Teaching and learning color consciousness in black families: exploring family processes and women’s experiences with colorism
Abstract
Family is regarded as a powerful force in the lives of Black Americans. Often-times, families function as an agent of socialization that counters racism. At the same time, however, Black families can perpetuate skin tone consciousness and bias, or colorism . Although there is an extensive body of revisionist literature on Black families and a growing body of scholarship on the contemporary nature of colorism, there is a dearth of literature addressing the role of Black families in relation to colorism. This research begins to fill this gap by exploring the influence of Black families in the development and maintenance of a colorist ideology and consciousness among Black women. Results of focus group interviews with 26 Black women indicate that color differences are learned, reinforced, and in some cases contested within families, ultimately shaping Black women’s perspectives and experiences with colorism.
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Colourism is pervasive and is sustained and reproduced through powerful sociocultural influences including family, peers, and the media.
“Colourism is pervasive and it is sustained and reproduced in multiple ways through powerful sociocultural influences including family, peers, and the media (Phoenix and Craddock, 2024a; Wilder and Cain, 2011; Phoenix and Craddock, 2022).”
From Skin shade and relationships: how colourism pits Black and mixed Black-White women against each other (2024) · cites this paper as Wilder and Cain, 2011
Cites
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Qualitative Interviewing and Grounded Theory Analysis
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A Sociocultural Examination of Body Image among Black Women
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Understanding colourism in the UK: development and assessment of the everyday colourism scale
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- Authors
- Wilder, J., & Cain, C.
- Affiliations
- University of North Florida (US)
- University of Florida (US)
- Venue
- Journal of Family Issues
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2010-12-27
- Volume
- 32
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 577-604
- ISSN
- 0192-513X (ISSN-L)
- 1552-5481
- OpenAlex
- W2168259241
- Cited by
- 106
- References
- 4
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 9.36
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Family Issues (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Racial and Ethnic Identity Research
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Critical Race Theory in Education
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Race, History, and American Society
- Keywords
- colorism, Black families, Black women, family socialization, racism, family processes
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