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Cited by 763Racial and Ethnic Identity ResearchRace, History, and American SocietyCritical Race Theory in Education

The persistent problem of colorism: skin tone, status, and inequality

Hunter, Margaret·2007·Sociology Compass
DOI 10.1111/j.1751-9020.2007.00006.x
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Abstract

Abstract Colorism is a persistent problem for people of color in the USA. Colorism, or skin color stratification, is a process that privileges light‐skinned people of color over dark in areas such as income, education, housing, and the marriage market. This essay describes the experiences of African Americans, Latinos, and Asian Americans with regard to skin color. Research demonstrates that light‐skinned people have clear advantages in these areas, even when controlling for other background variables. However, dark‐skinned people of color are typically regarded as more ethnically authentic or legitimate than light‐skinned people. Colorism is directly related to the larger system of racism in the USA and around the world. The color complex is also exported around the globe, in part through US media images, and helps to sustain the multibillion‐dollar skin bleaching and cosmetic surgery industries.

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  • When colourism is experienced from a different racialised group, it can intensify experiences of racism, such that those with darker skin are more likely to experience racialised discrimination.

    “When colourism is experienced from a different racialised group, it can intensify experiences of racism, such that those with darker skin are more likely to experience racialised discrimination (Brown et al., 2023; Hunter, 2007).”

    From Skin shade and relationships: how colourism pits Black and mixed Black-White women against each other (2024) · cites this paper as Hunter, 2007

  • Colourism can affect people differently according to their ethnicity and gender.

    “As a racialised and gendered phenomenon, colourism can affect people differently according to their ethnicity and gender (Hunter, 2007; Dixon and Telles, 2017).”

    From Skin shade and relationships: how colourism pits Black and mixed Black-White women against each other (2024) · cites this paper as Hunter, 2007

  • Among the many sinister collateral effects of the widespread belief in the superiority of whiteness has been the development and continued prominence of colorism in many countries and among many different peoples.

    “Among the many sinister collateral effects of the widespread belief in the superiority of whiteness has been the development and continued prominence of colorism in many countries and among many different peoples.”

    From Skin color and race (2021) · cites this paper as Hunter, 2007

  • The belief that, within any nonwhite, non-European group a person with light colored skin is preferred to one with darker skin is common.

    “The belief that, within any nonwhite, non‐European group a person with light colored skin is preferred to one with darker skin is common (Dixon & Telles, 2017; Hall, 1998; Hunter, 2007, 2013; Jablonski, 2012b; Norwood & Foreman, 2014; Russell et al., 1992).”

    From Skin color and race (2021) · cites this paper as Hunter, 2007

  • People with light skin earn more money, complete more years of schooling, live in better neighborhoods, and marry higher-status people than darker-skinned people of the same race or ethnicity.

    “People with light skin ' earn more money, complete more years of schooling, live in better neighborhoods, and marry higher-status people than darker-skinned people of the same race or ethnicity ' (Hunter, 2007:237).”

    From Colourism and the Politics of Beauty (2014) · cites this paper as Hunter, 2007:237

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Authors
Hunter, M.
Affiliations
Mills College (US)
Corresponding author
Hunter, Margaret
ORCID
Hunter, Margaret
Venue
Sociology Compass
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2007-07-03
Volume
1
Issue
1
Pages
237-254
ISSN
1751-9020 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1111/j.1751-9020.2007.00006.x
OpenAlex
W2039378502
Cited by
763
References
104
Citations by year
2026: 59 · 2025: 69 · 2024: 58 · 2023: 62 · 2022: 71 · 2021: 88 · 2020: 67 · 2019: 46 · 2018: 44 · 2017: 66 · 2016: 33 · 2015: 25 · 2014: 22 · 2013: 16 · 2012: 12
FWCI
17.96
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor)
Locations
  • Sociology Compass (publishedVersion)
  • Scholar Commons (Santa Clara University) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Racial and Ethnic Identity Research
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Race, History, and American Society
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Critical Race Theory in Education
Keywords
colorism, skin tone, racial inequality, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, marriage market, residential segregation, income inequality, educational inequality, ethnic authenticity, racism, media representation

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