Assessing Latinx Colorism and Skin Tone Dating Preferences in Adults

Colorism is favoring by individuals of lighter skin over darker skin. This differs from racism because racism is discrimination directed towards racial or ethnic minorities, while colorism typically refers to within-group prejudice. The purpose of this study is to find out whether and how Latinx individuals’ self-perceived skin color, family, and friends influence their dating skin color preference. 145 respondents ages 18 and over completed the In-group Colorism Scale by Harvey, Banks, and Tennial (2017) and answered additional questions on skin tone perceptions on dating, and parent and friend influences. There was no significant connection between self-perceived skin color and dating. There was no friend influences found while in comparison there was a significant influence from parents on the skin tone preferences. Documenting any correlation between Latinx and dating can not only contribute to the understanding of colorism but could open up more dialogue across all racial and ethnic groups about bias and prejudice based on skin tone. Further, I hope that this study will inform critical race studies to combat racial and ethnic inequalities