How Much Does Physical Attractiveness Matter for Blacks? Linking Skin Color, Physical Attractiveness, and Black Status Attainment

Abstract

The accumulated evidence suggests that lighter-complected blacks are more successful in our society that their darker-complected counterparts. Prior research also documents a correlation between physical attractiveness and socioeconomic status attainment. The current study bridges the literatures on colorism and physical attraction and examines the complex relationship between skin color, physical attractiveness, gender, on the one hand, and three indicators of status attainment (educational attainment, hourly wage and job quality), on the other, for black young adults. Controls include family SES, family structure, parent-child relationships and other covariates. Analysis was conducted in STATA and via structural equation modeling using MPlus software. The analysis shows that lighter skinned young blacks attain a higher educational level, receive higher wages and enjoy better quality jobs than their darker skinned co-ethnics. Moreover, the results show that more physically attractive young blacks, especially women, are advantaged in terms of educational attainment, wages and job quality than their less physically attractive counterparts. These findings suggest that, among blacks, the skin color stratification coincides with that based on physical attractiveness to a large degree, with the implication being that the skin tone is a predictor of both physical attractiveness and social status for black men and women.

The Gender of Colorism: Understanding the Intersection of Skin Tone and Gender Inequality

“…That idea warrants deeper investigation. For example, a number of studies connect color and attractiveness (Hill 2002a, b;Hunter 2002;Reece 2016;Ryabov 2019). In the most recent, Ryabov (2019) finds attractiveness is more strongly tied to color and status attainment for women than men.…”

The complex relationship between colorism and poor health outcomes with African Americans: A systematic review

“…This finding suggests that colorism could contribute to African Americans’ health disparities. Further, the systematic cultural stigma associated with colorism is a daily stressor to poor health outcomes among the African American population (Charles, 2003; Hall & Crutchfield, 2018; Norwood, 2014; Ryabov, 2018).…”

The Future of American Blackness: On Colorism and Racial Reorganization

“…Researchers have done excellent work detailing the far-reaching impact of colorism. A broad cross-section of research shows that skin color stratification is almost ubiquitous, affecting mental and physical health (Diette et al, 2015;Hargrove, 2018aHargrove, , 2018bLaidley et al, 2019;Louie, 2019;McCleary-Gaddy & James, 2020;Monk, 2015;Perreira et al, 2018;Slaughter-Acey et al, 2019), the criminal justice system (Blair et al, 2004;Finkeldey & Demuth, 2019;Monk, 2019;Viglione et al, 2011), school punishments (Hannon et al, 2013), attractiveness (Reece, 2016;Ryabov, 2019), sports (Foy & Ray, 2020), and income (Goldsmith et al, 2006(Goldsmith et al, , 2007Hersch, 2006;Hunter, 1998Hunter, , 2002Keith & Herring, 1991;Kreisman & Rangel, 2015;Monk, 2014;Reece, 2021;Robst et al, 2011;Sweet et al, 2007). But much less research focuses on understanding how colorism works and how it may shape the future of the American racial landscape, two questions that are inextricably linked.…”