...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!
But Not Too Black
- 257 statements
- 48 feature instances
- 101 referencing feature instances
| But Not Too Black | type |
FeatureClass | |
| But Not Too Black | label |
But Not Too Black | |
| But Not Too Black | page |
ButNotTooBlack | |
| But Not Too Black | comment |
There's discrimination based on race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, religion, etc. And then there's discrimination against skin tone and/or physical features, which is known as colorism. Light skin is favored over dark, and Eurocentric facial and physical features are favored over non-Eurocentric ones. Just like in real life, colorism is a broad issue which can manifest in many ways in fiction. A character might be viewed as unattractive and undesirable for being dark-skinned. Another might be denied a job opportunity because their skin tone is too dark and for potentially scaring off those with a lighter skin shade. A parent with children of varying skin shades may prefer their light-skinned child over their dark-skinned one, who is regarded as the The Unfavorite of their family. There are also the characters with internalized colorism, who despise themselves for being dark-skinned and might be obsessed with conforming to Eurocentric beauty standards by whitening their skin and the like because of their self-hatred. Such characters, especially female ones, are prone to experience hearing backhanded compliments such as "you're too pretty for a dark-skinned girl" while growing up, which can undermine their self-esteem and push them into hating their own skin color, as it's not validated by others. Meanwhile, characters from ethnic minority groups with lighter skin (biracial or mixed race) may enjoy more privileges than those a shade darker, furthering the inequality between how the light-skinned character is treated in contrast with the dark-skinned character, depending on how the story explores this dynamic. If the character dealing with internalized colorism thinks low of other dark-skinned people and loathes them as well due to their skin tone then they're a Boomerang Bigot. Contrast with But Not Too White which is the inverse of this trope; a character facing discrimination over their light skin. Not to be confused with Pass Fail, which is failing to live as another identity. See also the Colorism useful notes page for more real life information on the topic. noreallife |
|
| But Not Too Black | fetched |
2024-04-05T14:32:36Z | |
| But Not Too Black | parsed |
2024-04-05T14:32:36Z | |
| But Not Too Black | processingComment |
Dropped link to BoomerangBigot: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| But Not Too Black | processingComment |
Dropped link to DeconstructedTrope: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| But Not Too Black | processingComment |
Dropped link to THeUnfavorite: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| But Not Too Black | processingComment |
Dropped link to TakeThat: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| But Not Too Black | processingComment |
Dropped link to TokenBlackFriend: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| But Not Too Black | processingComment |
Dropped link to Vivah: Not an Item - UNKNOWN | |
| But Not Too Black | processingComment |
Dropped link to ZigZagged: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| But Not Too Black | processingComment |
Dropped link to lampshadehanging: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| But Not Too Black | processingComment |
Dropped link to playedfordrama: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| But Not Too Black | processingUnknown |
Vivah | |
| But Not Too Black | isPartOf |
DBTropes | |
| But Not Too Black / int_12f3a8b2 | type |
But Not Too Black | |
| But Not Too Black / int_12f3a8b2 | comment |
Nicole from Beauty Queens is quite black. She states how difficult it is for her to manage her hair. However, her mother bought her skin bleaching cream to make her appear whiter. | |
| But Not Too Black / int_12f3a8b2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_12f3a8b2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Beauty Queens | hasFeature |
But Not Too Black / int_12f3a8b2 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_19d5167b | type |
But Not Too Black | |
| But Not Too Black / int_19d5167b | comment |
On Chappelle's Show Charlie Murphy relates his friend Rick James' nickname for him: "Because of my complexion he used to call me 'Darkness'. He calls me and my brother Eddie 'Darkness'. Called us the "Darkness Brothers". See, this is long before Wesley Snipes. Back then we as the blackest niggas on the planet according to Rick James!" | |
| But Not Too Black / int_19d5167b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_19d5167b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Chappelle's Show | hasFeature |
But Not Too Black / int_19d5167b | |
| But Not Too Black / int_283a2ee | type |
But Not Too Black | |
| But Not Too Black / int_283a2ee | comment |
Playboy always boasted that it was the first mainstream magazine to have African American models as part of Hugh Hefner's commitment to the Civil Rights Movement. However critics pointed out that the black Playmates were more accurately described as mixed race, every one having at very least one white parent, giving them light coloured skin, straight hair and European features. | |
| But Not Too Black / int_283a2ee | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_283a2ee | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Playboy | hasFeature |
But Not Too Black / int_283a2ee | |
| But Not Too Black / int_285da262 | type |
But Not Too Black | |
| But Not Too Black / int_285da262 | comment |
His Only Wife: As part of an Arranged Marriage, Afi moves from her small village in Ghana to her new husband's elegant flat in Accra. One of the two female security guards for the building asks her twice what bleaching cream she uses (Afi does not use any), implying she admires Afi's complexion. Nobody else in the book comments on her skin tone, but she is of Ewe ethnicity. | |
| But Not Too Black / int_285da262 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_285da262 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| His Only Wife | hasFeature |
But Not Too Black / int_285da262 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_2a1052fa | type |
But Not Too Black | |
| But Not Too Black / int_2a1052fa | comment |
In The Sapphires, the story of an Aboriginal girls quartet that toured Vietnam entertaining the troops, one of the group members, Kay, is a member of the stolen generation, and her time spent in Melbourne passing as a white girl (after being taken away by an agency and put into a mission as a child) is a source of tension between her and Gail, the darkest member of the group who deals with whatever insecurities she has about her complexion by almost relentlessly bullying Kay. And rather than lording her light complexion over the others, Kay has her own insecurities about it (probably due to Gail's ill treatment)—in the course of developing a relationship with a black GI, she feels it necessary to point out that even though she's "pale black", she's still black. | |
| But Not Too Black / int_2a1052fa | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_2a1052fa | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Sapphires | hasFeature |
But Not Too Black / int_2a1052fa | |
| But Not Too Black / int_30ca7642 | type |
But Not Too Black | |
| But Not Too Black / int_30ca7642 | comment |
One Day at a Time (2017) focuses on a Cuban-American family with Penelope and son Alex dark-skinned while Penelope's mom, Lydia, speaks in a thick accent. In "The Turn," Alex reveals he's been bullied at school by racist classmates, complete with "Go back to Mexico" taunts. Penelope's daughter, Elena, talks of how she's been lucky to have never been subjected to this. It takes seeing the reactions of her mother and grandmother to realize the reason is that she can "pass" for a white person (her mom even compares her to a young Anne Hathaway). A proud activist, Elena is actually upset folks see her this way. | |
| But Not Too Black / int_30ca7642 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_30ca7642 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| One Day at a Time (2017) | hasFeature |
But Not Too Black / int_30ca7642 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_312036e | type |
But Not Too Black | |
| But Not Too Black / int_312036e | comment |
Afrobeat musician Fela Kuti tackled this topic in his 1976 song "Yellow Fever". It was a common view in Africa that lighter skin was more beautiful, and many women became physically ill from using unsafe skin-lightening creams. Fela criticized that view as a holdover from colonialism and pointed out that those lightening creams just made you look sick anyway. | |
| But Not Too Black / int_312036e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_312036e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Fela Kuti (Music) | hasFeature |
But Not Too Black / int_312036e | |
| But Not Too Black / int_3fe0a130 | type |
But Not Too Black | |
| But Not Too Black / int_3fe0a130 | comment |
Ugly Betty: Wilhelmina Slater underwent surgery and skin bleaching in order to conform to the fashion industry's standards as a model. Even as an ex-model, she is still ashamed of her previous appearance and real name, Wanda. | |
| But Not Too Black / int_3fe0a130 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_3fe0a130 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Ugly Betty | hasFeature |
But Not Too Black / int_3fe0a130 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_44e08ee8 | type |
But Not Too Black | |
| But Not Too Black / int_44e08ee8 | comment |
In one episode of Homicide: Life on the Street, Giardello hits it off with a black woman only for her to turn him down when he asks her on a date. The darker-skinned Giardello realizes she did so because he's out of colorism, and tells Russert he's been rejected because he's "too black" more times than he can count. | |
| But Not Too Black / int_44e08ee8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_44e08ee8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Homicide: Life on the Street | hasFeature |
But Not Too Black / int_44e08ee8 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_468d7b54 | type |
But Not Too Black | |
| But Not Too Black / int_468d7b54 | comment |
Played with in Passing Strange: The Youth's high school infatuation Edwina wants him to "get some soul" and blacken up a bit, but, as she notes, not so much that he'll "become unhirable". The casting of the show itself naturally disregards this trope completely. | |
| But Not Too Black / int_468d7b54 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_468d7b54 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Passing Strange (Theatre) | hasFeature |
But Not Too Black / int_468d7b54 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_4a453e0d | type |
But Not Too Black | |
| But Not Too Black / int_4a453e0d | comment |
Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay: Lampshaded with a light-skinned black security guard. Kumar accuses him of racism when is "randomly selected" to be searched. The security guard says he can't be racist because he's black, to which Kumar calls him barely black. Note that the guard could easily pass for white. | |
| But Not Too Black / int_4a453e0d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_4a453e0d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay | hasFeature |
But Not Too Black / int_4a453e0d | |
| But Not Too Black / int_4a47d090 | type |
But Not Too Black | |
| But Not Too Black / int_4a47d090 | comment |
The White Lotus: Paula is a light-skinned black woman, which is implied to be why the (all white) Mossbachers - who claim to be progressive but are actually very shallow and covertly racist - feel comfortable with her, and Olivia holds her up as her Token Black Friend. She grows increasingly frustrated by having her race dismissed, which leads to her shoddy plan with Kai (who's an indigenous Hawaiian). Discussed by Harper (who is played by Aubrey Plaza, a light-skinned Puerto Rican woman). She says that she and her husband, Ethan (who's half-Japanese) are "exotic" enough to make their white friends Cameron and Daphne feel progressive, but not dark enough to threaten any of their existing biases. |
|
| But Not Too Black / int_4a47d090 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_4a47d090 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The White Lotus | hasFeature |
But Not Too Black / int_4a47d090 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_4e81200d | type |
But Not Too Black | |
| But Not Too Black / int_4e81200d | comment |
In Jungle Fever when Wesley Snipes' African American architect begins an affair with a white woman his light skinned black ex lambasts him, telling him she'd been teased all her life for her light complexion and now people would say she was just a stepping stone before he went all the way to a white girl. | |
| But Not Too Black / int_4e81200d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_4e81200d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Jungle Fever | hasFeature |
But Not Too Black / int_4e81200d | |
| But Not Too Black / int_5662ccca | type |
But Not Too Black | |
| But Not Too Black / int_5662ccca | comment |
Get on the Bus features a culture clash between a very light-skinned and Anglo-looking black man (played by Spike Lee Joint regular Roger Guenveur Smith) and the darker black men on the bus. The rest of the bus riders see him as an outsider and criticize his anecdotes about his white mother. | |
| But Not Too Black / int_5662ccca | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_5662ccca | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Get on the Bus | hasFeature |
But Not Too Black / int_5662ccca | |
| But Not Too Black / int_57a3683f | type |
But Not Too Black | |
| But Not Too Black / int_57a3683f | comment |
Not Always Right: In "Playing the Racist Card is Shady", a clerk in a cosmetics store offers to help a black woman who is using foundation to lighten her face, and suggests a much darker shade. The customer accuses her of being racist for suggesting dark-colored foundation because she's black, and the clerk says they actually don't think she needs foundation in the first place because her natural skin is beautiful, shocking the customer into leaving. Several days later, the clerk sees the woman in the store again, this time with her natural dark skin and no foundation. | |
| But Not Too Black / int_57a3683f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_57a3683f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Not Always Right (Website) | hasFeature |
But Not Too Black / int_57a3683f | |
| But Not Too Black / int_60f02ddb | type |
But Not Too Black | |
| But Not Too Black / int_60f02ddb | comment |
American Dad! lampshaded this with Condoleeza Rice when Stan tries to sober up a drunken George W. Bush: | |
| But Not Too Black / int_60f02ddb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_60f02ddb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| American Dad! | hasFeature |
But Not Too Black / int_60f02ddb | |
| But Not Too Black / int_68a59532 | type |
But Not Too Black | |
| But Not Too Black / int_68a59532 | comment |
Parodied by The Best Page in the Universe here. | |
| But Not Too Black / int_68a59532 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_68a59532 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Best Page in the Universe (Website) | hasFeature |
But Not Too Black / int_68a59532 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_7460586f | type |
But Not Too Black | |
| But Not Too Black / int_7460586f | comment |
In Archer, the character Lana (voiced by Aisha Tyler) is a light-skinned black woman. Archer calls her "black-ish." When she gets offended, he defends himself, saying she exploded when he called her a quadroon. Archer himself appears to have this preference as evidenced by his ringtone | |
| But Not Too Black / int_7460586f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_7460586f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Archer | hasFeature |
But Not Too Black / int_7460586f | |
| But Not Too Black / int_7dce7773 | type |
But Not Too Black | |
| But Not Too Black / int_7dce7773 | comment |
With Pearl and Ruby Glowing: Penny Polendina's father attempts to protect her from being discriminated against for being mixed race; however, Shere Khan sexually assaults her after mistaking her for a white girl, then nearly kills her when he bombs the train she's on. Jackson's white family prefer him to his twin Holt since he has an easier time passing as white; however, this also gets him ostracized by his peers at school, who are mostly minorities. A police officer later assualts Holt, but spares Jackson because he doesn't look as black. One of the reasons why Bidoof's mother treated her as The Unfavorite was because her skin was darker than her siblings; as a result, her mother insists Bidoof is much less attractive. Bliss' kidnapper claims that Professor Utonium prefers his other daughters since they're lighter-skinned than her, and that nobody else will want her. While she eventually manages to escape, she's still grapples with fear that her kidnapper was right all along. |
|
| But Not Too Black / int_7dce7773 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_7dce7773 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| With Pearl and Ruby Glowing (Fanfic) | hasFeature |
But Not Too Black / int_7dce7773 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_7e7d443f | type |
But Not Too Black | |
| But Not Too Black / int_7e7d443f | comment |
Dear White People: The narrator (Giancarlo Esposito) states that he was selected for the role due to his being ethnic enough while still being non-threatening. Coco also complains of being thought poorly about by many black guys due to having dark skin, and claims Sam has "light skinned privilege" because she's mixed race. Sam retorts that no one calls Coco "half breed" or "Zebra". Joelle also deals with being seen as the Romantic Runner-Up in her Love Triangle with Sam and Reggie, because of being darker-skinned than her. | |
| But Not Too Black / int_7e7d443f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_7e7d443f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Dear White People | hasFeature |
But Not Too Black / int_7e7d443f | |
| But Not Too Black / int_8d85f017 | type |
But Not Too Black | |
| But Not Too Black / int_8d85f017 | comment |
Vida: Prejudice against darker-skinned Latinos is discussed as being common in the community. Nelson, the sleazy developer, told someone right to her face he wasn't interested after she turned out darker than in her online photo. Marcos and Lyn decide to use this by setting up a fake profile on a dating site of a very white girl, then catfish him. He tells Lyn (thinking she's the girl) he's not into Latinas due to preferring "pink nipples". After Emma fires Lisa after Nico reports her for stealing from the cash register, she claims that Emma only listened to her because she's "light skinned and bougie". |
|
| But Not Too Black / int_8d85f017 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_8d85f017 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Vida | hasFeature |
But Not Too Black / int_8d85f017 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_8e5e025c | type |
But Not Too Black | |
| But Not Too Black / int_8e5e025c | comment |
Master: Played for Drama. Gail and Jasmine are Black women who are the victim of racism at the college. The third of the trio, Liv, is a very light-skinned Black woman who feels she's being discriminated against for her skin color, but she teaches as if Everything Is Racist. This, and her light skin tone, is because she's actually white, but she still comes out on top and being welcomed into the university, while Gail undergoes a Heroic BSoD and Jasmine is dead. | |
| But Not Too Black / int_8e5e025c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_8e5e025c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Master | hasFeature |
But Not Too Black / int_8e5e025c | |
| But Not Too Black / int_9011b077 | type |
But Not Too Black | |
| But Not Too Black / int_9011b077 | comment |
The Burning Kingdoms: It's mentioned repeatedly that highborn people prefer to have light skin as being dark is a mark of the poor who are out working. They try to keep their own from tanning by being out unshaded less. | |
| But Not Too Black / int_9011b077 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_9011b077 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Burning Kingdoms | hasFeature |
But Not Too Black / int_9011b077 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_90196223 | type |
But Not Too Black | |
| But Not Too Black / int_90196223 | comment |
Trinkets: Discussed by Tabitha and Marquise, one of the only other Black students at school (with darker skin than hers). He notes she passes the "brown paper bag test" (i.e. her skin is lighter than that), and would have expected she wouldn't have been racially profiled while shopping, causing her to be falsely accused of shoplifting (her dad's white). | |
| But Not Too Black / int_90196223 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_90196223 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Trinkets | hasFeature |
But Not Too Black / int_90196223 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_91c94c76 | type |
But Not Too Black | |
| But Not Too Black / int_91c94c76 | comment |
Twenties: Hattie accuses Ida of having it easier than other black people because she's light-skinned, with a more conventional style white people accept. Ida retorts that she's still had to endure great hardship breaking through the glass ceiling however despite that. | |
| But Not Too Black / int_91c94c76 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_91c94c76 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Twenties | hasFeature |
But Not Too Black / int_91c94c76 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_93140119 | type |
But Not Too Black | |
| But Not Too Black / int_93140119 | comment |
Janie from Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God, who's considered to be beautiful, is described as having straight hair and a relatively light complexion. Mrs. Turner admires her for those white traits and even tries to set her up with her lighter-skinned son because she doesn't like her Not Too Black idol being married to a very dark-skinned man. Halle Berry quite appropriately plays Janie in the movie version of the novel. | |
| But Not Too Black / int_93140119 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_93140119 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Their Eyes Were Watching God | hasFeature |
But Not Too Black / int_93140119 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_99c003af | type |
But Not Too Black | |
| But Not Too Black / int_99c003af | comment |
This is often a concern of Jazmine Dubois, the mixed-race girl on The Boondocks, particularly when the subject of her hair comes up (she hates her curly hair and wants straightened like her white mother). Meanwhile, Huey is often prone to accusing her of not being black enough, particularly in regards to her hair. Poor girl can't win. She could be Aaron's take on a Tragic Mulatto. Her mother is white and has blonde hair, which explains why Jazmine has lighter hair and skin than other characters. | |
| But Not Too Black / int_99c003af | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_99c003af | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Boondocks | hasFeature |
But Not Too Black / int_99c003af | |
| But Not Too Black / int_9b3e2c75 | type |
But Not Too Black | |
| But Not Too Black / int_9b3e2c75 | comment |
For Colored Girls: Alice's father didn't like that she has dark skin, and "gave" her to a white man for light-skinned grandchildren, because that was what is beautiful to him. | |
| But Not Too Black / int_9b3e2c75 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_9b3e2c75 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| For Colored Girls (Theatre) | hasFeature |
But Not Too Black / int_9b3e2c75 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_ac226b96 | type |
But Not Too Black | |
| But Not Too Black / int_ac226b96 | comment |
Lady!!: This◊ is Lynn Russell. She is half-English and half-Japanese. However, she looks completely white. Not that this stops her Racist Grandpa from refusing to acknowledge her as his grandchild because he doesn't like the fact that his son married a non-white lady. | |
| But Not Too Black / int_ac226b96 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_ac226b96 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Lady!! (Manga) | hasFeature |
But Not Too Black / int_ac226b96 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_b30bcd12 | type |
But Not Too Black | |
| But Not Too Black / int_b30bcd12 | comment |
The Bluest Eye is a novel that examines the relationship between beauty and race. The protagonist is a dark-skinned black girl who notices how light-skinned black girls are given more respect than she. Eventually, she gets it into her head that if she only had blue eyes then people would stop treating her so horribly. | |
| But Not Too Black / int_b30bcd12 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_b30bcd12 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Bluest Eye | hasFeature |
But Not Too Black / int_b30bcd12 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_b3e3509a | type |
But Not Too Black | |
| But Not Too Black / int_b3e3509a | comment |
Marinette's Week Off: Discussed in the sequel; when Marinette notes that the casting director was surprised when she showed up to an audition, her agent Leslie reveals that the casting call specified wanting a Caucasian girl with dark hair, blue eyes and olive skin at the darkest. She explains that while Marinette is largely white-passing, her appearance is "exotic" enough to put her into a sweet spot that Leslie has been exploiting to help diversify Hollywood; she looks white enough to potentially get cast anyway, while potentially helping get a "foot in the door" for others who might not have been considered otherwise. | |
| But Not Too Black / int_b3e3509a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_b3e3509a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Marinette's Week Off (Fanfic) | hasFeature |
But Not Too Black / int_b3e3509a | |
| But Not Too Black / int_bd737d2d | type |
But Not Too Black | |
| But Not Too Black / int_bd737d2d | comment |
A major bit of the crossover between How to Get Away with Murder and Scandal has Annalise Keating slamming Olivia Pope on the latter being lighter-skinned and thus "getting more of a pass" by society than the darker-skinned Annalise. | |
| But Not Too Black / int_bd737d2d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_bd737d2d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| How to Get Away with Murder | hasFeature |
But Not Too Black / int_bd737d2d | |
| But Not Too Black / int_c27a1d75 | type |
But Not Too Black | |
| But Not Too Black / int_c27a1d75 | comment |
In Aphra Behn's Oroonoko, the titular character, an African prince, is explicitly described as having European facial features and having "a perfect ebony" complexion as opposed to "that brown rusty black which most of that nation are" and the description she gives makes him seem less like a real person and more like a statue carved out of black stone. This fits with the overall theme of the novel, which does not condemn slavery so much as say that Oroonoko should not be a slave because he is royalty and different than the other citizens of his country, who are fair game. | |
| But Not Too Black / int_c27a1d75 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_c27a1d75 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Oroonoko | hasFeature |
But Not Too Black / int_c27a1d75 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_c5b0066b | type |
But Not Too Black | |
| But Not Too Black / int_c5b0066b | comment |
Soul Food. Maxine accuses her son Ahmad of being "color struck" when she notices that out of the two girls who have come to visit him, he completely ignores the dark-skinned girl in favor of the light-skinned one, even though he has more in common with the darker girl. | |
| But Not Too Black / int_c5b0066b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_c5b0066b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Soul Food | hasFeature |
But Not Too Black / int_c5b0066b | |
| But Not Too Black / int_ca32ed4 | type |
But Not Too Black | |
| But Not Too Black / int_ca32ed4 | comment |
J. Cole on his song "Crooked Smile" | |
| But Not Too Black / int_ca32ed4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_ca32ed4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| J. Cole (Music) | hasFeature |
But Not Too Black / int_ca32ed4 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_d23ab89f | type |
But Not Too Black | |
| But Not Too Black / int_d23ab89f | comment |
Saltburn: Farleigh is Felix's cousin, and the only black member of the aristocracy, but he is light-skinned. He's conscious of his race despite his social class. | |
| But Not Too Black / int_d23ab89f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_d23ab89f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Saltburn | hasFeature |
But Not Too Black / int_d23ab89f | |
| But Not Too Black / int_d9c602eb | type |
But Not Too Black | |
| But Not Too Black / int_d9c602eb | comment |
Subtly alluded to on South Park. When the girls start Photoshopping their pictures to make themselves unrealistically hot, Nichole, the one black girl, makes her skin lighter and her hair straight. (Though oddly, later it's shown dark again.) | |
| But Not Too Black / int_d9c602eb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_d9c602eb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| South Park | hasFeature |
But Not Too Black / int_d9c602eb | |
| But Not Too Black / int_dfbbbe81 | type |
But Not Too Black | |
| But Not Too Black / int_dfbbbe81 | comment |
Black Christmas (2006): The only non WASP in the cast appears to be Lauren - who's played by the half-Chinese Crystal Lowe, and her hair is lightened to brown. Unless you count Melissa (Michelle Trachtenberg is Ashkenazi-Jewish), Dana (Lacey Chabert is half-Cajun) or Mrs Mac (Andrea Martin is Armenian), but all of them are white-passing. | |
| But Not Too Black / int_dfbbbe81 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_dfbbbe81 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Black Christmas (2006) | hasFeature |
But Not Too Black / int_dfbbbe81 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_e6108102 | type |
But Not Too Black | |
| But Not Too Black / int_e6108102 | comment |
The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window parodies the prevalence of this trope, as both Anna and Neil, the protagonists, have light-skinned, mixed-race daughters. Their spouses, who are people of color (but both are still relatively light-skinned), don't feature in the plot as much (and, in Neil's case, his wife is dead), while Anna and Neil are white. | |
| But Not Too Black / int_e6108102 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_e6108102 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window | hasFeature |
But Not Too Black / int_e6108102 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_e90513b0 | type |
But Not Too Black | |
| But Not Too Black / int_e90513b0 | comment |
Girlfriends: In Season 8, Lynn hits a racial brick wall after the manager at her record label explicitly tells her that the higher-ups don't know how to market her music (primarily indie rock) because she neither looks nor sounds "black enough." | |
| But Not Too Black / int_e90513b0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_e90513b0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Girlfriends (2000) | hasFeature |
But Not Too Black / int_e90513b0 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_ed7f9b74 | type |
But Not Too Black | |
| But Not Too Black / int_ed7f9b74 | comment |
Lampshaded by Nelly Furtado in the song "Powerless", which downright opens with her complaining "paint my face in your magazines, make it look whiter than it seems". | |
| But Not Too Black / int_ed7f9b74 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_ed7f9b74 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Nelly Furtado (Music) | hasFeature |
But Not Too Black / int_ed7f9b74 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_f69ca626 | type |
But Not Too Black | |
| But Not Too Black / int_f69ca626 | comment |
The episode "Black Like Us" from black•ish is dedicated for this issue. Dre points out that colorism exists in Asian, Indian, and Latin American communities but that it has been particularly harmful to African Americans since slavery. Meanwhile Ruby declares that light skins have privileges but Rainbow, who's a light skin woman, objects to this, and Diane opens up about how she's been told she's "so pretty for a dark-skinned girl" and how society pushes the idea that lighter skin is better. | |
| But Not Too Black / int_f69ca626 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_f69ca626 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| black•ish | hasFeature |
But Not Too Black / int_f69ca626 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_f8ffee1f | type |
But Not Too Black | |
| But Not Too Black / int_f8ffee1f | comment |
In the Hudson books by V. C. Andrews, heroine Rain is praised for her beauty including being lighter-skinned than the rest of her family. This turns out to be because she's actually biracial and her biological mother is white. | |
| But Not Too Black / int_f8ffee1f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_f8ffee1f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Hudson Series | hasFeature |
But Not Too Black / int_f8ffee1f | |
| But Not Too Black / int_f94340f7 | type |
But Not Too Black | |
| But Not Too Black / int_f94340f7 | comment |
Ginny and Georgia: Bracia notes that Ginny gets it a bit easier due to being light-skinned because she's biracial, while Bracia is a dark-skinned black girl. | |
| But Not Too Black / int_f94340f7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_f94340f7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Ginny and Georgia | hasFeature |
But Not Too Black / int_f94340f7 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_fb14d1b2 | type |
But Not Too Black | |
| But Not Too Black / int_fb14d1b2 | comment |
In Uncle Tom's Cabin, the main character Eliza is one quarter black, with skin just light enough for her to pass as white. She takes advantage of this early on in her escape. Her husband is mulatto, and with a little makeup was able to pass as Hispanic while on the run. The 1927 film adaptation took this to the extreme by casting white actors for both parts. | |
| But Not Too Black / int_fb14d1b2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_fb14d1b2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Uncle Tom's Cabin | hasFeature |
But Not Too Black / int_fb14d1b2 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_fba5cfda | type |
But Not Too Black | |
| But Not Too Black / int_fba5cfda | comment |
The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali: Rukhsana is chided by an older Indian woman for going out in the sun more often than is fashionable so that her skin's darker. It appears to be a common prejudice in Bengali culture, from what's said. | |
| But Not Too Black / int_fba5cfda | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_fba5cfda | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali | hasFeature |
But Not Too Black / int_fba5cfda | |
| But Not Too Black / int_fe83b608 | type |
But Not Too Black | |
| But Not Too Black / int_fe83b608 | comment |
Law & Order: UK: A dark-skinned suspect taunts the light-skinned DS Joe Hawkins, calling him a "mongrel". Joe's reaction indicates that this is a sore point for him and that this probably isn't the first time someone has made comments like this to him—his explanation to Ronnie makes it clear that colorism goes both ways. | |
| But Not Too Black / int_fe83b608 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_fe83b608 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Law & Order: UK | hasFeature |
But Not Too Black / int_fe83b608 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_ff2165b | type |
But Not Too Black | |
| But Not Too Black / int_ff2165b | comment |
Cold Case: An episode cast a dark-complexioned actress as the victim and used lighting techniques to make her appear light-skinned, which didn't become relevant until near the end when her white lover tried to convince her to pass for white so they could be out in the open with each other. | |
| But Not Too Black / int_ff2165b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| But Not Too Black / int_ff2165b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Cold Case | hasFeature |
But Not Too Black / int_ff2165b |
The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.
Copyright of DBTropes.org wrapper 2009-2013 DFKI Knowledge Management. Imprint. - Thanks to Bakken&Baeck for hosting. Contact.
Copyright of data TVTropes.org contributors under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.
Copyright of data TVTropes.org contributors under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.