Deck 5: Colorism and Skin-Color Stratification

Question 1

Lighter-skinned African Americans have advantages over their darker-skinned counterparts in earnings, education, and occupations.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Colorism has existed in the United States since the colonial era.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Although popular in the early 1900s, skin bleaching products are rarely used today.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

In Brazil, even a person with relatively little African ancestry is still considered Black.

Question 5

In the 1920s, skin bleaches and hair straighteners formed a substantial portion of the cosmetics products sold in Harlem.

Question 6

In Asia, colorism is a relatively new phenomenon.

Question 7

Asian Americans use skin lighteners in hopes of becoming White.

Question 8

Skin-bleaching has become common among women throughout Africa.

Question 9

According to Evelyn Nakano Glenn, light skin is a form of symbolic capital, which is more important for women than men.

Question 10

India is the only country where men do not have a preference for lighter skinned mates.

Question 11

Findings that darker-skinned immigrants tend to earn lower wages and have poorer health outcomes than their lighter-skinned counterparts is an example of skin-color stratification.

Question 12

Colorism is a global phenomenon, with a long history and distinct manifestations around the world.

Question 13

One exception to colorism was slavery: because all enslaved people were considered "Black," skin color did not impact their status.

Question 14

Colorism is perpetuated not only by Whites but also within different racial and ethnic groups among people of color.

Question 15

Unlike the United States or Latin American countries colonized by Spain, Brazil never had an official racial classification system that defined blackness.

Question 16

Whereas _______ relies on the belief that some races are better than others, _______ is the idea that, within races, lighter is better.

A) discrimination; White privilege
B) racism; colorism
C) White privilege; discrimination
D) colorism; racism

Question 17

In the United States, Whites earn, on average, the most, followed by lighter-skinned Blacks, with very dark-skinned Blacks earning the least. This unequal distribution of resources according to skin color is known as:

A) skin-color stratification
B) color-blindness
C) racial segregation
D) wage privilege

Question 18

David R. Dietrich refers to the United States as a _________, a society in which Blacks, Asians, and Latinxs have different social statuses according to their skin color.

A) patriarchy
B) diaspora
C) tone-based hierarchy
D) pigmentocracy

Question 19

While scholars of colorism may disagree on the origins of colorism, most would agree that colorism:

A) only affects females
B) began after the Civil Rights movement
C) is a global phenomenon
D) All of the above

Question 20

Officially recognized as a distinct category on the U.S. Census from 1850 to 1910, _______ were the mixed-race children of Blacks and Whites.

A) mestizaje
B) mulattos
C) pardos
D) mestizos

Question 21

According to the idea of hypodescent in different U.S. states, a person could be considered Black if:

A) one of their grandparents was Black
B) their great-grandparents were Black
C) they were 1/32 Black
D) All of the above

Question 22

Due to the prevalence of skin-tone stratification, lighter-skinned slaves were more likely to be freed, leading to a class of freedmen. These lighter-skinned Blacks eventually formed the core of the Black elite in the United States. This history explains how:

A) skin color has been mapped onto social status in the African American community for centuries
B) light-skinned Blacks were later able to join forces with White immigrants in the creation of labor unions
C) skin-tone stratification helped pave the way for the Emancipation Proclamation
D) colorism became a global phenomenon

Question 23

The findings from Melville Herskovits' study of Blacks in Harlem in the 1920s mirror the findings of Parameswaran and Cardoza's research in modern day India. Both studies show that men preferred to marry _________ partners.

A) mestizo
B) light-skinned
C) Native American
D) dark-skinned

Question 24

Skin-whitening creams' prevalence in Asia, Latin America, Africa, and the United States is evidence of a _____________, in which light skin is privileged and people strive to become lighter.

A) patriarchy
B) beauty queue
C) diaspora
D) global color hierarchy

Question 25

Which group faces the most pressure to lighten their skin?

A) Asians
B) women
C) Latinxs
D) men

Question 26

Skin-bleaching products are popular even in countries known to be "proud, Black nations". When asked why they use these products, most respondents provide a reason that involves:

A) treating serious health problems
B) personal fulfillment
C) looking better
D) religious tradition

Question 27

Vanessa Williams was crowned Miss America in 1983. Her light skin is perceived as more beautiful, despite the fact that she belongs to a disadvantaged racial group. She can be considered to have:

A) skin color privilege
B) skin-tone stratification
C) a beauty queue
D) White advantage

Question 28

The concept of __________ explains how sexism and racism interact to create an order of women from the lightest to the darkest, where the lightest get the most resources and the darkest get the least.

A) patriarchy
B) a global color hierarchy
C) hypodescent
D) a beauty queue

Question 29

In colonial Latin America, the child of a Black slave and a Spanish settler would be called a:

A) mulatto
B) mestizo
C) pardo
D) castizo

Question 30

Korie Edwards, Katrina M. Carter-Tellison, and Cedric Herring's study of marriage among non-Whites in urban areas, found that for ________ , dark-skinned men and women were less likely to marry than their lighter-skinned counterparts.

A) Blacks
B) Latinxs and Asians
C) Asians, Blacks, and Latinxs
D) Asians

Question 31

Which of the following demonstrates how colorism continues to affect the lives of African Americans?

A) darker-skinned Blacks get longer prison sentences than Blacks with lighter skin
B) darker-skinned Blacks are more likely to receive the death penalty than lighter-skinned Blacks
C) White employers were more likely to hire a lighter-skinned than a darker-skinned African American
D) All of the above

Question 32

Margaret Hunter explains that beauty, like colorism, is an ideology and can be used as a tool to maintain _________, male dominance in a society.

A) hypodescent
B) patriarchy
C) pigmentocracy
D) male privilege

Question 33

A study found that in strip clubs, light-skinned Black and Latina women's attractiveness and sensuality were viewed as "exotic" and they were able to earn more than darker-skinned Black women. This is an example of:

A) erotic capital
B) social capital
C) ethnic capital
D) cultural capital

Question 34

Research on Asian American, Trinidadian, South African, and Hispanic women who use skin lighteners showed a similarity amongst all groups. This similarity was that:

A) they only used skin lighteners on occasion because they knew these products could be hazardous to their health
B) they all were trying to become White so that they could reap the benefits of White privilege
C) although they all associated lighter skin with beauty, they did not want to become White
D) most of these women started using skin lighteners after being teased about their dark skin

Question 35

Rondilla and Spivak found that Asian Americans associate lighter skin with all of the following EXCEPT:

A) high class
B) hypersexuality
C) beauty
D) intelligence

Question 36

Mestizo is part of the skin-color hierarchy in ____________ and refers to _________.

A) Asia; immigrants
B) Africa; enslaved people
C) Latin America; persons of mixed Spanish and indigenous ancestry
D) The United States; persons of mixed Black and White ancestry

Question 37

Which of the following statements is true about racial segregation and inequality in Brazil?

A) Brazil has never had laws that mandated racial segregation so there is no racial inequality along color lines
B) Brazil has never had laws that mandated racial segregation but racial inequality still exists along color lines.
C) Brazil had strict laws mandating racial segregation during the colonial era but no longer has racial inequality along color lines.
D) Brazil formerly had strict laws mandating racial segregation during the colonial era and racial inequality still exists along color lines.

Question 38

In which regions of the world is colorism present?

A) Regions with majority White populations
B) Regions with majority Black populations
C) Societies that have caste systems
D) All of the above

Question 39

In Brazil, people's perceived race is largely determined by:

A) Ancestry
B) Class
C) Appearance
D) The race of other family members

Question 40

How do researchers explain the relationship between colorism and colonialism in Africa?

A) Colonialism fueled an obsession with light skin, but people have now largely rejected colorism in the post-colonial era.
B) Colonialism fueled an obsession with light skin and colorism remains pervasive in many parts of Africa
C) Anger at colonialism made African people reject colorism entirely
D) There is no evidence of colorism prior of the period of colonialism in Africa

Question 41

What is colorism? How does colorism differ from racism?

Question 42

Define skin-color stratification. Use a concrete example to illustrate how colorism is linked to skin-color stratification.

Question 43

Identify three empirical indicators of skin-color stratification in the United States.

Question 44

Compare and contrast how the racial classification systems in Brazil, Latin America, and the United States shape each region's system of skin-color stratification.

Question 45

Identify two ways in which colorism is gendered.

Question 46

Identify three indicators that colorism continues to shape the lives of African Americans.

Question 47

Research has found that employers prefer to hire lighter-skinned African Americans over darker-skinned African Americans. How might these hiring preferences contribute to skin-color stratification in the labor market?

Question 48

Give an example of a light-skinned, woman artist of color, and use the "beauty queue" concept to explain her fame.

Question 49

Describe the concept of "erotic capital." How does Siobhan Brooks' study of erotic capital illustrate the way in which patriarchy has shaped the relationship between skin color and beauty for women of color?

Question 50

Do skin-lightening practices suggest that women of color desire to be White? Support your claim with findings from at least two studies discussed in Chapter 5, "Colorism and Skin-color Stratification."

Question 51

Indian advertisements that promote skin-whitening creams are excellent windows on colorism. How do these advertisements illustrate the relationship between colorism and gender?

Question 52

Identify an advantage experienced by a light-skinned, person of color who lives in the United States relative to a darker-skinned person from the same racial/ethnic group. Use the concepts of colorism and skin-color stratification to explain the root of this privilege.

Question 53

Explain the concept of hypodescent in the United States. Does this idea persist in the contemporary U.S.?

Question 54

The prevalence of skin-whitening creams and skin-lightening practices is a salient reflection of the ways in which colorism operates in countries across the world, suggesting a "global color hierarchy." Select two societies where colorism exists and explain two ways in which it structures social life differently in these two societies.

Question 55

How did colorism manifest during the era of slavery in the United States? What is the legacy of this colorism?