#skin color

[writingwithcolor]

Black woman’s skin turns blue from powers; is this whitewashing/erasure?

Anonymous asked:

I have a character in a comic I'm hoping to write one day. She's a light skinned black woman(she's half white if that helps!) living in New York City during an 80s themed post nuclear apocalypse. The comic's main characters are all rock stars, so a lot of the character design elements revolve around the different rock genres. The character in question is in a glam rock band, so there's lots of bright, saturated, crazy colors involved in her design. The problem I'm having involves this one story beat where she gets mutant superpowers that give her electricity and sound based abilities. Her skin turns cotton candy blue as a result of the mutation. I'm hung up on whether or not this might fall under some kind of skin lightening or white-washing trope since it's a fairly light shade of blue. I designed her mutant look before her human look, so this was well before I'd even figured out what race she was, and I simply thought the shade of blue would compliment both the electricity powers and the fact that her hair is dyed pink. Is there a way I could still make this work? Or am I worrying about nothing?

Ideally, it would be nice to keep her brown skin tone. There’s a common comic and supernatural trend where Black people’s skin is covered up by a suit or Black-coded characters are an unnatural color (blue, green, purple, etc).

This is more of an issue when: 

There are no other Black characters of those identities besides the covered up/ ones with unnatural skin colors.

The creator adds this change to make them "special" because they do not believe Black characters, with features commonly associated with Black people like dark hair, skin and eyes, are acceptable enough for the character to stand on their own.

The supernatural special Black people are treated well by the story. The "non-special" Black people have unhappy stories and misfortune.

Other races of characters do not get their skin covered up or changed. Only the Black ones and/or BIPOC in general.

I think a quick fix for this would be for her skin to turn blue when she’s actively using her powers, at random, or other specific times, besides constantly. If she needs to be more consistently “mutant looking” Are there other ways she could change without her skin color changing or changing completely?

People with glitter on skin, light surrounding their face, and blue braids. Images from pexels.

More ideas that keep her skin brown

Hair

Her hair color changes blue or your color of choice (which could include body hair too, which would give her a more “otherworldly” appearance).

Note: If her hair is curly or natural, please keep it so! At least, the powers shouldn't change it straight.

Eyes

Her eyes glowing brighter or colorfully during power-use.

Note: If they're usually brown, they could stay brown when powers not in use, like Marvel's Storm in some versions.

Storm by Marvel Entertainment//20th Century Studios.

Skin and body

Blue patterns appear on her skin.

Blue glow or sheen to her skin without fully changing the color.

Her skin projects color and light.

New growths or changes to body, such as ear shape, wings, etc.

No matter what you decide, please make clear in your tale that she’s a Black mixed race woman. And have fun!

More reading:

How Special is Too Special? The Politics and Characterization of Stacking Special/Abnormal Traits on Mixed Race Characters

~Colette

#Black women #skin color #supernatural #superheroes #description #asks

[i-was-today-years-old-when]

i learned that a Canadian makeup developer helped Crayola create "Colors of the World" crayons that are meant to accurately reflect human skin tones. He pared down the 40 shades he had created for Cover FX to 24 distinct colors that kids can use to draw themselves (x)

#today i learned #facts #colors #skin color #crayola #crayons

[theayurvedicexperienceproducts]

Varanya Pure Black Seed Even-Toning Facial Potion

Reveal an Even-Toned, Brightened and Illuminated Complexion with this VEGAN Nigella Sativa Ayurvedic Skin Specialist, made specially to brighten and even-tone complexion! 

Varanya Pure Black Even-Toning Facial Potion

Ayurveda’s Triple-Black Brightening Specialist for Skin that lacks luster and brilliance 

This Facial Potion made up of the iconic Black Seed-Trio: Black Seed Oil (Nigella Sativa), Black Cumin Seed and Black Sesame Seed, all three known in Ayurveda for their clarifying and brightening effects on skin!  

Improve your skin’s natural complexion and bid adieu to the look of uneven spots or blemishes to flaunt a more even-toned appearance

Tighten the look of large pores without the appearance of dark, oily spots 

Proffer upon your skin a matte-finish – neither too dry nor too oily, and the brightness of a million stars!

Best suited for oily or combination skin types – BUT – when mixed with iYURA’s intensely moisturizing oils, dry and aging skin get ALL of Nigella Sativa’s benefits too, and more! 

The Black Seed Trio boosts skin’s ability to fight stressors from both inside and outside

Even works as an excellent cleansing oil due to Nigella Sativa’s deep-cleansing properties. All you need are a few drops to wipe off that excess makeup!

A multi-use, agile face oil for cleansing, purifying, brightening and even-toning!

#acne treatment #acne studios #skincare #beauty tips #skincareproducts #antiaging #beauty products #ac new horizons #acne #acnescars #acne serum #acne skincare #acne solutions #skin clinic #skin condition #skin color #portrait #painting #drawing #digital painting #digital art #artwork #artists on tumblr #ayurvedictreatment #animation #muslim #digital illustration #ayurveda #ayurvedic doctor in rajkot #ayurvedic doctor in allahabad

[uroboros-if]

do you have skin tone references for the ROs?

I swatched these, so they may be inaccurate! Here's the base/undertone, as far as I can color pick.

#can you tell im no artist</3 #uroboros-if #uroboros #asks #anon #character asks #skin tones #skin color #skintone reference #skin color reference #skin tone reference

[grammarknighty]

I never noticed how different the Tamers' skin complexion was

Takato is tan and Jenrya a bit yellowish, sometimes tanner and paler than Takato in different promotional arts. Meanwhile Ruki just sits there like she's the Japanese Snow White.

More images for comparison:

Skin colors aren't consistent when it comes to the Lee siblings too:

Here's another comparison with Shiuchon and Juri added in:

And last but not least this weird frame that proves why you should not pause while watching anime:

#digimon #digimon tamers #suzie wong #lee shiuchon #matsuda takato #takato matsuki #henry wong #rika nonaka #lee jenrya #makino ruki #skin color #skin complexion

[soulinkpoetry]

No line in the sand, no color of skin , no foreign language , could ever stop two souls from meeting. And when it happens it’s magical.

.

.

#soul meetings #it’s magical #no boarders #soulinkpoetry #poetry #skin color #foreign language #she writes #thoughts #feelings #tumblr poets #poets on tumblr

[islayhawkin]

Pls tell me what disabilities you'd want to see as representation in books/media more?

Can be very specific too

#disability #autism #adhd #neurodiversity #ptsd #dyslexia #visually impaired #skin color #books #writing #disability representation #asexual representation #representation matters

[quinnsidepost]

I see a lot of people getting mad at beginner artists for being inexperienced w drawing skin tones or not drawingg them at all and I get the fear some of them have so I went ahead and just laid out some skin tones varrying in saturation and how light or dark they are. Skintones are a wide infinite variety that our dna loves to messs around with so be reminded that there's no wrong way to depict a skintone and designing a character comes down to color theory and detail at the end of the day : ) a simple tip for less saturated tones I have is to keep the whole colour palette the same way else sometimes characters can look ashy with a super saturated hair and clothes but a less saturated skin tone. The same is true in the opposite way with saturated tones. Once again it all comes down to color theory or just basic knowledge of what colors/tones/hues do and dont clash together !

If I have the time soon I'll release some flesh orbs I like doodling for warmups that show what colors I use to shade what when i draw skin tones/colors in general

#skin tones #skin color #tutorial #resource #signed someone who is actually poc and wants to help people instead of yell at them. #art resource #art resources #art tutorial #coloring tutorial #colouring tutorial

[weelvrickredz]

Skin♥️

#beautiful women #pigmentation #skin color #so proud #blue #black women #fashion #baddiiesfr

[electromage1821]

:3

#op what does this mean #skin removal #skincare #skin #chaos #chaotic thoughts #intrusive thoughts #you need help #what #funny #humor #dark humor #racisim #skin color #red

[writingwithcolor]

Dark features/people as blessed, white and light people as sick

ladyoftheseastuff asked:

I'm writing a fantasy story where the world is permanently covered in snow & ice. The people share a common culture & are loyal to their city states, but they are not homogeneous in appearance; there will be many, many characters coded as PoC. The main religion centers on the sun, & those with dark features are 'favoured' by the sun god, while pale people or anyone who has white/blonde hair are thought vulnerable to "snow sickness", a disease caused by environmental factors (1/2) & have other rules and customs to gain religious approval. It's dangerous & infectious but not well understood. It affects social standing and opportunities, but it's meant to be tied with ideas of youth, vitality, & fear of aging & sickness: it's not limited to those coded as white. This is a cultural detail and not part of the main conflict, but I want to avoid unintentional allegories/parallels & fetishization. Is this a concept that's too close to crossing any of those lines? (2/2)

This feels less like a means to show dark skinned people in an empowering light and more like a weak attempt at subversion. My primary concern (which you have not specified) is how do the "blessed" class treat the "sickly" so to speak. We have fantasy stories like The Grisha Trilogy and Girls of Paper and Fire, which deal with magical ability/feature-based segregation and conflict.

In both cases there is a sense of entitlement which comes with hailing from the "favoured" class, quite obvious, since there will always be an inherent othering metaphor whenever you create such a division, whether it was meant to be a source of conflict or not.

However, the two mentioned series use the "magical people are blessed, non magical people are to be pitied" arc which is somewhat more subtle than divisions created just on the basis of skin colour.

Disclaimer as I do not have albinism or vitiligo: The latter can be extremely harmful, and not just in a racial context, but in cases of albinism, vitiligo etc.

~Mod Mimi

The pitfalls of subversions

While it is always lovely to see dark features considered in a favorable way, there are some issues you may come across. Such a story could easily end up dressing those you wished to uphold as bad guys in the readers' eyes, even if the story's society and the sun god etc. thinks they're amazing, and white and light people as the victims of dark people, deserving reader sympathy. This may especially be the case based on how these groups get treated in the story.

These sort of subversions lean dangerously into "reverse discrimination" plots which are not overall accurate or favorable allegories for your real, human audience. There being diversity on both sides doesn't necessary fix this issue or remove racial or ethnic implications. On that note, and as Mimi mentioned, being demonized and ostracized particularly for skin and genetic disorders like albinism is already a thing. What does your concept say of them?

I think Dark/Black as good and Light/white as bad is a doable concept. Your concept differs a bit from simply subverting black/white tropes. This is not just Black good guys and night skies being peaceful or neutral. It's not just white/light villains (as opposed to victims) or snow symbolling death or sickness.

White and light people are quite blatantly being declared as sick and unfavored and they may very well be victims in the reader's eye with the dark people being the villainous, unsympathetic bunch. Is this your intention?

More to consider

Such a concept requires thoughtful, careful planning and intentional writing. You should have an understanding of what your story implies to the readers and the real-life takeaways.

I think it's possible to make dark skin the favored skin of the sun god without it meaning white/light people stand in a negative light and are sick or unworthy.

Consider what it is that you like about the concept of your story. Can you keep the essence of whatever it is that excites you about your ideas, without denying a whole group of people favor? If not, how will you go about telling such a tale that is not meant to symbolize a sort of reversal of roles discrimination?

Why does the sun god get to determine what is good?

Are there other gods that might have different strong opinions? Perhaps who is favored varies by time of day, season, region, culture, god?

Can dark skin get its favor without white and light features being deemed unfavorable as a whole?

How big of a deal does this favor have to be? I advise reconsidering it being the point of discrimination to white/light people for all the reasons already described.

No matter the directions you go, please research and get the appropriate beta-readers for feedback on the in-depth concepts and story.

~Mod Colette

#Skin color #color symbolism #symbolism #fantasy #discrimination #reverse racism #and other myths #asks

[kemetic-dreams]

Being a mixed race child and not looking like your Mom can be tough. This children's book emphasizes how a child can look different from their parent and still "match" in many important ways.

I was picking up my oldest daughter from preschool. I read a list posted in the classroom that asked, "What do you think is beautiful?" Malika's answer was, "I think my Momma is beautiful." Later, I thanked her for the complement. She asked if our skin color would match when she grew up. When she realized that we would never "match" she was devastated. This story tells of how I responded to her reaction, transforming a difficult moment in to one of beauty.

Hmm! Now antics make sense

#african #afrakan #kemetic dreams #africans #brownskin #afrakans #brown skin #european #malika andrews #malika #skin color #antics #self hate #sell out

[callmeanxietygirl]

Deliciosa, sabrosura mexicana... Ji

Hoy, sí estoy de buenas y tengo alto el nivel de amor propio

#morena #piel #brown #skin color

[beautiful-brown-skin-05]

Can we talk about how much “x readers” aren’t “x readers” anymore in fics? I know this has been talked about already, especially among POC, but, it’s honestly not just with skin color that’s an issue for me—it’s also body part descriptions. For example, when it’s a x reader, I’ve seen reader’s body described as curvy, slim, and not to mention her melons 🍉. It’s always “perky, round, large…” Like, idk, isn’t a x reader fic/ one-shot supposed to be whoever’s reading to imagine themselves? I feel like describing the readers body defeats the purpose. Share y’all’s thoughts.

#Stop body describing reader’s body and skin color illusions in fics unless they are coded #x reader #skin color

[system-processing-12]

Being an anthropology major is so fun. I learned a bit ago that light skin did not result from Homo Sapiens moving to Europe. The people who made those cave paintings had wavy hair, dark skin, and blue eyes. We got white skin when, wait for it, we started to settle down and do agriculture and fucked up our nourishment. We didn't get enough vitamin D in our diets and had to synthesize it. White people are not only a mutation. They came around cuz we were bad at growing healthy food.

#agriculture #anthropology #race isn't real #skin color #mutations #genetics #yay genetics special interest mixed with anthro special interest #fun facts

[smashupmashups]

Made on January 26.

A random Simpsons thing I made a day after doing that Family Guy post. Simply just made two separate images of the Simpsons with actual colored skin and their original skin, listed with text that were made from the Font Meme site.

#the simpsons #homer simpson #marge simpson #bart simpson #lisa simpson #maggie simpson #skin color