TaylorBurks

October18,2015
Mrs.Scaife
CompI

DarkGirls

InthispresentationIwillpresentthetopicoflowselfesteemintheAfricanAmerican
community,specificallyamongdarkerskinyoungwomen.Fromexperienceinbeingadarker
brownskinandknowingdarkskinpeopleIunderstandwhyhavingahighselfconfidencecan
sometimesbeahardtodevelopduetomediaandpopularity.

FirstSlide
Colorissues,mainlyissueswithdarkskinnedwomen,stillbaffleme.ButwhatIdoknowisthat
theyareveryreal.Eveniftheyrenotsharedunlesssomebodyasks,theyclearlydoexisteven
ifjustbehindcloseddoors.Whydotheybaffleme?Well,becauseIdhopethatwewerepast
thisnonsensebynow,butclearlywearentorcantbe."

SecondSlide(quote)
JudgementPREVENTSusfromseeingthegoodthatliesBEYONDappearances"
WayneDyer

ThirdSlide
ColorismisapersistentproblemforpeopleofcolorintheUSA.Colorism,orskincolor
stratification,isaprocessthatprivilegeslightskinnedpeopleofcoloroverdarkinareassuchas
income,education,housing,andthemarriagemarket.Colorismisdirectlyrelatedtothelarger
systemofracismintheUSAandaroundtheworld.Thecolorcomplexisalsoexportedaround
theglobe,inpartthroughUSmediaimages,andhelpstosustainthemultibilliondollarskin
bleachingandcosmeticsurgeryindustries.(Hunter,2007,p.237)

FourthSlide
ColorismhasrootsdatedbacktoEuropeancolonismandplantationsystemsofenslaved
AfricanAmericans.TheAmericanenslavementsystemoperatedasaformofWhitedomination
thatrewardedthosewhoemulatedWhitenessculturally,ideologically,economically,and
aestheticallyAftertheCivilWar,thedivisionscreatedduringenslavementledtodivisionsbased
ondifferencesinskincolor,hairtextureandphysicalappearance

FifthSlide
Somemayconsidertheissueofcolorismoverblowninthe21stcentury.Researchreveals,
however,thatpeople,insideandoutsideoftheBlackcommunitycontinuetogivemeaningto
complexionandthatthishassignificantimpactonanumberoflifeopportunities.Theeffectsof

colorismmaybeobservedinBlackwomensselfperceptions,ethnicidentity,relationships,
men,mateselection,familydynamics,educationalandoccupationaloutcomes,incomelevels,
andmentalandphysicalhealth

SixthSlide
SkintonecanaffecthowwearejudgedbyotherBlackpeople.Thishasbeenfoundfor
exampleinattractivenessratingsassignedtoBlackwomen(Hill,2002).Becauseappearance
isoftencentralintheevaluationofwomen,theeffectofcolorismonselfesteemandwellbeing
isstrongerforAfricanAmericangirlsandwomencomparedtomales

SeventhSlide
SkincolorisassociatedwithselfesteemforsomeBlackwomenwherehavingadarkerskin
toneisassociatedwithlowerselfworth(Thompson,2001).Sadly,thisoccursinbothadults
andyouth.Astudythatexaminedskincolorinthelivesof123AfricanAmericanadolescents
(aged1119years)foundcomplexiontoberelatedtoselfesteem

EighthSlide
(VideoclipfromDarkGirls)

NinthSlide
QuestionEveryonehastheirowninsecuritiesanddislikesaboutthemselves.Doesyoursdeter
youfromhowyourespectandperceiveyourselforthepeoplearoundyou?

TenthSlide
Youtubevideo
SkinbleachingintheAfricanAmericancommunityisbecomingmorewidespreadthanever.
Bleachingskinismedicallydangerousandafternumerousstudiesitwasproventhatexcessive
usecausesskincancer.

EleventhSlide
QuestionHowfarhaveyougonetofeelappealingtosomeoneoragroupofpeople?

TwelfthSlide
Survey328womenofAfricandescentwereexaminedinaSocialPsychologicalresearchon
skintonesatisfactionandselfesteem.

ThirteenthSlide
QuestionDoyouthinkthepercentagewaslowforbeingdarkerbecauseofthethoughtof
beinglessattractiveorbecausethewomenaresimplycomfortableintheskinthearealready
in?

FourteenthSlide
Selfesteemisinfluencedbymanythings,butespeciallyonhowyouthinkpeopleperceiveyou.


"There'sarapper,I'veforgottenhisname,hejustdidavideorecentlyandonthecallsheetfor
auditions,heliterallystated"nodarkskinnedwomenneedapply."Isn'tthatsomething?"Bill
Duke,"BillDukeairsdirtylaundryofskinprejudiceinDarkGirls

FifteenthSlide
Youtubevideo

SixteenthSlide
FinalYoutubevideo

Sources:

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Mucherah,WinnieandAndreaFrazier."HowDeepIsSkinDeep?"
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Obiora,Ankwe.TheGlobalPhenomenonofSkinBleaching:ACrisisinPublicHealth
Voicesin
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http://voicesinbioethics.org/2014/01/29/theglobalphenomenonofskinbleachingacrisis
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Mason,Jacob."WhyILoveBlackWomen!"
YouTube.
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Wolfdancefilms.10ThingsIWantToSayToABlackWomanbyJoshuaBennett
Youtube
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Youtube,2Sept.2010.Web.21Oct.2015<
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gU7ItOxr9g
>