Tan Block? A Look at Colorism
The message of the Tan Block political cartoon addresses the racial hierarchy of white or "white passing" people in the United States. White Americans have been viewed as the ideal race since they forcefully took land from the Native Americans and harbored African Slaves in the 1600s. Since then pale skin has been considered a desirable trait for the majority of cultures. Colorism is a huge problem in many cultures. The privilege that comes with it has been an issue in society and still affects society today. The Tan Block cartoon sheds a light onto the role skin color has in American society when it comes to immigrants and American citizens.
The cartoon asks the question," What good is it being American if you don't look the legal?" with a SPF 12,000 tan block bottle in the middle. On the bottle it states that light skin
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The number is perchance so small it can be counted on their hands. For each race, in the media, the lighter skinned person is the representative of that group. For example, today dark-skinned African American women are rarely seen in music videos. At most there may be one dark skinned woman while the majorities, are the more desirable: White, Latina, or Light- Skinned African American women. The same goes for tv shows. Indian- Americans are rarely represented in the media: Mink Kailing, Aziz Ansari, and Priyanka Chopra are the few actors that have been represented in the media. People of color are not properly represented in the media and stereotypical roles dictate how the world views them. It has been this way for years and the media is a huge step in changing the way people of color are view. The American people believe a lot of what they see and if people of color were represented equally, not by harmful stereotypes, it could be the beginning of a change in the lives of