#8 Summary of Research

Colorism is something that affects many people over the world and has done so for many years. It is out of pure ignorance that people believe lighter-skinned people are superior to darker-skinned people. Some studies have been done to show how the human mind subconsciously links lighter-skinned people to knowledge and intelligence, rather than dark-skinned people. All of the research I have done about colorism has made me more aware of the prejudices that are still very much present in our society today. Although we have evolved as a society, we, unfortunately, have not grown to move past the injustices held against others, especially those with darker skin. Colorism is a very serious issue that needs to be addressed because not only is it morally wrong, but it negatively effects people's self-esteem. This hurts others and slows down our progress in becoming a better, more accepting society. People should never be judged purely on the color of their skin and we should have moved on from this stigma that seems to be never-ending. The media plays a huge role in supporting colorism, even if it is done subliminally. Some ways in which the media subliminally plays into colorism are by editing photos of people to make their skin look somewhat lighter and by idolizing lighter-skinned people, rather than darker-skinned people. By doing such things, the media is sending messages that darker-skinned people are seen as inferior and not as appreciated as lighter-skinned people, which is cruel. I think that we need to put an end to editing photos to make skin look lighter and start embracing the fact that everyone has different skin tones and there is nothing wrong with that. Becoming more knowledgeable about colorism has made me think twice about supporting companies that try to embrace light skin more than dark skin. I believe that everyone should be accepted for who they are as a person, not based off of their skin color.