Lighter Skin means Beauty: Colourism in Ghana and Nigeria

For my final paper in my Intercultural Communication class, I decided to write about Colourism in Africa - mainly focusing on Ghana and Nigeria. Today, I share this essay with you in hopes of enlightening you, offering you assurance and security in your skin tone and also challenging you to treat individuals of the skin tone other than yours equally if you don’t already. So here it goes:

Colourism in Africa is a major intercultural problem that transcends ethnicities, religions, cultures and personal upbringing. According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, colourism is defined as the prejudice or discrimination especially within a racial or ethnic group favoring people with lighter skin over those with darker skin. Colourism is very prominent because the lighter skin is often viewed as the more important, pleasant and admirable group while the darker skin is not appreciated and looked down upon greatly. This challenge causes inequality and unequal opportunity in the workplace, social gatherings, life events such as marriage and relationships. Colourism overall is linked to smaller incomes, lower marriage rates, longer prison terms, and fewer job prospects for darker-skinned people.

With the presence of European colonialism all over the world, the major intercultural issue that shapes colourism is the history of slavery prominent in African countries and around the world. In United States history, slave owners gave preferential and better treatment to lighter-skinned slaves than darker skinned ones. While dark-skinned enslaved people laboured out in the fields and plantations, their light-skinned fellows worked indoors as house maids, cooks and performed less draining domestic tasks. Additionally, enslavers were biased towards light skinned slaves because they were often their relatives. Lighter skinned slaves were forced into sex with their masters and their offsprings came out lighter skinned, as expected. Although slave masters did not officially accept these children, they received better treatment and privileges that dark-skinned enslaved people did not enjoy. With this, the light skin came to be viewed as the superior colour in the Black community. This seems as though Black loathes Black skin and loves White skin.

Unfortunately, as slavery ended, colourism gained more momentum. Black Americans who belonged to the upper echelon used the brown paper bag test as a determiner if their fellow Black counterparts were light enough to be included in social circles. Marita Golden, author of "Don’t Play in the Sun: One Woman’s Journey Through the Color Complex" comments, “The paper bag would be held against your skin. And if you were darker than the paper bag, you weren’t admitted” (thoughtco.com). This represents the depth to which colorism goes and the poor treatment meted out to individuals who are viewed as the inferior.

In Africa, specifically Ghana and Nigeria, colourism has infiltrated the country and economic system as a whole. Although culturally and traditionally, a darker skin woman is defined as the “real African woman”, westernization and the remnants of slavery has affected this mindset. Now socially, a lighter skinned woman or “fair” woman as we often say in Africa, often receives more job opportunities as opposed to dark skinned ones. According to an article in The Guardian, author Franklin Ugodube discusses the colorism problem present in Nollywood, Nigeria’s film industry. He explores the fact that lighter skinned actresses get more movie roles because they are more physically appealing than darker women. Ugodube writes, “Dianna Yekinni, another actress… was told that if she wasn’t light-skinned by 2018 that she won’t be working” (Ugodube). This supports the fact that darker skinned women have a harder time of breaking into the entertainment industry in Nigeria. The lighter skinned individuals are placed on a higher pedestal and receive more recognition than darker skinned individuals unfortunately, ever will have. Socially, colourism plays a role in the romantic setting. Fair skinned women are associated with beauty and status so they are more likely to be married than darker skinned women. Women of a lighter complexion truly view themselves as more important in society. Sometimes, their interactions with dark skin women says it all.

In Ghana, colourism takes place at different places and almost too often. The skin bleaching industry in Ghana simply shows the magnitude at which colourism exists. Most women want to change their skin colour because it makes them feel more beautiful, a thought that society has planted in their heads. Additionally, they want to be of a lighter tone because they believe that it will enable them to get suitors and a variety of potential husbands. Nittle, in an article titled, “The Roots of Colorism, or Skin Tone Discrimination” writes, “We find that the light-skin shade as measured by survey interviewers is associated with about a 15 percent greater probability of marriage for young Black women” (thoughtco). Culturally, individuals of the lighter skin are treated with much more respect and honour than the darker skin. This is another motivator for people to pursue skin bleaching. The fact that “Ghana’s Food and Drug Authority began a ban on certain skin-whitening products that include hydroquinone, a topical ingredient that disrupts the synthesis and production of the melanin”, shows the intensity of the skin whitening industry present (Cooper).

Dr. Edmund Nminyem Delle a dermatologist who for three decades has campaigned against skin bleaching, in an interview says, ‘“When I had a fair lady here as my secretary, people were trooping into my office all the time.”’ This supports the concept that the high “demand” for light skin women and the attention they get over darker skinned ones across Ghana. Unfortunately, there is no end in sight to this problem that exists between these two groups of people. Thankfully, I have never experienced colourism directly, however, since I am obviously dark skinned, I am most certain that my dark skin has done me a disservice in certain situations without realising. Socially, I have heard men pass comments such as “your skin is very expensive” or “you are “fresh” to my light skin friends - Fresh, referring to their lighter skin. I do feel slighted by the term “expensive” because that, in a sense, cheapens my dark skin. Ironically, dark skin is actually the only skin colour that cannot be purchased.

The social aspect of colourism is the major reason why it still exists. The first solution is to denounce the reasoning and idea that fair skin means beauty. This will go a long way to empower dark skin persons, especially girls. I believe changing this distorted view will go a long way in contributing to the genuine acceptance of the dark skin. Also, education on the dangers of skin whitening should be heightened and stronger bans should be placed on manufacturers of these unhealthy products. Additionally, if opportunities available to the members of these societies are given based on merit as opposed to skin colour or looks, this will influence all individuals to do better and actually work hard, rather than focusing on lightening their skin.

Overall, stereotypically, lighter skinned women are viewed as high maintenance individuals with good taste and very difficult to please. As a result of their light skin, individuals automatically associate them with more expensive lotions and cosmetics while darker skin women are associated with “low quality” or cheap products. Ultimately, dark skin women are viewed as dirty or unkempt because their skin is dark. In my opinion, although it is great to parade the social media sphere with phrases like “melanin popping”, “the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice” and “dark skin goals”, we should worry about imbibing these thoughts into people’s minds so they see this and live it in reality as opposed to feigning on social networks. It is my genuine hope that this awful mindset is changed. It is sometimes disheartening to belong to a culture that feels inferior to the White man. I believe this is so unfortunate because if you cannot be dark skinned in Africa then where else can you?