I've noticed that, when it comes to describing the skin tone of women of color, the variations in darkness and warmth are often compared to different foods. Different shades of blackness are described as soft honey, mocha, toasted almond, cappuccino, caramel, rich ginger, warm chocolate, or even spicy brown or—legitimately—simply, "toast." (all of those names were taken from the first three popular makeup brands I could think of— Revlon, Rimmel London, and CoverGirl). Meanwhile, light or medium shades have names like ivory, white sand, nude, golden beige, and—most disconcerting—natural and perfect ivory. The uniformity of these differences was odd to me, and I couldn't help think about its implications. This labeling of shades is an example of the damaging potrayal of woman of color as "exotic"—as foreign and objectified sexualities, only represented as food, as sweet or tantalizing indulgences. Historically in the United States, women of color existed to be owned and often 'tasted' by their masters, their bodies and appearances never belonging to themselves. In The Black Beauty Myth, Sirena J. Riley "I was completely out of touch with my body. I didn't want to live there. I don't even think I really considered it a part of me" (228). I can't help but wonder how a person of color might feel walking through the supermarket aisles, searching through a sea of "perfect ivory" and "natural" for something that looked remotely like their own skin; then, when the makeup for darker shades was inevitably found on the bottom shelf, they would be greeted with reminders that their beauty is one that can only be experienced by others, because they are objects of desire. Do you think that something as seemingly innocuous as foundation names could be indicative of unwitting prejudice and continued exotification of women of color? If not, why do you think this difference is so notable?
Here is an article I found in which an author discusses their experience with descriptions of skin color in everyday use, not just with makeup.
What interesting questions Hannah!
ReplyDelete