The DOI matches its Crossref record; 107 of the 107 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
The Persistent Problem of Colorism: Skin Tone, Status, and Inequality
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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In the citing paper
“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
In the citing paper
“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
In the citing paper
“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
In the citing paper
“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
In the citing paper
“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
In the citing paper
“The status that women derive from being deemed beautiful can lead to advantages in education and the job and marriage markets (Hunter, 2007).”
From Colourism and the Politics of Beauty (2014) · cites this paper as Hunter, 2007
In the citing paper
“In countries that were colonised by Europeans, light skin shades are privileged as a result of the legacy of colonialism, when white skin and associated features were accorded high status and dominance (Hunter, 2007; Glen, 2008).”
From Colourism and the Politics of Beauty (2014) · cites this paper as Hunter, 2007
In the citing paper
“Colourism will endure ' as long as the structure of white racism remains intact ' (Hunter, 2007:250) and multinational corporations continue to make an enormous profit from exploiting it.”
From Colourism and the Politics of Beauty (2014) · cites this paper as Hunter, 2007:250
In the citing paper
“an operation that accounts for South Korea being the country with the highest proportion of its population having undergone cosmetic surgery (Hunter, 2007).”
From Colourism and the Politics of Beauty (2014) · cites this paper as Hunter, 2007
In the citing paper
“Hunter (2007: 248) argues that cosmetic changes to achieve lighter skin and white European features are rational given that they are likely to result in ' better opportunities in a competitive global marketplace ' .”
From Colourism and the Politics of Beauty (2014) · cites this paper as Hunter, 2007:248
In the citing paper
“She suggests that light skin signified affluence in India (as in other countries -Hunter, 2007), in contrast to the darker skin of the poor or working classes, which resulted from labouring outside.”
From Colourism and the Politics of Beauty (2014) · cites this paper as Hunter, 2007
In the citing paper
“In regions colonized by Europeans, perceptions of light and dark have also come to take on racialized connotations (Hunter, 2007(Hunter, , 2013;;Keith & Monroe, 2016;Dixon & Telles, 2017).”
From Of Rarity and Symbolism: Understanding Human Perceptions of Charismatic Color Morphs (2024) · cites this paper as Hunter, 2007
In the citing paper
“In the United States, where systemic racism abounds, the perception of people with darker versus lighter skin may also influence the ways in which people view wildlife with darker or lighter pelages (Hunter, 2007;Pellow, 2016;Keith & Monroe, 2016).”
From Of Rarity and Symbolism: Understanding Human Perceptions of Charismatic Color Morphs (2024) · cites this paper as Hunter, 2007
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- Morgan Kathryn Pauly, 1998, The Politics of Women's Bodies: Sexuality, Appearance, and Behavior, 147
- Rondilla Joanne, 2007, Is Lighter Better?
- Smedley Audrey, 2007, Race in North America
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Metadata
- 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)
- 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
- 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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