I come from a very big family where everyone has unique features that, in my eyes, make them perfect and beautiful. However, not everyone shares this opinion. When my baby sister was born, she had tan skin and darker features compared to myself and a few other family members. It wasn’t an issue until some of my extended family started to point it out in a form that was half-joking and half-insulting. This is when I became familiar with colorism, something that unfortunately remains common within the Latinx community. 

Colorism in the Latinx community is the preferential treatment of individuals with lighter skin than those with darker complexions. It can be difficult to point out that there can be racism within a community that belongs to a minority group that has suffered from oppression. However, reality shows that even within the same community, there are standards that are preferred. 

I grew up in an environment where I never had to worry about my features or the way I looked. Nevertheless, everything changed when I became a teenager and realized that there were preferred standards on how a person should look within different social settings and even my own family.

My mother also has the beautiful tan skin, thick hair, and darker complexion that my baby sister possesses. As I grew up and realized what colorism is, I started to notice the micro-insults that she received in the form of “jokes”.

All of the nicknames that my family has given to my mother have to do with the color of her skin. Nicknames that are supposed to be loving and cute became a projection of other people’s complexes onto her and my sister in order to make themselves look better and feel superior. 

“Prieta,” “morena,” or “she’s pretty for a dark skin girl,” are some of the comments that my sister has received from family and friends.

The problem is that colorism is often the mentality that many people within the Latinx community grow up with. They believe that having lighter skin or being “white-passing” will be fairly more accepted and prevent them from suffering discrimination or other acts of racism that other people within the Latinx community endure. 

The sad reality is that to some extent, that mentality is accurate; people prefer light-skinned Latinx. It wasn’t until now that I noticed that all the Latinx celebrities who I grew up watching are light-skinned or have features that are more widely accepted. 

For Yalitza Aparicio, a Mexican actress who became known for her drama film with Alfon Cuaron, the first thing people noticed about her was her tan skin and her indigenous complexion. All the compliments that she was given included the phrase “for an indigenous woman.” Not to mention the number of people who complained and didn’t find her beautiful just because of the color of her skin.

It can be difficult to accept that such an issue exists within a community that is rich in culture and diversity; however, the reality is that colorism is very common.