The Skin I'm In

The Skin I’m In addresses the issue of colorism. Colorism is discrimination against individuals with darker skin, an issue that especially affects African American women. Colorism is a result of Eurocentric beauty standards, or standards of beauty that privilege features and complexions that typify people of European heritage. Being a text about a young African American girl, The Skin I’m In spotlights and challenges this common prejudice. The subject of colorism allows author Flake to explore standards of beauty more broadly and teach the lesson that internal beauty is of the utmost importance.

Throughout the novel, both Maleeka and John-John experience the effects of colorism. Maleeka experiences teasing because of her skin color. John-John tells her, “I don’t see no pretty, just a whole lotta black” (8). John-John’s remark reinforces a belief that Blackness and prettiness are mutually exclusive—that is, that someone can either be Black or pretty, but never both. This kind of thinking negatively affects Maleeka. She sabotages her own interview for Central Middle School—a good school across town—because of her anxiety about fitting in with lighter-skinned students. She says, “[T]hem girls… they looked like they come out of a magazine. Long, straight hair. Skin the color of potato chips and cashews and Mary Jane candies” (27).