Redefining Nude is an online resource of dye and paint guidelines for 28 different skin tone colors. After researching what was available on the market for pre-colored tights and investigating existing resources about dyeing to match skin tones, I saw an opportunity to fill a gap in the costume world. Today, the color “nude” or “flesh toned” refers to a specific color, usually a light peach or tan. Nude cannot be defined by one color because there are so many different colors of skin tones in the world. Setting a standard for nude color is an example of colorism, which is the discrimination of people based on the color of their skin, and is prejudiced against those people who do not fit into that mold. Redefining Nude challenges the notion that nude is one type of color and instead celebrates every skin tone. It offers costumers, performers, and do-it-yourselfers the tools to combat colorism, by taking matters into our own hands and defining nude for ourselves / text

This dissertation examines intra-racial colorism in works by writers who began their careers during the Harlem Renaissance, but whose writings span almost a century. In these writings, colorism; which can be defined as a bias directed toward an individual that is based on skin tone, is portrayed an intra-racial practice that results from the internalization of racist ideals. The practice relies on a hierarchy that most often privileges those closest to the color line. However, these depictions also show that the preponderance of skin tones can sometimes determine who is targeted. For the purposes of this study it is called reverse colorism when the bias is directed by individuals darker in skin tone toward those who are lighter. Consequently, the careful descriptions of the shades and hues of black characters becomes more than aesthetics and can be seen as a coded reference to experiential differences. While Alain Locke hailed the start of the Harlem Renaissance to signal the rise of The New Negro, the writings featured by female writers in this dissertation advance a less optimistic reality for women, who had to contend with both inter- and intra-racial bias because of their skin tone. Colorism is identified as a particularly prevalent presence in the lives of black women, who also saw skin tone subjectively and viewed themselves as darker than their male counterparts.

Skin tone variation within American black communities has long been associated with intraracial stratification. Data from the National Survey of Black Americans (NSBA) indicate that lighter-skinned blacks – net of such factors as region of residence, age, and sex – consistently have higher levels of nearly every socioeconomic indicator including educational attainment, personal and family income, and perceived physical attractiveness when compared to their darker counterparts. What does this color caste system mean for the personal identities and emotional experiences of dark-skinned blacks in America? Using data from the NSBA and six interviews with dark-skinned blacks, I set forth social psychological implications of a phenotypically stratified subgroup in the United States.

This thesis examined how colorism impacts the representation of young women of color in 21st century television shows. The thesis focused on how colorism affects one’s idea of beauty and self-esteem, and how young women are portrayed. A content analysis of five television programs (Black-ish, Dear White People, Empire, Grown-ish, and The Carmichael Show) were analyzed. Through the analysis, darker complexion women were analyzed and it was found negative attributes were used to describe them in terms of beauty, and for lighter skinned females positives attributes were used throughout the show. In the five episodes examined that aired in the 21st century, beauty was defined based on one’s complexion as it was before in previous centuries. Issues of colorism are still displayed in 21st century television shows and through positive and negative caricatures. Colorism has a direct impact on how women of color are perceived and it can directly impact their self-esteem. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2019. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

AN ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION OF CHRISTIAN H. GILLESPIE, for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in PSYCHOLOGY, presented on April 08, 2013, at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. TITLE: DOWN TO THE ROOTS: A QUALITATIVE ANAYSIS OF THE PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACTS OF MESSAGES BLACK WOMEN RECIEVE REGARDING THEIR HAIR MAJOR PROFESSOR: Kathleen Chwalisz, Ph.D. Typical Black features such as thick lips, dark skin, and kinky hair have historically been the subject of scrutiny, exploitation, and devaluation in America. Hair is an important aspect of the discourse about the pressure on all women to accommodate to mainstream beauty ideals. However, there are unique pressures that complicate this narrative for Black women, who have to combat both the pressures of racism and sexism. Many African American women have a naturally kinky hair texture that is distinctly different from their Euro-American counterparts, serving as a widely recognized racial identifier (Chapman, 2007). Although there is a growing body of anthologies, essays, documentaries and case studies exploring Black women's unique experiences regarding their hair, there is a dearth of empirical literature, particularly in the field of psychology, exploring the nuances of Black women's hair experiences and subsequent impacts of negative kinky-hair messages on their hair choices, esteem, personal and emotional functioning. Therefore, a Grounded Theory approach using semi-structured individual interviews was used in this qualitative investigation, designed to answer the following research questions: 1. What messages have Black women received about their naturally kinky hair? 2. What emotions or reactions are elicited for Black women regarding their hair? 3. How do Black women respond to and cope with the messages they've received and experiences they've had regarding their natural hair? Nine self-identified African American/Black women were interviewed for this study. During the interview process, participants described the various hair-related experiences they've had in diverse contexts, their emotional responses and reaction to their experiences, and subsequent means of responding and coping with the emotions elicited. A grounded theory approach was used to analyze the data. The grounded theory model that emerged from this study can be characterized as Defining and Being Defined: Black Women's Identity in a Colorist Society. This storyline is reflective of participants' strive toward self-definition (Caldwell, 2000; Tate, 2007), and simultaneous negotiation of the abuse they experienced and anti-Black aesthetic messages they were exposed to regarding their hair. Defining specifically refers to participants strive toward self-definition (i.e., development of a positive image and self concept), and Being Defined refers to their efforts to manage how others in society perceived them (e.g., their attractiveness, competence, femininity etc.) in relation to their hair. The participants' narratives reflected the marginalization, trauma, abuse, and rejection they experienced in relation to their hair and in their personal lives. The Black women also expressed an unyielding sense of optimism, resilience and hope regarding their future experiences.

abstract: ABSTRACT Colorism is the intra-racial system of inequality based on skin color, hair texture, and facial features. In the African American culture, colorism has deeply rooted origins that continue to affect the lives of African Americans today. This study examined how colorism effects perceptions of personal characteristics, personal attributes, work ability, and hiring decisions of African American women 18 and older. Participants for this study consisted of 188 African American women who self-identified as African American/Black and who were over 18 years of age living in the United States. All participants completed a demographic sheet and three instruments: Occupational Work Ethic Inventory (OWEI; Petty, 1995), Personal Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ; Spence, Helmreich, & Stapp, 1974) and Personal Efficacy Beliefs Scale (PEBS; Riggs et al., 1994). They were randomly assigned to one of six vignettes describing a young African American/Black woman applying for a job. She was described as having one of three skin-tones (light, brown, or dark) and having kinky or straight hair. A multiple analysis of variance (MANOVA) failed to reveal differences in personal characteristics, personal attributes, and work ability due to skin tone or to hair texture. Multiple linear regression analyses revealed that hair texture predicted hiring decision, after controlling for relevant demographic variables. Participant education and vignette hair texture influenced hiring decisions, accounting for 8.2% of the variance. The woman in the vignette with straight hair was more likely to be recommended for hire and more educated participants were more likely to recommend hiring. These findings suggest that education may be an important factor in changing the influence of colorism in African American culture and that hair texture may be a factor of colorism that influences hiring of applicants. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Counseling 2015

Although research on the genre of the soap opera is some of the earliest research present in mass communications scholarship, and despite the considerable amount of existing scholarship on the genre of the telenovela, the subgenre of the teen telenovela, as present in Mexico and other Latin American countries, has been mostly overlooked. It is undeniable that this subgenre is worth researching, however, if not because of the quality of its content, which has been called into question many times, then due to the significant number of people who consume it. At a time when Mexican telenovelas are struggling, it is the teenage public that continues to give Televisa, Mexico’s largest network, its highest ratings. This study focuses on one particular text in the genre, the teen telenovela Rebelde (Damián, 2004). Rebelde is an important telenovela to study for several reasons: its place in time, its target audience, its deviations from the genre, its massive popularity, and the fact that most of the existing scholarship on Mexican telenovelas focuses on texts which are much older. This dissertation uses textual analysis as a methodology in order to analyze six common themes of the teen telenovela: friendship, romance, childhood, school, rebellion and music. The purpose of this dissertation is to look at how these themes are represented in Rebelde, and at the way in which they draw elements from the genre of the traditional telenovela as well as from teenage content popular in other countries. The study also aims to analyze how this has allowed Rebelde to promote ideologies such as postfeminism, while still engaging with the more traditional ideology of the telenovela genre.

The exclusionary nature of colorism and how it affects personal awareness of self- identity behooves us to explore the socio-psychological interplay of life choices and racial socialization. This exploratory research is positioned within the context of black males’ relationship preferences and sought comprehension of how and why their perceptions inform their choices and inclination for lighter skin tones. The manifestations of colorism in these men’s experiences influence their interactions with women and how they perceive themselves. Findings of this phenomenological study informed the researcher of various dynamics that shape interactions of race, gender and colorism and utilized Black Feminist Thought as an epistemological framework. Purposeful sampling was used for recruitment and narrative interview methods highlighted perspectives and experiences of twenty, Atlanta black males, aged 21 and older for an overall essence of their phenomenon. Hopefully, this work will prompt analytical conversations to extend research of colorism within similar group dynamics.

Thesis advisor: Janet E. Helms / Black women are often confronted with social-systemic barriers and differential treatment based on the shade of their skin color. Colorism, a derivative of racism, is the use of skin-color shade as the basis for interactions with and evaluations of Black women. Some theoretical and empirical literature suggests that Black women may encounter and respond to colorism in various social contexts. Nevertheless, without an adequate measure to assess these contextually based experiences, it is difficult to explore the complex dynamics of the colorism that Black women face. In the present study, socioecological theory (Brenner, Zimmerman, Bauermeister, & Caldwell, 2013) was adapted to frame a contextual model of colorism in order to develop a measure that assesses Black women’s perceptions of and responses to colorism across social contexts, including in their families, within and outside of their racial community, and in society. Black women (N = 299) responded to 98 contextual items derived from personal accounts of colorism, focus groups, and theoretical literature. Various scale development techniques including item analysis, exploratory factor analyses, and parallel analyses yielded four dimensions of perceived colorism experiences (i.e., racial out-group, family, racial in-group, society) and seven dimensions of perceived colorism responses (i.e., racial out-group/society, family and racial in-group cognitive-emotional reactions, family and non-family positive colorism, negative self-concept, attractiveness). To investigate validity evidence, multivariate multiple regression analyses (MMRAs) and hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine relationships between the factor-derived subscales of the Perceived Colorism Scale and internalized colorism, racial identity, and self-esteem. Overall, results of the analyses supported the importance of four contexts for colorism experiences (racial out-group, family, racial in-group, and society). However, context-related responses to colorism were more complex than initially hypothesized. The factor-derived PCS subscales were predictive of internalized colorism, racial identity and self-esteem. Nonetheless, the subscales varied in the extent to which they were related to the validity measures and some of the significant relationships were not in hypothesized directions. Methodological limitations, along with implications for future theory, research, and practice are discussed. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2017. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology.

Colorism är ett strukturellt problem relaterat till vithetsnormen där negativa attributappliceras till icke-vita etniska drag. Även kroppsspråk är kopplat till normer, då könsnormerexisterar. Studien undersöker hur människors känslouttryck tolkas relaterat till deras kön ochetnicitet, genom internetbaserade enkäter (studie A, mörkhyade karaktärer samt studie B,ljushyade karaktärer). Via dessa enkäter utvärderas artefakter gestaltades män och kvinnorsom uppvisar sorg/ilska. Enligt hypotesen skulle resultatet reflektera colorismens inverkan,men resultatet indikerar att ingen signifikant trend som pekar mot colorismens påverkan.Inga större könsbaserade skillnader kunde hittas, utöver upplevd maskulinitet/femininitet. Istället indikerade resultatet i den här studien att karaktärernas design hade störst inverkan påresultatet. Obalanserade deltagargrupper kan ha haft en inverkan på resultatet, framtidastudier kräver större och kontrollerade deltagargrupper för att gynna generalisering ochanalys. Då kan även en större mängd gestaltningar användas, med fler variationer av uttryckkopplade till frågeställningen.