Throughout last lecture’s discussion on Race and Ethnicity, I couldn’t help but wonder why skin color itself is the culprit of derogatory and stereotypical terminology. Blacks and whites….seriously, could we not have come up with something better? For starters, other than maybe a few rare cases of extreme Albinism, which are rare autosomal recessive disorders among themselves, no one’s skin, in the entire world, is colored white or black. It’s more like a scattered array of browns, tans, olives, and peaches. While I realize, as we discussed in class, that skin color is the first and most obvious difference we are drawn to even at a young age, it’s actually not as big of a difference as we like to let ourselves think. Skin color is primarily determined by the amount of melanin that is produced as a by-product of tyrosine amino acid metabolism. Melanocytes (melanin producing cells) are equipped to carry out this mechanism as the body’s natural defense against UV radiation. Everyone in the human race has melanocytes, which, again exempting Albinism, can and do metabolize tyrosine. Sure the range of expression is extremely varied, but our skin, on the molecular level, is comprised of the same DNA base pairs and the same amino acids. This brings me back to my question: why are we so caught up on skin color? Further more, why does the majority of our population that calls itself “white” only in order to distinguish themselves from “blacks” persist in ridiculous and often detrimental attempts at darkening their skin?
“With all the studies and surveys and research linking UV radiation with skin cancer risks, one might think the sun would have set on the good old-fashioned fake and bake. But a new study by San Diego State University public health researchers has found that not only are there still plenty of indoor tanning salons in America’s big cities, in many places there are more tanning salons than Starbucks or McDonalds” (Mapes, 2009).
Do you hear that America? It’s like we’re trading obesity and anxiety for skin cancer…
Again I digress. The current majority of the United States’ population is “white”. Therefore the majority of media, pop culture, and ads will be dominated by “whites”, and subsequently their “white” features will be idolized…right? Well kinda…but I think the better question is idolized by whom? Tyra Banks, an African American Super Model and talk show host, did a special on how some African American women aspired to be “white” through the use of chemical compounds designed to bleach the skin?!?!
So let me get this straight. In an age where cultural diversity has broken through so many ignorant barriers, we still have “whites” either subjecting themselves to ridiculous skin dyes or harmful radiation to get that sexy darker color, or we have “blacks” subjecting themselves to chemicals designed to bleach the skin?? Is the grass greener on the other side!? WELL let’s see, maybe if we spent more time embracing and appreciating how green our own grasses were, and less time trying to make our grasses as green as our neighbors, we might actually come to a mutual appreciation for the natural colors we’ve all been given. I realize how corny that sounds, but I don’t understand the sociological justification of claiming one ethnicity while aspiring to look like another. They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. However, I think that beauty lies in the eyeS of the beholderS. I mean, I think physical beauty is whatever we, as a society of Americans red, yellow, black and white, determine it to be. To me, ethnicity and race are entirely different, but not in the same context we discussed in class. For me, I identify first and foremost as a human being, that is, a member of the human race. Ethnically, I identify to be of Germanic Caucasian decent. My skin color has nothing to do with my race, but everything to do with my ethnicity. I think in order for things like fake baking and skin bleaching to lose their popularity, we need to celebrate and equally incorporate all ethnicities in our so-called “melting pot” of a nation, and maybe then we will be able to fully identify as a human race while appreciating the amazing diversity of ethnicities with which we’ve been blessed.
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