DarKisM Episode 2

Discrimination based on skin tone, also known as colorism, shadeism or pigmentocracy, is a form of prejudice and discrimination in which individuals of the same race receive benefits or disadvantages based on their skin tone. More specifically, colorism is the process of discrimination that marginalizes darker-skinned people over their lighter-skinned counterparts. Historically, colorism on a global scale has colonial roots, ranging from early class hierarchies in Asia to its impact on Latinos and African Americans through European colonialism and slavery in the Americas. Colorism focuses on how racism is expressed in the psychology of a people and how it affects their concepts of beauty, wealth, and privilege. A key difference between racism and colorism is that while racism deals with the subjugation of one group by another or the belief in racial supremacy, colorism deals with in-group discrimination in addition to between-group discrimination.