A research study done by Maxine Thompson and Verna Keith looks at gender, skin tone, and their relation to self esteem and self-efficacy. To collect their research they used data from the National Survey of Black Americans. In general, expectations of physical attractiveness are emphasized and heightened for women across all cultures. Gender plays a specific role in constructing the significance of skin tone in relation to self-worth and self-competence. This study found that skin color was an important predictor of self-esteem for black women but not for black men. As skin color lightens, the association between self-efficacy and skin color increases. Individuals documented as having lower self-esteem scores were dark-skinned women coming from working classes. In addition, these dark-skinned women were judged as unattractive. Traditional definitions of masculinity encourage men to aspire for achievement outside the home, dominate relationships and remain level-headed. In contrast, women are encouraged to seek affirmation and approval from others, be nurturing caregivers, attend to the evaluations of others and be responsive to negative appraisals. Light skin privilege allows light skinned blacks to be economically better off than darker skinned blacks. Darker skinned persons earn 72 cents to every dollar a light skinned black earns. This study cited black women of all ages believe lighter skin was more attractive to their black male counterparts. 

​

This gendered racism is a topic not discussed in most mainstream media sources. Although this study points out how black women may respond to colorism, I think it is important to look at how white supremacy has infiltrated the black mindset. Consistently light skin black women are located in a place of higher value than dark skin black women in mainstream culture. White companies and corporations commodify blackness and choose certain aspects of black they find attractive. This often falls on the face of either a light skinned black person or a white person appropriating black culture. An example of this is the Kardashians being notorious for altering their bodies to resemble the curves known naturally to most black women, sporting corn rows that originated in black culture as a hair maintenance tool, and fashion.  Once Kylie Jenner sported corn rows on Instagram and captioned it "White girls do it better." This is problematic because when these same features are shown on a black woman naturally, they are not valued in the way they are on white bodies, in fact they are demonized and often seen as "ghetto" instead of trendy. A buzzfeed article by Tanya Chen broke down the recent news of several beauty icons on Instagram who posed as light skin black women and were found to be white women. These young women used self-tanners, black skin tone foundations, wigs and weaves to pose as black for more followers, likes and a fetishized aesthetic. Notice these women did not pose as dark skin black women, but a very specific shade of black women. Once these women were revealed, there was a lot of backlash, especially from black female followers feeling duped and appropriated.