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Black Beauty: Skin Color and Body Images among African-

American College Women


SELENA BOND AND THOMAS F. CASH2
Old Dominion University
Skin color has played an historically influential role in the lives of African Ameri-
cans. The present study examined the role of skin color (i.e., its lightness-darkness) as it
pertained to various body-image measures among 66 light-, medium-, and dark-
skinned Black college females. A Skin Color Assessment Procedure was developed to
assess various perceptual dimensions of skin color. Although subjects were generally
satisfied with their skin tone, the idealization of lightness was apparent in several
respects. Those who desired a different skin tone favored being lighter more than being
darker. Unlike light- and dark-skinned Black females, medium-toned Black females
held personal ideals that were significantly lighter than their self-perceived color. The
majority of subjects believed that Black men found light skin most attractive.
Although actual skin color did not predict various facets of body image satisfaction,
skin color satisfaction was positively related to satisfaction with overall appearance
and with the face. Future research should address the possible mediating role of racial
identity vis-a-vis the effects of skin color and racial physiognomy on body image.
Black history provides considerable evidence that the skin color or skin
tone of African Americans has exerted powerful and persistent influences on
societal attitudes toward and treatment of Black persons-within both White
and Black cultures (for a recent review see Neal & Wilson, 1989; see also
Gatewood, 1988; Crier & Cobb, 1968; Hughes & Hertel, 1990; J ackson, 1979;
Okazawa-Rey, Robinson, & Ward, 1986). Particularly after the abolition of
slavery, skin color influenced the lives of Black Americans in terms of status
acquisition (Okazawa-Rey et al., 1986). Reuter (19 17), for example, notes that
of the first 12 Black men who received Ph.D. degrees from U.S. universities,
all but one was of interracial parentage.
Early in this century, the more affluent African Americans organized clubs,
so-called blue vein societies. Among the prerequisites for membership were
certain Caucasoid physiognomic criteria (Okazawa-Rey et al., 1986). For
example, skin tone was required to be lighter than a paper bag or light
enough for visibility of blue veins. The comb test for good hair required
that hair texture be straight enough to pass easily through an ordinary comb.
The authors are grateful to Cliff Rucker and Karen Boyd fortheir assistance in data collection
and to J anis Sanchez-Hucles, J ay Robinson, and Christopher Huffine for their valuable substan-
tive contributions.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Thomas F. Cash, Department
of Psychology, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA 23529-0267.
a74
Journal of Appl i ed Soci al Psychol ogy, 1992,22, 11, pp. 874-888.
Copyright @ 1992 by V. H. Winston & Son, Inc. All rights reserved.
BLACK BEAUTY 875
Preferential treatment given by both Black and White cultures to African
Americans with light skin and other Caucasoid attributes has conveyed to
many Blacks that the more they physically conformed to the White, majority
standard of beauty, the more rewarding their lives would be (Gatewood,
1988).
During the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, many Black Americans
celebrated cultural pride that Black is beautiful. However, this new racial
awareness seems to have brought little change in the traditionally ingrained
values of beauty still perceived by many Black Americans (Grier & Cobb,
1968; Hughes & Hertel, 1990; Neal & Wilson, 1989). Indeed, black skin per se
was not generally perceived as beautiful. Though a light complexion became
less uniformly desirable, dark skin remained undesirable (Goering, 1971;
Okazawa-Rey et al., 1986), and brown was the hue desired by many Black
Americans in the 1960s (Goering, 1971; Martin, 1964). Yet in mate selection,
light-skinned Black females were still preferred over their darker counter-
parts; and darker females of lower socioeconomic status were less likely than
their lighter counterparts to marry Black men of higher status (Goering, 1971;
Udry, 1977; Udry, Bauman, & Chase, 1971).
Even today, the significance of skin color is evident in the mixed messages
received by many Black Americans. As Blacks are taught to be proud of their
skin color, many Blacks remain color struck; that is, they differentially
attend and respond to shades of Black skin (Clark & Clark, 1980; Neal, 1988;
Neal & Wilson, 1989). Such conflicting messages foster ambivalence about
Caucasoid attributes among Blacks (e.g., Cross, 1990; Milloy, 1983; Pous-
saint, 1975)-akin to the mixed, admiration-resentment disposition many
people feel toward beauty in general (Cash, 1990; Cash & Duncan, 1984; Cash
& J anda, 1984).
Given such a long history of the salience of racial physiognomy in our
society, the implications of skin color for self-concept development has
received substantial scientific scrutiny (Smith, 1979). From the finding of
classic research by Clark and Clark ( 1947) that Black children preferred white
dolls over black dolls, poor self-acceptance among Black children was
inferred. Moreover, leading to interpretations of a more negative self-concept
among dark-skinned than light-skinned Blacks, Gitter, Mostofsky, and
Satow (1972) found that darker Black children misidentified their skin color
more often than their lighter peers. However, recent researchdoes not support
such sweeping conclusions of Black self-hatred, and the early studies have
been strongly criticized on methodological and conceptual grounds (Baldwin,
1979; Banks, 1976; Brand, Ruiz, & Padilla, 1974). I n 1973, Holtzman found
that Black college students with a medium skin tone reported a stronger sense
of self-efficacy than either light- or dark-skinned students.
I n view of the affect-laden meanings attached to skin color and racial
876 BOND AND CASH
physiognomy, surprisingly little research has directly examined these factors
in specific relation to body image among African Americans. Body image is a
multidimensional construct composed of perceptual and attitudinal aspects
(Cash & Brown, 1987; Cash & Pruzinsky, 1990). Perceptual body image
pertains to the accuracy or distortion of self-perceptions of body attributes
and the discrepancy between self-perceived and idealized attributes. Attitudi-
nal body image consists of cognitive, affective, and behavioral components,
including the assessment of overall body satisfaction as well as satisfaction
with specific physical attributes (e.g., Cash, 1989, 1990; Keeton, Cash, &
Brown, 1990; Thompson, Penner, & Altabe, 1990).
Among the conceptual frameworks concerning the development of body-
image dissatisfaction and its influence on other aspects of self-concept and
adjustment, Thompson (1990) has pointed to two well-supported theories.
Sociocultural theory emphasizes the acquisition of values and standards of
beauty as a result of societal indoctrination. Then, to the extent that these
sociocultural standards are personally internalized, self-ideal discrepancy
theory posits that cognitive self-evaluation (here, physical self-evaluation)
and associated affect (here, body-image affect) will reflect the magnitude of the
discrepancies between self-perceived attributes and these internalized ideals.
The few studies that have examined body-image perceptions and attitudes
among African Americans suggest that, relative to Whites, they report more
favorable attitudes toward their overall appearance-largely, it seems, as the
result of less concern with fatness (e.g., Gray, 1977; Huffine & Cash, 1991;
Rosen & Gross, 1987; Rucker & Cash, in press). However, research conducted
on skin color as it pertains to African Americans body-image percepts and
attitudes is lacking. One study that did find a darker complexion to be related
to less body-image satisfaction was conducted with J amaican adolescents
(Miller, 1969).
The present study was designed to examine multiple parameters of body
image among African Americans who objectively differ in skin tone. Per-
ceptually, self-appraised skin color, personal skin-color ideals, and assump-
tions about opposite sex skin-color preferences were assessed. Attitudinally,
subjects focal feelings about their skin color, their face, and their global
evaluations of their overall appearance were measured. I n view of the above
evidence, we expected to observe greater idealization of lightness than dark-
ness, with more deleterious consequences on the body-image attitudes of
darker than lighter skinned Blacks. Because body-image emphasis and con-
cern are somewhat more salient for women, especially younger women, than
for men (Cash & Brown, 1989; Cash, Winstead, & J anda, 1986; Cash &
Pruzinsky, 1990; Freedman, 1986), this initial study of skin color and body
image focused on Black women. Historically, skin-color assessment has re-
lied on various procedures (see Guthrie, 1976). Because we believe that the
BLACK BEAUTY 877
common research practice of using only two or three black skin color tones
(e.g., Gitter et al., 1972; Neal, 1988) is inadequate, this research involved the
development and validation of a more precise procedure to assess skin-color
perceptions and preferences among Blacks.
Method
Subjects
Subjects were 66 female, African-American undergraduates at a southeast-
ern, urban university. Subjects ranged from 18 to 37 years of age ( M= 21.7,
SD= 4.1) and were given research credit for voluntary participation in a study
of attitudes, beliefs, and experiences of African Americans.
Materials and Procedure
Three African Americans (two females and one male) served as experi-
menters. After an informed consent procedure, subjects completed the 69-
item, Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire (MBSRQ; Brown,
Cash, & Mikulka, 1990; Cash, 1989; Cash et a]., 1986). The MBSRQ is a
well-established inventory that assesses attitudinal aspects of body image and
is comprised of several internally consistent subscales (Brown et al., 1990;
Cash, 1989). Pertinent to the present study are two selected subscales: (a) the
Appearance Evaluation scale (7 items), assessing subjectsaffective evaluation
of their overall appearance (Cronbachs alpha = .91); and (b) the Body Areas
Satisfaction Scale (BASS) item for facial satisfaction.
Next, three skin-color items were administered as the Skin Color Question-
naire (SCQ). The first SCQ item was: How satisfied are you with the shade
(lightness or darkness) of your own skin color? Response alternatives ranged
from 1 (extremely dissatisfied) to 9 (extremely satisfied). The second item was:
Compared to most African-American people, I believe my skin color is. . . .
Responses ranged from 1 (extremely light) to 9 (extremely dark). The last item
asked: If I could change my skin color, I would make it. . . .Responses again
ranged from 1 (much lighter) to 9 (much darker), with 5 anchored as exactly
the same. Thus, the three SCQ items were designed to assess, respectively,
skin color satisfaction, self-perceived skin color (light-dark), and ideal skin
color.
A set of 4-in X 4-in color squares of nine b1ackskin colors were adminis-
tered in several specific, instructional contexts. The researchers selected the
color tones from a standardized color system (Pantone Matching System,
PMS) (see Gitter et al., 1972). The PMS catalogs hundreds of colors and hues
used as a standard in the printing industry. The skin colors ranging from 1
878 BOND AND CASH
(very light, cream colored) to 9 (very dark, ebony) were as follows: PMS
#4685, PMS #155, PMS #466, PMS #1385, PMS #145, PMS #471, PMS #168,
PMS #469, and PMS #462. Our previous pilot research with African-
American subjects had established the highly reliable, light-to-dark, ordinal-
ity of these tones.
The nine skin color squares were administered as the Skin Color Assess-
ment Procedure (SCAP) in the following manner: The squares were ran-
domly positioned on a numbered color wheel on an off-white, 20-in X 30-in
poster board. Individual subjects first were asked to choose the color that
most resembled their actual facial skin color. Next, they went to an adjacent
room, viewed another color wheel, and chose the facial skin color they would
most prefer to have. Finally, in a third room and on another color wheel,
subjects picked the color they believed their opposite-sex African-American
peers find most attractive. Subjectschoices were always made at a distance of
2 ft from the color wheel, without their touching the colors for direct compari-
son with the skin. Each wheel presented the colors in a different random order.
Subjects were alone when responding; they deposited their coded rating forms
in a box in each room.
Before debriefing, subjects were told that experimenters judgmental ac-
curacy was being tested. Using a hand-held color palette of the nine colors,
two experimenters independently rated each subjects facial skin color at a
cosmetics-free site on the lower mid-cheek approximately 1 in above the jaw
line.
Subjects SCAP ratings permitted the calculation of self-ideal discrepancy
scores by subtracting the ideal from the self-perceived skin color ratings for
each subject. Comparison between the actual (judges) and the subjects
self-perceived scores yielded a distortion score by subtracting self-ratings
from the judges mean color ratings. Both the discrepancy and distortion
indices were also calculated as absolute values to reflect the unsigned differ-
ence scores.
Results
Reliabilities and Concurrent Validities of Skin-Color Ratings
The acceptable inter-rater reliability of the judges 9-point ratings of sub-
jectsskin color was indicated by a reliability coefficient of .90. More specifi-
cally, 42% of the subjects received identical skin color ratings by the two
judges, 80% of the judges ratings were consistent within 1 scale point, and
91% were within 2 points. Thus, only 9% (n = 6) of the subjects received a
rating difference of 3 or more scale values. For all subsequent analyses where
the means of the two judges ratings were used to objectively define subjects
BLACK BEAUTY 879
actual skin color, the six subjects who were unreliably rated were deleted
from analysis.
In addition to judgesratings of subjectsskin color, the subjects rated their
own skin color on two scales: (a) the SCAP self-rating (i.e., the chosen one of
the nine color squares); and (b) the 9-point SCQ self-rating of lightness-
darkness relative to most African-American people. Pearson correlations
(df = 58) were calculated to examine the convergence among these three
skin-color indices. Mean judges ratings correlated well with subjects SCQ
light-dark self-ratings ( r = .74,p< .001) and with their SCAP self-ratings ( r =
.66,p < .001). The two self-ratings correlated significantly also ( r = .63,p <
.001). Thus, the levels of congruence among the two self-ratings and the
judges ratings reflect the concurrent validity of these indices of skin color.
Where subjectsself-appraisals did differ from judgesratings, the direction of
the difference was as likely to be lighter as to be darker (p > .25).
Assessments of discrepancy from personal skin-color ideals included the
self-ideal discrepancy index of the SCAP (scored darker to lighter) and the
9-point SCQ rating of desire to change ones skin tone (scaled lighter to
darker). These two measures converged significantly ( r = -.57, p < .001).
Actual, Sev- Perceived, and Idealized Skin Colors
The first hypothesis was that, especially for darker skinned subjects, per-
sonal skin-color ideals and perceived opposite-sex ideal ratings would be
lighter than self-appraised color ratings. Subjects were divided into three
groups based on judgesratings of skin color: light (skin-color ratings ranging
from I to 3), medium (ratings from 3.5 to 6.5), and dark (ratings greater than
or equal to 7). Respectively, these groups consisted of 20, 18, and 20 subjects
who were without any missing data.
A 3 (skin-color groups) X 3 (SCAP self, personal ideal, and perceived
opposite-sex ideal) analysis of variance (ANOVA), with repeated measures on
the second factor, revealed a significant effect for skin color, F(2,55) = 15.24,
p < .001; for SCAP rating, F(2,108) = 12.87, p < .001; and for their inter-
action, F(4,108) = 5.59, p < .001. Simple-effects F tests were conducted to
determine the nature of the significant interaction effect.
First, the between-groups comparison on subjectsself-perceived skin color
indicated, as shown in Table 1, that subjects rated themselves similar to the
skin color groups in which the judges, ratings had placed them, F(2,55) =
18.66, p <.001. This again reflects the convergence of measures as described
above. More importantly, there were also significant differences on the per-
sonal ideal ratings as a function of actual skin color, F(2,55)= 14. IO,p< .001.
As reported in Table 1, mean comparisons (by Newman-Keuls method)
indicated that light- and medium-skinned groups did not differ but chose
880 BOND AND CASH
Table 1
Mean Comparisons of Actual Skin-Color Groups on the SCAP Ratings
SCAP SCAP
Ski n color Perceived
SCAP
personal ideal opposite-sex
Skin color
self-rating ideal rating
Actual
skin color
rating
Light 3.35 (1.66), 3.60 (.173), 3.40 (1.57),
Medium 4.50 ( 1. 68) b 3.35 (1.66), 3.22 (1.77),
Dark 6.65 (1.84), 6.25 (2. I7), 4.10 (2.24),
Note. Standard deviations are given in parentheses. Row and column means with
different subscripts are significantly different ( p < .05).
considerably lighter personal ideals than did darker skinned subjects. Among
the former two groups, 67% idealized one of the three lightest skin colors, yet
this was true for only 25% of the dark-skinned subjects. In contrast to 8% of
light- and medium-skinned subjects who idealized one of the three darkest
skin shades, 65% of the dark subjects espoused such dark ideals. The groups
did not differ, however, with regard to the skin tone they believed the opposite
sex preferred, F(2, 55) = 1.17, p > .30. On this perceived opposite-sex ideal
rating, 70% of all subjects chose one of the three lightest shades, whereas only
17% chose the three darkest shades.
I n further analysis of the significant Groups X SCAP interaction effect,
simple within-group comparisons were conducted. As Table 1 shows, lighter
subjects ratings of self, personal ideal, and perceived opposite-sex ideal did
not differ, F(2, 38) < 1. Although medium-toned subjects ideal skin-color
ratings and their perceived opposite sex ideal ratings were not different, each
was significantly lighter than the self-ratings, F(2, 38) = 7.19, p < .01.
Although darker subjectsself-ratings and personal ideals did not differ, their
perceived opposite-sex ideal ratings were significantly lighter than either
self-perceived or ideal ratings, F(2, 38) = 1 8 . 7 8 , ~ < .001.
These analyses confirm the existence of lighter personal ideals of skin color
for the present sample of African-American women, except for the dark-
skinned women. Moreover, regardless of their actual skin color, most of our
subjects believed that African-American men prefer lighter skinned women.
Skin Color and Body-Image Attitudes
Due to its significant ( p < .05) group effect, a one-way MANOVA was
followed by ANOVAs to determine the relationship of actual skin color to
BLACK BEAUTY 881
four body-image measures. From global to focal, these measures are MBSRQ
Appearance Evaluation, BASS facial satisfaction, SCQ skin-color satisfac-
tion, and SCQ desire to change skin color. No significant group differences
were found on Appearance Evaluation or facial satisfaction. Actual skin color
had no bearing on skin-color satisfaction, based on the 9-point SCQ satisfac-
tion item. It should be noted that correlations of self-rated skin color (on the
SCAP and SCQ) with these body-image indices were nonsignificant as well.
All three groups reported a moderately high level of skin-color satisfaction.
Only 6% of subjects reported skin-color dissatisfaction (i.e., ratings of 1-4),
5% were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied (rating of 5) , and 89% reported
skin-color satisfaction (ratings of 6-9).
A significant effect occurred solely on the SCQ item of how subjects would
change their skin color if they could (from 1 to 9, much lighter to much
darker), F(2, 55) = 5.79, p < .005. The Newman-Keuls procedure indicated
that although medium (M=4.50, SD= 1.20) and darker subjects ( M= 4.30,
SD = 0.86) did not differ, both would make their skin color slightly lighter
relative to lighter skinned subjects who indicated, on average, that they would
make their skin slightly darker ( M = 5.45, SD = 1.23). Still, among all
subjects, 36% wanted to be lighter, 47% would keep their skin color the same,
and only 17% wanted to make their skin color darker. Thus, among subjects
who would change their skin color if they could, significantly more wished to
be lighter than be darker, x 2 = 3.90, p < .05.
Pearson correlations were computed to determine the relationships of
evaluative, skin-color ratings with MBSRQ Appearance Evaluation and
facial satisfaction. All but one of the rs were significant. The more discre-
pant (in either direction) subjects skin-color ideals were from their self-
perceived color, the less their facial satisfaction ( r = -.26, p < .05). Discre-
pancies were not related, however, to global appearance evaluations (r =
-.20, p < .12). Subjects stated desires to change their skin color (whether
lighter or darker), as well as their directly rated skin-color dissatisfaction,
were associated with more negative evaluations of appearance in general
(rs = -.30 and .36, respectively, ps < .05) and the face in particular (rs -.47
and .47, respectively, ps < .001). These correlations support the proposition
that subjects skin-color attitudes per se are pertinent to their more global
body-image affect.
Neither the signed nor the absolute distortion scores (i.e., differences
between self- and judge-rated skin color) correlated significantly with any
affective body-image measure. I n fact, only one significant relationship
emerged with the signed distortion index. Namely, the lighter the color that
subjects assumed men preferred, the lighter they viewed themselves relative
to judges appraisals ( r = .28, p < .05). The association of distortion and
personal ideals was weaker (r = .22, p < .lo).
882 BOND AND CASH
Discussion
Perhaps because of the sensitive, even taboo, nature of the topic (Neal &
Wilson, 1989), the present study is one of the first to focus explicitly on
relationships between skin color and body image among African Americans.
With Black college females, this investigation developed a new measure, the
Skin Color Assessment Procedure, which involves observers ratings of sub-
jects skin color plus subjects own ratings of skin color in terms of self-
perceptions, personal ideals, and perceived opposite-sex ideals. Unlike most
previous skin-color assessments that were restricted to two or three gradations
of skin tone, the SCAP utilizes nine gradations. observers reliably used the
SCAP to rate subjects facial skin color, which converged well with subjects
own SCAP self-appraisals and with their semantic scaling of the lightness-
darkness of their skin.
A number of striking findings emerged from the present investigation-
most importantly, a differential valuing of lighter skin in several respects.
Regardless of their own skin tone, the majority of these Black women per-
ceived that lighter skin (i.e., on the average, a light medium shade) was deemed
most attractive by their Black male peers. Fully 70% of the subjects selected
one of the lightest three of the nine skin shades to depict their assumptions
about Black males standards. Personal ideals espoused by the women them-
selves did vary as a function of their self-perceived skin tone. Light- and
dark-skinned subjects reported personal ideals relatively congruent with their
skin color. Medium-skinned subjects had ideals that were significantly lighter
than their self-appraised skin tone. Thus, with one exception, lightness was
idealized both personally and in terms of assumptions of opposite-sex prefer-
ences. The exception was that the majority (65%) of dark-skinned, African-
American women selected darker personal ideals that did not differ from their
perceptions of their own skin tone, even though they believed Black men
preferred much lighter women. Perhaps darker women, as opposed to light-
and medium-skinned women, realistically perceive such light ideals as too far
removed from their actual skin tone to assimilate into their personal ideals.
Thus, these data partially confirm yet qualify earlier evidence (see Neal &
Wilson, 1989) that although light brown is an oft-preferred skin color among
African Americans, such personal ideals are less likely among darker Black
women.
Do these findings mean that darker African-American women (who feel
discrepant from perceived male standards) or medium-skinned women (who
possess significantly lighter personal standards) are dissatisfied with their skin
color and, relatedly, with their physical appearance? We found neither to be
the case. Whether self-perceived or observer rated, actual skin color bore no
relationship to skin-color satisfaction per se or to more global, body-image
BLACK BEAUTY 883
attitudes. Whether dark-, medium-, or light-skinned, the majority of subjects
said they felt satisfied with their skin color. However, we did find that, when
asked if they could change their skin color, 47% desired no skin color change,
whereas 36% would make their complexion lighter, and only 17% wished to be
darker. By this index, it was clear that a higher percentage of women would
elect to be lighter than darker. Even though no rampant pursuit of lightness
was apparent, darker skin was seldom an aspiration.
Body-image researchers have established the affective importance of per-
ceptual self-ideal discrepancies in relation to body size/ weight (e.g., Cash &
Pruzinsky, 1990; Keeton et al., 1990; Thompson, 1990). Pruzinsky and Cash
(1 990) have lamented researchers failure to extend the discrepancy construct
and its perceptual methodology to other physical attributes. The present study
does indeed extend self-ideal judgments to skin color. Accordingly, how do
these judgments vis-a-vis skin color relate to other aspects of the body image?
We found that women who held ideals that were discrepant (either lighter or
darker) from their perceptions of themselves did not report more negative
global body-image attitudes, suggesting that perceived skin-color discrepancy
per se does not necessarily affect the emotional, body-image gestalt. Discre-
pancy was related, more focally, to facial and skin-color dissatisfactions.
Direct self-reports of skin-color dissatisfaction, on the other hand, were
associated with more negative overall body-image evaluations, as well as with
less facial satisfaction. These significant associations were modest to moder-
ate in magnitude.
Distortions in self-ratings of skin color (relative to judges objective
ratings) were largely unrelated to other measures in the study. Subjects were
generally accurate in their self-appraisals, and inaccuracies were essentially
symmetrical and independent of body-image evaluations. As has been found
for body size distortion, the meaning of body-image distortion indices
remains uncertain (Ben-Tovim, Walker, Murray, & Chin, 1990; Cash &
Brown, 1987; Keeton et al., 1990). Still, some evidence suggests that percep-
tual distortions (e.g., in reporting body weight) may operate in the service of
body image ideals (Cash, Counts, Hangen, & Huffine, 1989; Cash, Grant,
Shovlin, & Lewis, 1992). The present data partially support this proposition.
The lighter the skin color standards that subjects believed Black men held, the
lighter the women viewed themselves relative to judges ratings. Because this
significant correlation was modest and the association was even weaker with
personal skin-color ideals, the finding must be regarded as tentative.
Our results raise several important questions. What are African-American
mens ideals compared to womens perceptions of what men prefer? Further-
more, do African-American women hold the same light ideals for men?
Because the present study emphasized womens perceptions of these stand-
ards, one must be cautious not to infer that their assumptions are accurate.
884 BOND AND CASH
For example, Fallon and Rozin (1985) observed that although women
believe men hold extreme standards of thinness, what men actually regard as
the most attractive female body size is somewhat more moderate and flexible
than women believe it to be. Nevertheless, some older research did reveal a
bias of Black men in their preference of lighter skinned females as marital
partners (Goering, 1971; Martin, 1964; Udry et al., 1971). In their 1980
Ebony poll, Clark and Clark found that whereas 15% of African-American
women preferred light-skinned men, 30% of African-American men pre-
ferred light-skinned women. In a recent, unpublished study of African-
American skin color preferences, Robinson and Cash (1992) similarly found
14% of men versus 27% of women had actual preferences for lighter-than-
average skin color in the opposite sex. Recall that 70% of the women in
the current study assumed men prefer one of the three lightest SCAP skin
tones.
Another important direction for research on these issues would consider the
role of certain individual difference variables as mediating and moderating
influences. The personal and emotional meaning of ones skin color, as well as
other physiognomic attributes, may depend upon ones contextual/ cultural
values-for example, racial or ethnic identity (Helms, 1990). After all, race
is more accurately a cultural construct than a biogenetic one, and intraracial
variation greatly surpasses interracial differences (Zuckerman, 1990). The
lightness-darkness of ones skin and that of others (as well as the shape of
facial features and texture of hair) may be imbued with different affective
valences as a function of its goodness of fit(see Lerner & J ovanovic, 1990)
with internalized, contextual, identity systems. I n other words, the body-
image implications of having negroid or Caucasoid attributes may well depend
upon their congruity/ incongruity with ones Black consciousness or
nigrescence versus ones identification with white majority culture (Cross,
1978; Helms, 1990; Hughes & Hertel, 1990; Parham, 1989).
Another possible contextual factor concerns ones skin tone in relation to
other family members. Regardless of how ones skin tone compares with that
of peers, being the light child or dark child may carry special signifi-
cance, either favorable or unfavorable, in the context of specific family
dynamics. For example, Liebows (1967) sociological treatise Tallys Corner
illustrated discontent with being the darkest child. I n his autobiography,
Malcolm X (1965) indicated that his being the lightest of the children fos-
tered favoritism from his father and disfavor by his mother (who was
ashamed of her White father). More recently, Black family therapist Boyd-
Franklin ( 1989) has articulated that skin-color similarities and differences
can form the basis of intrafamilial alliances and divisions. Greene (1991)
similarly has argued that skin color can influence the nature and quality of
parent-child relations and child development. Some evidence even attests to
BLACK BEAUTY 885
the use of skin color and hair texture as criteria for the foster placement of
Black children (Daley, 1990).
Taken collectively, the present results provide some reassurance, given the
tremendous historical emphasis on African Americansskin color as a basis of
social prejudice and discrimination. The majority of young Black women in
our study said they felt satisfied with their skin color, irrespective of how light
or dark they actually were. Similarly encouraging is the fact that even when
skin-color dissatisfaction does occur, it does not seem to occupy a uniformly
central place in the affective body experience of African-American college
women.
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