colorism

noun

col·​or·​ism ˈkə-lə-ˌri-zəm 

-lər-ˌi-zəm

variants or British colourism

: prejudice or discrimination especially within a racial or ethnic group favoring people with lighter skin over those with darker skin

Under this system of colorism—the system which prevailed in my childhood in Jamaica, and which has carried over to the present—rarely will dark and light people co-mingle. Rarely will they achieve between themselves an intimacy informed with identity.

—Michelle Cliff

What writer Alice Walker defined as colorism, the preferential or prejudicial treatment of same-race people based on skin color, continues to this day. And as she once wrote, unless we exorcise it "we cannot as a people progress. For colorism, like colonialism, sexism and racism, impedes us."

—Itabari Njeri

Examples of colorism in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The show tackled serious themes like class, anxiety, mental health, and colorism, while still sneaking in moments of joy and nostalgia. —Okla Jones, Essence, 10 Dec. 2025

Regarding Erivo specifically, Miller said dark-skinned Black women routinely experience disproportionate backlash due to colorism, especially when occupying highly visible cultural roles. —Lydia Patrick, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Dec. 2025

The episode unsparingly examines cultural assumptions about race and colorism; similarly, HIM is a scathing critique of how professional sports capitalize upon the bodies and minds of Black athletes. —Neda Ulaby, NPR, 19 Sep. 2025

Classism is real, colorism is real, homophobia is real. —Carmen Rios, Flow Space, 5 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

color entry 1 + -ism, after racism

First Known Use

1942, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for colorism

• autism
• fascism
• racism
• sikhism
• statism
• sufism
• thomism
• tourism
• tropism
• abolitionism
• aldosteronism
• americanism