Shadeism (New Documentary) Not something I’m unfamiliar…
Shadeism (New Documentary)
Not something I’m unfamiliar with. Definitely want tons of people to see this.
This documentary short looks specifically at how ‘shadism’ affects young womyn within the African, Caribbean, and South Asian diasporas. Through the eyes and words of 5 young womyn and 1 little girl - all females of colour - the film takes us into the thoughts and experiences of each. Overall, ‘Shadeism’ explores where shadeism comes from, how it directly affects us as womyn of colour, and ultimately, begins to explore how we can move forward through dialogue and discussion.
saw this movie and it absolutely broke my heart on a lot of levels!
From The Angry Black Tumblr | Comment below or Reblog @ Tumblr
Thank you for noting this documentary. I have no experience with shadeism — yeah, I’m a “white” woman (that never made any sense to me, that word; totally inaccurate) — so to see those images and hear those stories was a huge brain-opener. Heartbreaking, yes, but full of hope as well. I wish all kinds of awards and funding and notice on the people who made this film and the women who were in it. Every one of them were intelligent, aware of themselves and the world around them, engaged in change — and stunningly beautiful. Long may they rock.
I thought this was worth sharing: I know in Cambodia light skin is associated with Chinese (Han Chinese, to be specific). In Cambodia Chinese tend to be wealthier and more educated than average Cambodians. This is at least one of the reasons why light skin is preferred there.
Its everywhere.
In pakistani and indian families, darker skins means you have been in the sun a lot, which has connotations with being a farmer or manual labourer or doing a ‘lower class’ job. Hence the whiter you are the better.
I have no idea if the same applies in other countries. I always imagined the desire to be whiter in african american and west indian and basically everywhere there were black slaves in south america, was due to the financial benefits to being whiter, eventually you could ‘pass’ for white, together with the relentless media portrayal of white as better.