
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or


Have you ever heard a woman being described as “pretty for a dark skinned girl”? This podcast hears frank and often painful first-hand stories about 'shadeism' or 'colourism' – discrimination based on skin tone. We are told how decades ago, some African American organisations used the “brown paper bag test” to decide who could become members, with those with darker skins excluded. And we investigate how this prejudice is still affecting people, including in their relationships. For many, the former First Lady, Michelle Obama, has become a role model. By being married to a man with lighter skin, has she changed how black women and girls see themselves? Contributors include the singer-songwriter India Arie.
By BBC World Service4.3
16071,607 ratings
Have you ever heard a woman being described as “pretty for a dark skinned girl”? This podcast hears frank and often painful first-hand stories about 'shadeism' or 'colourism' – discrimination based on skin tone. We are told how decades ago, some African American organisations used the “brown paper bag test” to decide who could become members, with those with darker skins excluded. And we investigate how this prejudice is still affecting people, including in their relationships. For many, the former First Lady, Michelle Obama, has become a role model. By being married to a man with lighter skin, has she changed how black women and girls see themselves? Contributors include the singer-songwriter India Arie.

7,913 Listeners

376 Listeners

1,067 Listeners

5,576 Listeners

977 Listeners

586 Listeners

1,729 Listeners

1,018 Listeners

357 Listeners

580 Listeners

965 Listeners

410 Listeners

429 Listeners

746 Listeners

841 Listeners

363 Listeners

1,015 Listeners

3,245 Listeners

1,024 Listeners

779 Listeners

1,010 Listeners

394 Listeners