![]() In American culture, whiteness and more of a European "look" is considered the norm, and as a result, blackness is associated with lesser status. A question that the case leaves lingering in the air is “what made the children choose the white doll instead of the one that was more close to them?” ![]() This study gained a lot of attention because of the fact that young black children were disassociating themselves with their true race. The questionnaire concluded with 44 percent of the black children choosing the white doll as being the doll that looked like them. In the experiment Clark showed black children between the ages of six and nine two dolls, one white and one black, and then asked these questions in this order: “Show me the doll that you like best or that you’d like to play with,” “Show me the doll that is the ‘nice’ doll,” “Show me the doll that looks ‘bad’,” “Give me the doll that looks like a white child,” “Give me the doll that looks like a coloured child,” “Give me the doll that looks like a Negro child,” “Give me the doll that looks like you.” The results that came from it were indeed astonishing yet, heartbreaking to say the least. The Clark Doll Experiment, administered by Kenneth and Mamie Clark, was an experiment that dealt with race and how children perceive it at a young age. That child is left with that idea stuck in the back of their head throughout life and this idea can be the base of all of the future problems the person has with their self image as an adult. What many people fail to realize is that children are still developing and in prepubescent kids especially, criticism such as being called ugly and being told you will amount to nothing, can have a substantial effect on the sanity of someone so young. ![]() According to the author of “Exploring the Impact of Skin Tone on Family Dynamics and Race-Related Outcomes,” Evidence suggests that racial socialization helps foster the adjustment of children in the face of race-related adversity and serves to protect youth from negative mental health consequences (Hughes, 2006). That was the norm for Davis back during her childhood. Imagine seeing a little girl who had all of her self confidence ripped from her before she entered the 6th grade. In an interview with Essence Magazine, actress Viola Davis discusses how, as a child, she too felt the pain of being called an assortment of derogatory terms and shares how after a while, she began to believe that she in fact, was ugly (). Growing up as a child in a place where being ridiculed and made fun of because your skin is of a darker complexion is one thing that most Americans couldn’t even imagine. Subtle jabs like this can take their toll on the self esteem of a person. When someone says the above statement they are implying that because of a darker persons complexion, they’re automatically supposed to be ugly. Phrases such as the ones above are in no shape or form, a compliment. Sometimes people make statements such as, "You're pretty for someone who's dark-skinned " or "pretty for a black girl". Hundreds of years after slavery, the actions of several people in the black community still show that the culture, as a whole, needs to stop and think about the negative connotations they are associating themselves with. African Americans should stop using skin color to discriminate against each other because it hinders the progression of the entire black community.įrequent sightings of dark skinned people portrayed negatively in the media is heavily exploited, while light skinned and non-black individuals are portrayed more positively.These kind of pre-judgements negatively impact the African American community and prevents the culture from moving forward. What a person makes of themselves and all of their aspirations should be what they’re judged on - not their skin color. With no thanks to the media and its influence on what is seen as beautiful, Black America is tearing itself apart when it focuses on such a shallow aspect of a person that they can’t control. This is a very hot and taboo subject among the African American community.Īs a culture that came from years of oppression and hatred inflicted by slave owners, forced to think that because of their color, they were inferior, blacks have somehow reverted back to having this sort of mindset which is, in fact, hurting them as a whole. The effects of the African American self-hate toward each other because of one’s skin color is rather eye opening and sad, to say the least. Lighter skin is often preferable to darker skin. In many different cultures and countries around the world, skin color plays a huge role in the concept of beauty. Digging deeper to get a better understanding of the issue.
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