Embracing All Shades: The Protective Role of Skin Tone Satisfaction Amidst Gendered Racial Microaggressions

By Gina (Diagou) Sissoko

In recent years, Black women’s everyday experiences with unique oppression based on the intersections of race and gender have been understood through the concept of gendered racial microaggressions. These subtle expressions include verbal, behavioral, and environmental messages that stereotype Black women as angry or hypersexual, silence and marginalize Black women in professional environments and objectify and degrade Black women’s aesthetic, including natural hair, body type, facial features, and skin tone. Experiencing gendered racial microaggressions has been associated with a variety of mental health outcomes, including depression, anxiety, psychological distress, and traumatic stress.

Skin tone-related variables play a significant role in Black women’s body image and mental health. It has been argued that colorism—discrimination based on dark skin tone—can lead to skin tone trauma, and darker skin tone has been associated with greater exposure to chronic stress, racism, lower self-esteem, and body dissatisfaction. In addition, being dissatisfied with your skin tone not only poses a significant physical health risk as it may lead to the use of carcinogenic skin bleaching products but may also impact mental health. For example, skin tone dissatisfaction is associated with greater overall appearance dissatisfaction and internalized racism. If skin tone dissatisfaction potentially exacerbates negative mental health outcomes, could skin tone satisfaction act as a buffer? In our recent study, we asked just that!

Our study examined whether skin tone satisfaction would moderate the relationship between gendered racial microaggressions and traumatic stress among Black women—either acting as a buffer or exacerbating the connection. We also tested whether skin tone shade itself influences the relationship between experiencing gendered racial microaggression and traumatic stress symptoms. In our sample, which consisted of 237 Black women who completed an online survey, skin tone did not influence the link between gendered racial microaggressions and traumatic stress—but skin tone satisfaction did! Specifically, lower levels of skin tone satisfaction exacerbated (or strengthened) the link between a specific type of gendered racial microaggressions—termed silenced and marginalized microaggressions—and traumatic stress.

Gendered racial microaggressions that fall under the category of Silenced and Marginalized usually refer to instances of being disempowered and treated as invisible in the workplace or academic settings.

Our study showed that women who experience Silenced and Marginalized gendered racial microaggressions in the workplace and academic settings were more likely to experience traumatic stress symptoms. This relationship was strongest for women who reported lower satisfaction with their skin tone, followed by those with higher levels of satisfaction. However, for women with moderate levels of skin tone satisfaction, the relationship between Silenced and Marginalized microaggressions and traumatic stress symptoms was not significant.

Our finding that lower skin tone satisfaction intensified the connection between the Silenced and Marginalized microaggressions and traumatic stress symptoms is aligned with previous research linking skin tone dissatisfaction to various mental and behavioral health issues. Surprisingly, we also found that higher levels of skin tone satisfaction strengthened the link between gendered racial microaggressions and traumatic stress symptoms. This could be because Black women who perceive their gender and race as central to their identity may experience gendered racial microaggressions as more stressful than those who view their gendered racial identity as less central to their sense of self.
Our findings are interesting and important because they offer a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between gendered racial microaggressions, skin tone-related variables, and traumatic stress symptoms among Black women. Although the overall literature supports skin tone plays an important role in Black women’s lives, our findings suggest that skin tone satisfaction may play a more significant role in the relationship between gendered racial oppression and psychological outcomes.

Importantly, this research emphasizes the need for a more comprehensive and nuanced approach in studying the lived experiences of Black women, as well as in providing treatment to Black women of all shades and backgrounds. By gaining a deeper understanding of the role of skin tone satisfaction in the context of gendered racial microaggressions and mental health, we can better support and empower Black women as they navigate these challenges in their everyday lives.

READ THE ARTICLE

Article Details
It’s More Than Skin-Deep: Gendered Racial Microaggressions, Skin Tone Satisfaction, and Traumatic Stress Symptoms Among Black Women
D. R. Gina Sissoko, Jioni A. Lewis, and Kevin L. Nadal
First published online November 7, 2022
DOI: 10.1177/00957984221137957
Journal of Black Psychology

About the Author

Featured

Gina (Diagou) Sissoko is a doctoral candidate in the clinical psychology program at John Jay College and the CUNY Graduate Center. She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and women, gender, and sexuality studies at Hunter College in 2016. Gina works under the advisement of Dr. Kevin Nadal, and her research focuses on the impact of colorism, gendered racism, and trauma on Black women and girls’ mental health and criminal legal involvement. Gina is an NSF Graduate Research Fellow and a NASEM Ford Foundation Pre-doctoral Fellow. Gina was born and raised in Hamburg, Germany and is the daughter of Malian immigrants. Since 2012, she has been a proud resident of the Bronx, New York.