Discrimination based on skin tone
Prejudice based on skin tone, often favoring lighter skin.
Discrimination based on skin tone—called colorism, shadeism, or pigmentocracy—is a type of prejudice where people of the same race are treated better or worse depending on how light or dark their skin is. It mainly pushes darker-skinned individuals to the margins while favoring lighter-skinned ones. This bias has colonial origins worldwide, from early class systems in Asia to the effects of European colonialism and slavery on Latinos and African Americans. Colorism looks at how racism shapes people’s psychology and influences ideas about beauty, wealth, and privilege. The key difference from racism is that racism involves one group dominating another or believing in racial superiority, while colorism includes discrimination both between groups and within the same group.
Studies have found strong evidence of skin-tone bias in the U.S. and Europe across criminal justice, business, the economy, housing, healthcare, media, and politics. There is also clear research showing bias in education: students of color face higher costs, fewer opportunities in advanced programs, and are targeted by teachers or peers from other marginalized groups. Beyond the U.S., lighter skin is often seen as more desirable in many African, Asian, and Latin American countries due to internalized colorism. Though less common historically, prejudice can also go the other way—against lighter-skinned people—often because albinism is wrongly viewed as a disease. This is called reverse colorism.
Worldwide, racism touches nearly every part of modern life. Research shows ethnic minorities get fewer chances in higher education and jobs, face more police scrutiny, and receive less adequate medical care. Multiple meta-analyses find widespread racial discrimination in hiring in North America and Europe. A 2016 analysis of 738 correspondence tests from 43 studies in OECD countries (1990–2015) found that minority candidates must send about 50% more applications than white candidates to get an interview. Mid-2010s U.S. research shows that socioeconomic and health gaps among African Americans based on skin tone are often as large as—or larger than—the gaps between whites and African Americans.
In Africa, skin-whitening treatments and colorism within ethnic groups are more common in West and South Africa. In some areas, lighter-skinned people are considered more attractive and likely to succeed, leadi
- field
- Sociology, Psychology, History
- known_for
- Prejudice and discrimination based on skin tone within and between groups
- key_distinction
- Differs from racism by dealing with in-group discrimination in addition to between-group discrimination
- global_scope
- Documented in the United States, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America
- related_practices
- Skin whitening treatments, color-based caste systems, and biases in criminal justice, business, education, and healthcare
Lore & Background
Colorism has been documented extensively in criminal justice, business, the economy, housing, health care, the media, and politics in the United States and Europe. Research also shows biases based on skin tone in the educational system, where students of color face higher education costs and inequalities in advanced programs. In many countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, lighter skin tones have been considered preferable due to internalized colorism. Reverse colorism, though less historically significant, can also occur, directed toward lighter-skinned individuals due to the perception of albinism as a disease.
Reader's Guide
Discrimination based on skin tone is significant because it reveals how racism is expressed in the psychology of a people, affecting concepts of beauty, wealth, and privilege. Unlike racism, which deals with subjugation between groups, colorism involves in-group discrimination as well. Its global reach—from the United States and Europe to Africa, Asia, and Latin America—shows its deep colonial roots and persistent impact on socioeconomic mobility, employment, marriage prospects, and health. The widespread use of harmful skin-lightening products in Africa and Asia underscores the psychological and physical toll. Understanding colorism helps explain inequalities that persist even within marginalized communities, such as the socioeconomic and health disparities among African Americans along the color continuum, which can be similar or larger than those between whites and African Americans.
Did You Know?
- A 2016 meta-analysis of 738 correspondence tests in OECD countries found that equivalent minority candidates need to send around 50% more applications than majority candidates to be invited for an interview.
- In Ghana, some pregnant women take tablets hoping their child will be born with fair skin, and some apply bleaching lotion to their babies.
- In Japan, Japanese women commonly state that white women's skin is too pale, rough, wrinkled, or has too many spots.
- In India, the Kamasutra's advice for men to avoid sexual relationships with women who are extremely white or extremely black may reflect an early form of colorism.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Discrimination based on skin tone?
It is a form of bias—commonly called colorism, shadeism, or pigmentocracy—in which people within the same racial group are rewarded or penalized according to how light or dark their complexion is. Rather than targeting an entire race, it builds a shade-based hierarchy that privileges lighter skin and pushes darker-skinned individuals to the margins.
How does Discrimination based on skin tone differ from racism?
Racism generally describes prejudice directed between different racial groups, whereas colorism operates both between groups and inside a single group. It layers a complexion-based ranking on top of broader racial categories, so two people of the same ethnicity can still face unequal treatment purely because of their shade.
In which regions is Discrimination based on skin tone documented?
Researchers have recorded shade-based bias across the United States, European nations, African countries, Asian societies, and Latin American communities. Its origins stretch back to pre-colonial class structures in Asia as well as the lasting impact of European slavery and colonialism in the Americas.
What real-world areas are affected by Discrimination based on skin tone?
The bias surfaces in criminal sentencing, hiring and promotion decisions, educational access, and medical treatment. It also fuels the multi-billion-dollar skin-lightening industry and reinforces color-based caste or class systems in several cultures.
What academic fields study Discrimination based on skin tone?
Sociologists, psychologists, and historians each examine the phenomenon from distinct angles. Sociologists trace its structural and institutional effects, psychologists explore how it shapes self-perception and beauty ideals, and historians document both its colonial and pre-colonial roots.
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