Apparently, Using Food to Describe Skin Tone is Racist?

[LadyN]

Avoiding Racism for Writers—Coffee, Honey & Other Color Don'ts - Ylva Publishing

So I found an article saying how authors should avoid using foods and colors to describe skin tones because it’s “racist.” …and I just got to ask… why?

I am a “colored” person (I say in quotes because I’m not sure if you describe colored people as black. I’m Hispanic)

I don’t see the problem. We as authors and writers have to use words to describe a skin tone by using more than “black, white, and tan.”

What if the certain race a character is doesn't exist in this world? Can’t call a character by race to get a point across because it’s apparently discriminatory.

Maybe I got it all wrong though. I want to hear all your thoughts. Maybe have a little bit of discussion too!

Edit: aight. I looked into it a bit and realized 1. It’s outdated, and 2. This isn’t new. Now that this information is in my brain I shall go on with my day. Ciao! Happy writing!

_Edit II: I feel like I should be concerned that this topic has at least 100 post… _

[CommanderMarty]

I would just disregard it because they don't apply the rule to white people.

[Maya]

I think using food to describe skin tone is ok and not racist in the least. The one thing authors should do is describe every character's skin color, because ppl tend to think the default is white when it isn't mentioned. Then again, I'm caucasian so🤷‍♀️

[Random_Guy]

It's just some garbage article complaining about it because they have nothing else to complain about, I'd ignore it.

[Jenny-Toons]

Eh, just gonna say it: this ain't nothing new. it's probably new to some of ya'll, but this talk has been going on for a bit. I'm not gonna talk about how I feel about it, but I will say that, if you've been on the internet for a while (or even been in several parts of the creative community for a while), it comes up.

Congrats -- you got your first taste of it.

[LadyN]

@Jenny-Toons thanks, I hate it ;-;

[Kelheor]

"Imagine if we compared white skin to after-dinner mints, yoghurt, or boiled rice."

Oh my god But have they ever saw white people, come on, most of us are nowhere close to yoghurt colour lol.

[DualDragons]

Oh yeah, they mention it from time to time on my news as well. Apparently they frown upon naming the colours custard has, so dark and blanc custard are not fine by them.

I can sort of understand where they come from, but the context they place it in doesn't make too much sense.

[Jenny-Toons]

It is what it is.

There's some better articles on the topic and such, though it becomes a rabbit hole. Some have valid worries, such as the sexualization of black women and references to older works that are frankly outdated. Some are just bored out of their minds and would like to strawman things.

Me? I'm a black woman -- I don't use food to describe skin tone for anyone in my works. It just sounds weird and gives me a clammy vibe. But for some people, cheesy the best they can do. I dunno how that speaks on their abilities as a creator, bu eh.

Been seeing this topic come up often, and all I can say is you either take it or leave it. I leave with some new info and improve my writing and art as I come.

[alexlcuri07]

Ummmm.... It's been pretty racist for a while, and I mean I've done it so I'm not being judgmental here, but I think its for two reasons.

One, you don't need to do it for non-POC because most people assume everyone is white in a story. Characters who aren't POC don't need to be described using food and objects because they're just assumed to be white and people have to emphasize the "differentness" of POC.

Two, it is usually done in a sexualized fashion.... Typically only for women of color in a gross kind of way.

[joannekwan]

The main takeaway is that particularly for skin, food analogies come off as a way to objectify the person, and fetishizes them. It's also kind of iffy when darker people are compared to foods like coffee or molasses due to the long history of colonization and slave labor used to produce those commodities.

Here's a great explanation that goes more in-depth

Writing with Color

and then a part 2 with a long list of more neutral things to compare skin to.

Writing with Color

[LadyN]

@joannekwan can we just appreciate how your took the time to find resources about this topic? Thank you,

[Inspector_Spinda]

I do it get that some people may be offended, but what else can we compare to that's brown in nature? wood is the only thing that's brown that i can think of that isn't demeaning. other things are dirt and poop lol. i guess we can use animal furs but that seems rude too. im not the best writer so i can't think of a way around it unless you just want to be like "they had dark skin". Which is fine I guess.

[joannekwan]

It's a great blog that I've known about for a while!
And the articles cover a great range of topics including writing about natural Black hair and eye-shape and a bunch of other things that are helpful for more mindful writing!

[foxnflames]

Like @alexlcuri07 said, there are so many ways to describe people of color over than using food or objects. That said, you can say their skin is the color of something rather than (insert thing) colored. And to me it’s just lazy. ESPECIALLY referring to black people’s skin as another kind of chocolate. Just don’t.

And as a black woman I find it refreshing when writers use more descriptives to describe our skin. I’ve read some things and it makes me question if the author has ever seen a black person before.

Also, referring to black people and other POC as colored is racist. Also, Hispanic is an ethnicity not a race. You can be Hispanic and also be black, white, native, etc.

[Inspector_Spinda]

And as a black woman I find it refreshing when writers use more descriptives to describe our skin. I’ve read some things and it makes me question if the author has ever seen a black person before.

Do you remember any specific examples? I just want it for my descriptive library.

[foxnflames]

To me, I hate: chocolate, mahogany (not a food but I don’t like it lol), espresso, caramel. Words like that. I keep a tab open with a thesaurus when I get stuck. In my story, I have my character describe someone as being the deep brown of a tree. It makes sense for my character but it’s better than saying something like “tree colored person”. I can do some quick research of actual and hilarious examples of what not to do

[miss.monocle]

Try describing the color without addressing it flat out. Establishing dark skin is important for an initial introduction, but then describe how their skin reacts to the environment, or how their hair is styled. Darker skin, especially more melinated skin tends to flash light against it more. There are also a lot of variations to darker skin due to hyper pigmentation. Addressing their hairstyle can also make things more obvious. I have done this before by describing how a character in one of my projects styled her dreads.

Most white characters aren't outright described as white, but their other features are paid more attention to. That can be done for characters of color as well, but with the different features certain races and ethnicities have. It can really improve your writing anyway, as describing how "the glow of the sun glittered across her cheek, cutting a streak across her darkened skin," sounds more interesting than, "she had a deep, caramel coating to her skin in the sun."

[foxnflames]

“Ms. Smith had skin the color of caramel.”

“The girl brought her coffee-colored hands to her face in wonder.”

The article:

7 Casually Racist Things That White Authors Do

[Inspector_Spinda]

“tree colored person”

oh yeah that order of words is just dumb sounding generally