approval was required as this is a review article with no original research data.

To the Editor,

Skin bleaching, a multi‐billion dollar industry, 1 , 2 is a growing global public health issue that poses significant risks to consumers and presents dermatologists with challenges. Shah et al. 1 recently addressed this topic, uncovering the variety of skin‐lightening practices and misinformation that pervades social media. Amidst racial injustices and the Black Lives Matter movement wherein many people of color have begun to confront the prejudices in their own communities, furthering the discussion on skin bleaching by exploring its origins and colorism in our society is imperative.

Colorism, defined as a system of inequality that grants special advantages to lighter skinned individuals, 3 has historical significance in several regions of the world. In America, colorism dates back to slavery when mixed race children of slave owners and the enslaved were given certain rights of higher classes, deemed smarter, and regarded as more civilized. 4 , 5 Colorism in India is rooted in British colonial rule and perpetuated by the caste system, where lighter skinned individuals were afforded greater privilege, education, and opportunities. 2 , 4 In many African countries, colonialism promoted Eurocentric beauty ideals. Even in Europe, pale white skin was sought after until the mid‐20th century as it signified someone with wealth and status who did not have to labor in the sun. 2

Today, the lasting effects of colorism are seen worldwide and perpetuated by the media. Lighter skin means more success in terms of career, marriage, education, and beauty in countries where skin lightening is a popular cosmetic practice. 2 , 4 , 5 South Asian media culture has reinforced skin tone discrimination by preferentially casting lighter skinned actresses in Bollywood movies, some of whom regularly endorse skin lightening creams. 4  Many have criticized Hollywood for the same issue, where lighter skinned actors/actresses are afforded more privileges than their darker skinned colleagues. This precedent culminates in an unhealthy standard set for children and specifically young girls, who are taught through stereotypes and media that if they are darker skinned they are less beautiful. 5 , 6

Not only does skin tone discrimination cause people of color to turn toward risky skin lightening practices, but it also has detrimental effects on mental and physical well‐being. One study found that darker skinned African American women had significantly more physiological deterioration (found by multiple measures including blood pressure, cholesterol, waist circumference, and fasting glucose) and worse self‐reported health than lighter skinned African American women. 3 Another found that colorism was a significant predictor of negative self‐esteem among Pakistani women. 6

Dermatologists have a role in understanding the cultural and historical motivations behind skin bleaching practices and the impact that colorism can have on patients’ mental and physical health. By doing so, they can have honest conversations with their patients about perceived and desired skin tones and take a culturally sensitive approach in educating on the risks of skin bleaching practices. Beyond the scope of the clinic, there are ongoing efforts to raise awareness on the risks of skin lightening and promote the idea that all skin tones should be celebrated, such as with the Dark is Beautiful and Brown is Beautiful campaigns. 5

In summary, skin bleaching is a common cosmetic practice that has origins across the globe in discrimination and colorism. The preference for lighter skin tones is still evident in today's world and has harmful effects on well‐being. With a deeper and nuanced understanding of colorism, dermatologists can foster a culturally sensitive approach to addressing skin tone concerns with their patients.

Daftary K, Krishnam NS, Kundu RV. Uncovering the roots of skin bleaching: Colorism and its detrimental effects . J Cosmet Dermatol . 2023; 22 :337–338. doi: 10.1111/jocd.15049 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]

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Home / Essay Samples / Sociology / Society / The Issue of Skin Color Discrimination and Its Effects

The Issue of Skin Color Discrimination and Its Effects

• Category: Science , Sociology
• Topic: Human , Society

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