Interesting arguments about how to objectively measure 'race'
skin color, not race
Now the question is "is race just skin deep?"
Would a non-white person be treated exactly the same way if he/she is in rural Virginia compared to NYC? Would their outfits or body arts change people's perception? Does skin color simplify or complicate the problem, or just shift one complexity to another?
What about a person who spent some time on the beach comes back with more melanin? Temporarily discriminated until his/her true color comes back?
Is a lighter makeup the grand 'fix' for problems that have lasted for decades?
I wonder if one day aliens from a galaxy far far away come and invade the Earth. They happen to be black, what happens? Are we 'Earthlings' no matter what color our skin or hair is, or are we judged by our degree of resemblance to aliens or our degree of aggression? Maybe the shape of our ears will be the measure then.
“What about a person who spent some time on the beach comes back with more melanin? Temporarily discriminated until his/her true color comes back?”
ReplyDeletePersonally, this has been my understanding based on personal experience. As a “brown person” who gets relatively light during winter and gets very brown after short sunlight exposure, I have experienced differences in terms of treatment from people (e.g., at the airport flying back from Honolulu or San Deigo vs. flying from Michigan). Although I never met the same people, it seemed like people approached me more often (and nicer) when I was lighter. I am only one observation and probably a biased observation, but it is interesting. I believe that subconsciously people look at an individual in a two-leveled approach, first level is based on race and second level is based how light skin color is. Various cultures especially in Asia view “light skin” as equivalent of beauty that is subject to gradation, with the lightest skin being the most beautiful and darkest skin being the least beautiful. I believe similar concept exists among Black Americans. I had wondered why we only see (if not mostly) light-skin Black Americans in TV commercials.
Karl Alcover:
ReplyDelete“What about a person who spent some time on the beach comes back with more melanin? Temporarily discriminated until his/her true color comes back?”
Personally, this has been my understanding based on personal experience. As a “brown person” who gets relatively light during winter and gets very brown after short sunlight exposure, I have experienced differences in terms of treatment from people (e.g., at the airport flying back from Honolulu or San Deigo vs. flying from Michigan). Although I never met the same people, it seemed like people approached me more often (and nicer) when I was lighter. I am only one observation and probably a biased observation, but it is interesting. I believe that subconsciously people look at an individual in a two-leveled approach, first level is based on race and second level is based how light skin color is. Various cultures especially in Asia view “light skin” as equivalent of beauty that is subject to gradation, with the lightest skin being the most beautiful and darkest skin being the least beautiful. I believe similar concept exists among Black Americans. I had wondered why we only see (if not mostly) light-skin Black Americans in TV commercials.