Variations and differences in skin colour has been a complex phenomenon around the world. Issues of colour and identity in a postcolonial and post-Apartheid context, is also a significant field of interest. Popular stereotypes portray darker skin pigmentation as undesirable and inferior to lighter pigmentation. The process of ‘lactification’ (Fanon, 1968) remains a question today as much as during earlier colonial times. These stereotypes also bring to the fore, essential questions about hierarchies of power and oppression, culture and identity and how these are shaped to fit popular dominant culture. This study explored peoples’ perceptions around different shades of skin colour and attitudes towards various shades of pigmentation. The study adopted a qualitative approach and explored perceptions around skin colour through in-depth interviews. Fifteen adult participants in Soweto, Gauteng were recruited for the study via purposive sampling. The data collected was analysed using thematic content analysis. The study found that the western idea of attractiveness is still highly regarded. Black women and men take various measures to conform to the western ideal simply to be acknowledged as attractive and stigma is attached to the dark complexion. Self-esteem is affected by the perception of beauty, high perception of attractiveness equals to the high self-esteem.

Whitewashing and colourism is prevalent in the Hollywood film industry due to decades of institutional racism, unconscious and implicit bias of professionals in the industry combined with the misconceptions of the success factors in film. This study will explore the capabilities of artificial intelligence helping the industry professionals of Hollywood film fight against whitewashing. The research of AI and AI-human interactions are a relatively young phenomenon, let alone combining artificial intelligence with the creative process of creating a cast. This means that the whole research is a relatively new territory and will be examined from an exploratory point of view. The findings of this paper suggest that AI certainly has the capabilities to help Hollywood make more diverse casts with more equal representation of people of colour, but technology needs to face and overcome the biases of its own first. / Whitewashing och colourism är utbredda fenomen i filmbranschen i Hollywood. Detta är en konsekvens av årtionden av institutionell rasism, omedvetna och indirekta fördomar hos branschfolk, i kombination med missuppfattningar om framgångsfaktorerna i filmer. Denna studie kommer att undersöka möjligheten att använda artificiell intelligens som ett hjälpmedel för professionella inom filmindustrin i Hollywood i kampen mot whitewashing. Forskningen av AI (artificiell intelligens) och AI-mänskliga interaktioner är ett relativt nytt fenomen, likaså att kombinera artificiell intelligens med den kreativa processen av att skapa en gjutning. Detta innebär att forskningen kring ämnet är ett relativt nytt område och kommer att undersökas ur en utforskande synvinkel. Resultatet av denna avhandling tyder på att användningen av AI som ett hjälpmedel kan resultera i mer varierande rollbesättningar, med bredare representation av färgade personer, men tekniken måste till att börja med möta och övervinna sina egna fördomar.

Despite the fact that albinism affects several South Africans, it is a condition that remains deeply misunderstood. Albinism is steeped in myth and false notions, and is perceived by many as a curse and contamination. For years, persons living with albinism have been treated with doubt and suspicion. Also in schools and in the wider community, children with albinism are subjected to violence and ridicule. In certain areas on the African continent, including Southern Africa, persons living with albinism are killed for the trade in body parts for use as sacramental medicines, or sexually assaulted as a result of the belief that raping them may offer a cure for HIV/AIDS. All of this highlights the extreme vulnerability of persons living with albinism, not to mention the many violations of their fundamental rights that follow from the manner in which they are treated. Within the social context that frames the experience of persons living with albinism, the primary purpose of this study is to highlight some of the pertinent challenges faced by persons living with albinism in South Africa which compromise the full enjoyment of their fundamental rights as enshrined in the South African Constitution. The thesis makes a number of practical recommendations that will assist in promoting the legal position of this vulnerable group, while also contributing to a better understanding of albinism in general which will ultimately change negative perceptions and debunk the myths surrounding the condition. / Jurisprudence / LL. D.