SEVEN BILLION SHADES OF HUMAN

by Sameha Haque WRIT 1133: Writing & Research | Professor David Riche

BROWN (adjective): OF A DARK, WOODY OR DUSKY COLOUR, tending towards red or yellow; dark-complexioned; tanned or sunburnt.1

As a child, I never quite understood the color brown. In kindergarten, I remember being tasked with drawing a picture of myself. This was supposed to encourage creativity and inspire the artists within our fiveyear-old selves. As I finished the rough outline of my stick-figured masterpiece, I realized it was time to fill it in with bold crayon strokes. The only problem was that the “Flesh” crayon that was handed to me was not the color of my skin. I wish I could say that my five-year-old self realized the issue behind this and instead colored in the self-portrait with a darker color. Instead, I colored in my skin with the color “Flesh” because no one wanted a brown picture.

Recently, Crayola introduced a 32-pack of crayons called “Colors of The World.” This pack was released in efforts to advance inclusion within creativity. The pack includes shades such as “medium golden,” “very deep almond,” “extra deep golden,” and “extra deep rose.” In the announcement of the release, Crayola CEO Rich Wuerthele stated, “’With the world growing more diverse than ever before, Crayola hopes our new Colors of the World crayons will increase representation and foster a greater sense of belonging and acceptance.’” 2 When I first read this,

the first thought in my head was that the world has always been this diverse. Of course, I probably shouldn’t negate a positive. After all, better late than never.

Color (noun): Any of the constituents into which light can be separated as in a spectrum or rainbow, and which are referred to by names such as blue, red, yellow; any particular mixture of these constituents; a particular hue or tint.3

Sure, scientifically speaking, the colors of skin are categorized into four neat and clean categories, but there are more than seven billion different shades in between.

It’s relatively simple to characterize the colors of the skin into four different categories: red, white, yellow, and brown. However, the color of skin is a lot more complicated, with thousands of shades in between these four generic categories.4 It all begins with melanin, the pigment that gives skin and hair its color. Melanin is formed “in membrane-bound organelles,” melanosomes, within melanocytes, which are specialized cells that supply “packets of pigment” to the dendrites surrounding the epidermis. There two distinct types: pheomelanin, the yellow-red pigment, and eumelanin, the brownblack pigment. Of the two pigments, “eumelanin is the dominant chromophore,” the color most perceivable to the human eye; however, pheomelanin provides the undertones of the skin’s hue.5

The production of melanin is affected by a variety of elements that range from genetic makeup to UV exposure. It should come as no surprise to say that the human skin is repeatedly exposed to various DNA-damaging environmental factors. In fact, ultraviolet radiation is probably the largest concern one should have when discussing skin. Given this fact, it’s probably a relief to hear that the most important photo-protective factor is actually melanin. So far, many studies have shown that the chance of getting skin cancer is lower in darker-skinned people than in people who have lighter skin.6 It’s truly perplexing to realize that the very thing that offers us protection from cancer is also the thing many of us dislike the most about ourselves. Sure, scientifically speaking, the colors of skin are categorized into four neat and clean categories, but there are more than seven billion different shades in between.

Skin (noun): Tough, elastic outer covering of invertebrates. In mammals, it is the largest organ of the body and serves many functions. It protects the body from injury and from the entry of some microorganisms and prevents dehydration. Nerve endings in the skin provide the sensations of touch, warmth, cold, and pain.7

“Do you apply sunscreen regularly?” Growing up, this was the most common question I was asked during family functions.

It’s an understandable question. Nowadays, “apply sunscreen daily” is the most sought-after skin-care advice. It’s the least you can do. After all, sunscreen helps protect the skin. It filters out ultraviolet (UV) radiation using two main types of active ingredients. The inorganic particles, such as zinc, create a physical barrier which scatters the UV waves, while the organic particles absorb the UV rays and release the energy as heat. The SPF on sunscreen bottles, which stands for “sun protection factor,” is often misconstrued as the strength of protection; however, SPF “actually refers to how much longer it takes for [ultraviolet rays] to redden the skin with sunscreen” compared to skin without.8

Nonetheless, sunscreen protects the skin. What other reason could there be for sunscreen? When my family would ask me “Do you apply sunscreen regularly?” my answer was always “Yes,” regardless of whether or not I actually did.

1 See Brown. (2015). 2 See Setty (2020) 3 See Colour | Color. (n.d.) 4 See Schlessinger (2020) 5 See Matts and Dykes (2007) 6 See Brenner & Hearing (2009) 7 Skin. (2008) 8 See Isguven (2012)

“That’s good,” they would reply. “You don’t want your skin to get any darker.” They were right. My skin could be described as dark brown, and I didn’t want it to get any darker. As they often liked to point out, things were more difficult for a person of darker skin tone than those with lighter skin tones.

Looking back at these moments, it’s hard to imagine my young brain accepting the idea that lighter was more beautiful. However, I know for a fact that many other young girls of color have experienced this—being told to use sunscreen not for practical purposes, such as protecting your skin, but for the purpose of preventing your skin from getting any darker.

Fair (adjective): Beautiful to the eye; of attractive appearance; good-looking.9

One of my most vivid memories as a child was walking into a South Asian grocery store and coming face-to-face with the stuff of legends. The thing that could supposedly change my entire life in one week. The thing that could guarantee me a successful life.

Yes. I’m talking about Fair and Lovely, the highly sought-after skin-lightening cream that was sold in nearly every Asian marketplace.

The branding of the cream was very distinguishable. At the forefront, you could see a lighter-skinned model, and behind her were darker-skinned versions of herself. The darker her skin, the further she was pushed into the background. The model with less melanin in her skin stood at the forefront of the box smiling brightly, but her darkest-skinned version in the back wears an unhappy expression.10 South Asian communities often portray being dark-skinned as something that needs to be cured, as if it’s an illness we need to be rid of. This is apparent not only on the box for Fair and Lovely, but also in the commercials for this skin-lightening product. The advertisements almost always depict a dark-skinned woman who looks in the mirror and hates what she sees. The problem is always rectified as soon as she starts using the lightening cream and notices a change in the way people treat her. These ads resonate with more than enough young women of color for Fair and Lovely to be extremely popular.

Unfortunately, I was not spared the demanding claws of the lightening cream. All of my life, I had been plagued by how dark my skin was. I could never find a “cure” until I was gifted with a healthy supply of Fair and Lovely by my grandparents. Finally. I could do something to change the color of my skin and maybe better reflect South Asian beauty standards. It’s actually funny when I think about it now. It’s not as if my grandparents or anyone in my family were lighter than I was; nonetheless, the color of my skin somehow offended them. For years, I justified their behavior as always wanting what’s best for me. That was far from the truth.

I realized this years later. Better late than never, right?

9 See the Oxford English Dictionary’s definition of “fair.” Might I point out that nowhere in this definition is “fair” synonymous with white or a lighter skin tone, further adding to the

point that colorism is perpetuated by colonialist ideals. 10 See Mariam (2017)

Flickr.com (right). com (left); © Walt Disney Television, Lupita Nyong’o © Sebastian Kim, Flickr.

Colorism (noun): discrimination on the basis of skin color within your own ethnic group.11 The funny thing about colorism is that most of the time, it’s done in a very subtle manner. To me, colorism is the number of times I’ve heard someone say something like “She’s pretty for a dark-skinned girl.” To me, colorism means, hearing someone tell me, “Don’t stay out in the sun too long, your skin will get too dark.” 12 To me, colorism means people telling me “Avoid drinking tea or coffee; it’ll make your skin too dark.” 13

“Mom, your skin color looks so different in this picture. Who did your makeup?” “It was one of the salons in Bangladesh.” “Did you notice that the color of your foundation was different from your hand?” “I did.” “Did the people at the salon not notice?” “I’m pretty sure they did it on purpose. That’s just the way they do things at salons.” “So, it’s customary for women to get lighter shades of foundation than their skin?” “Yes.” “You don’t see that as being problematic?” A pause. “I mean, like I said, it’s just the way they do things in Bangladesh.” “What does that mean, exactly?” “It just means that—maybe it’s in our culture.”

I wasn’t surprised. It’s not as if I was expecting the worst. I knew colorism existed in many different forms. What is interesting is that, oftentimes, the people who inflict colorism and the people who experience colorism rarely acknowledge it as such. When discussing colorism with both the former and the latter, most of the time the answer will be “It’s in our culture,” which equates to “So don’t make a big deal of it.”

To be fair,14 this issue is common not only in South Asia. When I asked a friend of Latinx descent whether or not colorism was prominent in her community, she replied, “It’s very common for Latinx members with lighter skin to be valued more over darker complexions, so yes, colorism exists; however, it’s often overlooked because it’s difficult to admit.”

I agree that it’s difficult to admit. I have never questioned the idea of “It’s in our culture.” In fact, I have probably justified colorism to myself in this way more than a couple of times. That said, colorism might be subtle, but the repercussions of coming to hate being dark are anything but subtle. The good thing about growing from your mistakes is that when you realize where the issue lies, you tend to stop listening to the bullshit.

Culture (noun): learned and shared concepts, values, or beliefs (conceptual), or as an adaptive system.15

In South Asian countries, it’s very common to see women getting lighter shades of foundation for their skin. Who can blame them? That is the

11 See Irisa and Lamisa (2020) 12 As if there’s a very clear limit as to how dark a person’s skin should be to be considered beautiful. 13 Probably the most outrageous myth I have ever heard. It’s crazy to think how many people believe this. 14 The word fair is used in this context in a different manner to which it was defined previously. Here, it is used to mean “the absence of bias.” 15 See Lyman (2008)

cultural standard of beauty. Women choose to have lighter skin for their pictures because they are under the assumption that lighter skin is more beautiful, more feminine.16 And they are not alone. Film and marketing industries across many countries very rarely cast darker-skinned women.

Take Bangladesh, for example. I don’t think I have ever seen a prominent show, movie, or advertisement where the main actress has dark skin. This is, in fact, jarring, because the majority of people in Bangladesh do have dark skin. So, how is it possible to not see any actresses with very dark skin? The answer lies in editing and makeup. Regardless of how dark the actress’s skin is, the editing team will usually go in and lighten their skin.

Here’s a recent example. In 2014, critically acclaimed actress and Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o was featured in Vanity Fair with seemingly lighter skin than usual. After the release of the magazine photo, critics quickly pointed out that Nyong’o’s flawless dark brown skin was several shades lighter. Although it still isn’t certain whether the skin lightening effect was done in editing or was due to lighting, the implications of this action are nonetheless concerning. Aisha Phoenix, a post-doctoral researcher and author of “Colourism and The Politics of Beauty,” says it best:

“Irrespective of whether or not pictures of women of colour are digitally altered or lighting is used in such a way that it produces an unnatural pallor, the results and the implicit message they convey are the same: women of colour, whatever their skin shade, are not light enough for mainstream media because they are not white.” 17

Even after winning an Academy Award and becoming an acclaimed actress, Nyong’o was still considered too dark-skinned for this prominent magazine. These events occur far too often in the United States. That said, why would that be surprising? Colorism is a result of colonialist mentality, after all. It’s things like this that encourage young girls of color to think that the melanin in their skin makes them look too dark, when in reality it makes them shine brighter than the moon and stars combined.

16 See Paul (2016) 17 See Phoenix (2014, p. 99) 18 Definition coined by author. 19 With the use of SPF of course, to further protect the skin’s natural barrier. 20 When she said this, I could feel the bitterness of the burnt toast coat my tongue and infiltrate my taste buds. But at the moment, I suppose I thought I was doing everyone a favor by labeling myself as “burnt toast.”

Colorism is a result of colonialist mentality, after all. It’s things like this that encourage young girls of color to think that the melanin in their skin makes them look too dark, when in reality it makes them shine brighter than the moon and stars combined.

Brown-skinned:18 People who should be proud of the natural melanin that is produced in their bodies to make their outwardly appearance brown. The melanin that shines under direct sunlight.19

One time in middle school, my friends and I sat in a circle making jokes and talking about Buzzfeed quizzes. More specifically, what kind of bread we would be. It was an innocent enough conversation, except for the fact that my friends were all very white. So, they were all obviously white bread. When it was my turn, my friend hesitated, and I could almost see the internal struggle of her deciding what was racist and what wasn’t.

I helped her out. “I would be burnt toast.”

“Very burnt toast,”20 she replied, without a pause. I laughed along with everyone else. What else could I do? I had just said something derogatory about the color of my skin, and she had gone along with it. It was no one’s fault but my own. In fact, I often found myself making negative remarks about the color of my skin and laughing about it.

Looking back, I regret the remarks I made that day, and the remarks I let everyone else make about my skin. Sure, there was a time when I was unable to cope with my brownness, when I would look in the mirror and think only “I should try that new

lightening mask that was recommended.” There were even times when I thought I would give anything and everything to have the color of skin that my friends had.

Now, I think about how it was even possible for me to view the melanin in my skin so harshly. Now, I apply the sunscreen on my skin because it’s healthier for me, not because it’ll keep my skin lighter. Now, I drink as much tea as I want. Now, I understand that the melanin in my skin not only protects me from the sun, but also makes me who I am. Now, I make no excuses for the behaviors propagated by my “culture.” The plain brown of my skin makes me...me. Most importantly, now, I can color in my skin with the crayon titled “deep almond,” in another one of my stick-figured masterpieces.

image on page 41 © Malika Ladak, Flickr.com

REFERENCES

Brenner, M., & Hearing, V. J. (2009, May 1). The protective role of melanin against UV damage in human skin.

Retrieved May 25, 2020, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2671032/ Brown. (2015). In C. Schwarz, The Chambers Dictionary (13th ed.). Chambers Harrap. Retrieved from Credo

Reference: http://du.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/chambdict/ brown/0?institutionId=1676 Colour | Color, n.1. (n.d.) Oxford English Dictionary. Retrieved from https://www-oed-com.du.idm.oclc.org/view/

Entry/36596?rskey=bhVxUM&result=2&isAdvanced=false#eid Fair, adj. and n.1. (n.d.) Oxford English Dictionary. Retrieved from https://www-oed-com.du.idm.oclc.org/view/

Entry/67704?rskey=gf7EjK&result=2&isAdvanced=false#eid Irisa, R., & Lamisa, H. (2020, May 10). “I’m not racist”—But are you a colourist? Retrieved from https://www.thepvblication.com/post/i-m-not-racist-but-are-you-a-colourist Isguven, S. (2012, May 9). How does sunscreen protect you? Retrieved May 24, 2020, from http://www.yalescientific. org/2012/05/how-does-sunscreen-protect-you/ Lyman, R. L. (2008). Culture, concept and definitions. In D. M. Pearsall (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Archaeology. Elsevier

Science & Technology. Retrieved from Credo Reference: http://du.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/estarch/culture_concept_and_definitions/0?institutionId=1676 Mariam, S. (2017, May 17). Daring to be dark: Fighting against colorism in South

Asian cultures. Retrieved May 1, 2020, from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ daring-to-be-dark-fighting-against-colorism-in-south_b_58d98c5fe4b0e6062d923024 Matts, P., Dykes, P., & Marks, R. (2007). The distribution of melanin in skin determined in vivo. British Journal of

Dermatology, 156(4), 620–628. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2133.2006.07706.x Paul, A. (2016). Beyond the pale? Skinderella stories and colourism in India. Ideaz, 14, 133-145, 150. Retrieved from https://du.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.du.idm.oclc.org/scholarly-journals/ beyond-pale-skinderella-stories-colourism-india/docview/1853613694/se-2?accountid=14608 Phoenix, A. (2014). Colourism and the politics of beauty. Feminist Review, 108(1), 97–105. doi: 10.1057/fr.2014.18 Schlessinger, D. (2020, March 19). Biochemistry, melanin. Retrieved May 05, 2020, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih. gov/books/NBK459156/ Setty, G. (2020, May 22). Crayola unveils new packs of crayons to reflect the world’s skin tones. Retrieved May 24, 2020, from https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/22/us/crayola-skin-tone-crayons-trnd/index.html Skin. (2008). In Philip’s Encyclopedia. Philips. Retrieved from Credo Reference: http://du.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/philipency/skin/0?institutionId=1676

image provided by author

A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

For the majority of my life, I had been plagued by the brownness of my skin. It wasn’t something that I could fix, so the knowledge that I had to live with this shade of brown for the rest of my life was worrisome. Of course, I knew that many other people had this same worry, but I wasn’t aware that this was an actual issue that had a name: Colorism. When I discovered the meaning of this word, I automatically thought back to the many times I had heard negative comments about the color of my skin from people who share the same race as me. I thought about how it was possible for one to look at the color of my skin with such disdain, as if being dark-skinned would somehow hinder my abilities to accomplish something. There are so many people who have encountered colorism, but because it comes from people who are close to them, it’s easy to brush off. It is for this reason that I decided to tackle colorism as my quest.

One of the biggest challenges while composing this odyssey essay had to be the fact that colorism is such a broad topic that affects so many different races and cultures. I didn’t know where it would begin and how it would end. So, I decided to break it down and focus more on skin colors in general. Maybe if people understood how the melanin forms in the body, it would be easier to tackle the main constructions of the essay. Because of the broad nature of the topic, I decided to write mine in the constellation essay-style, where each essay would represent a different topic in regard to colorism.

I hope that, through my stories, the reader will begin to see the many ways that colorism can be inflicted on someone. While it can occur in a very explicit manner, most of the time, it’s very subtle, and we often brush it off. The fact of the matter is that if we continue to brush it off, the situation will keep spiraling. If we continue to allow our close friends and family to make off-handed comments about the color of our skin, we will end up not only hating our skin but also forcing the next generation of young children with dark skin to go through the same things we did. That’s not a feasible option. Instead, we should focus on the fact that no two people have the exact same shade of skin and that’s perfectly fine. Abandoning the colonialist mentality will help us understand that all seven billion shades of skin are beautiful.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sameha Haque currently attends the University of Denver, where she studies biology with a minor in sociology. She was born in Anaheim, California and lived there for nine years before moving to Delta, Colorado. Sameha is the eldest of three, with two very adorable and energetic younger siblings. Her hobbies include reading and watching every show on Netflix. Sameha also enjoys writing and speaking out about issues that have affected not only her but also those around her.