RACE AND ETHNICITY EXAM 2 STUDY GUIDE | COMPLETE SOCIOLOGY EXAM
REVIEW QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 2026/2027
colorism - ANS ✔✔the belief that within races, lighter is better
-gives differential value to people in the same racial group based on a continuum from light to dark
-can also describe eye color, hair color and texture
skin-color stratification - ANS ✔✔a system in which resources such as income and status are distributed
unequally according to skin color
pigmentocracy - ANS ✔✔A society in which Blacks, Asians, and Latinx have different social statuses
according to their skin color
legal permanent resident - ANS ✔✔someone who is legally and permanently living in the U.S., but not a
citizen
slavery and genocide - ANS ✔✔some scholars argue that the preference for light skin stems from the
history of ___ and ___ in the Americas
mulattos - ANS ✔✔Persons of mixed European and African ancestry
-darker than White people but lighter than Black people
hypodescent - ANS ✔✔the idea that having any amount of black ancestry makes you black
-it has existed since the colonial era
-Africans who were brought to the North American colonies as slaves were primarily dark-skinned
-state laws and their classifications of who is Black
-association of light skin with elite status and higher class
-skin color stratification: White slaves typically worked in homes instead of fields - ANS ✔✔what is the
origin of colorism
castas - ANS ✔✔an elaborate system developed by the Spaniards based on ancestry that determined
one's social and legal ranking in society
mesizos - ANS ✔✔persons with on Spanish and one indigenous parent
Ramayana - ANS ✔✔the ancient Sanskrit text that featured light skin as ideal
-Ramayana: women are describe to be beautiful with white faces that shine like the moon
-Dutch-colonial period: preferential treatment to Dutch-Indonesian ancestry; Japanese
-in many African tribes, many women with brown or reddish skins are seen as more beautiful than those
with very dark skin
-skin whitening products in Asia - ANS ✔✔origins of colorism in asia and africa
, global color hierarchy - ANS ✔✔white or light skin is privileged and people-especially women-strive to
become lighter
diaspora - ANS ✔✔A dispersion of people from their homeland
Aryan Indian beauty ideals, Japanese and Chinese ideas of white skin as a sign of leisure, and colonial
domination of India and Indonesia by European powers - ANS ✔✔the privileging of light skin in Asia and
among Asian Americans has its roots in?
caste system - ANS ✔✔In India, the preference for light skin is connected to?
mestizo - ANS ✔✔A person of mixed Spanish and Native American ancestry
mestizo, pardo - ANS ✔✔___ is an official classification in Mexico, Peru, and other countries, and ___
(brown) is an official classification in Brazil
global color hierarcy - ANS ✔✔a worldwide system in which light skin is privileged and people- especially
women- strive to become lighter
leisure, work - ANS ✔✔In Asia, the preference for light skin is equated with ___ and dark win with___
beauty - ANS ✔✔light-skinned artists of color are more likely to rise to fame because light skin is
associated with ___ both in the US and around the globe
patriarchy - ANS ✔✔Margaret Hunter explains that beauty, like colorism, is an ideology that can be used
as a tool to maintain ___, or male dominance in a society
beauty queue - ANS ✔✔a concept explaining how sexism and racism interact to create a queue of
women ranging from the lightest to the darkest, in which the lightest get the most resources
skin color privilege - ANS ✔✔the privilege of being considered more beautiful as a result of having
lighter skin
erotic capital - ANS ✔✔a concept linking the attractiveness and sensuality of a woman to her skin color
color hierarchy in Indo-Trinidadin - ANS ✔✔the ultimate desire to become light, but not White, as
Whiteness signifies cultural loss
-many slaves were rapped, causing a mix of races and lighter offspring
-Black elites: Black people with lighter skin; given slightly better positions
-were more likely to be freed - ANS ✔✔what role did colorism play during slavery?
-in Indonesia, this preference for light skin was reinforced during the Dutch colonial period
-when Japanese beame the colonial power in Indonesia in 1942, they also brought their preference for
lighter skin - ANS ✔✔origins of colorism in asia
privilege - ANS ✔✔a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular
person or group of people
REVIEW QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 2026/2027
colorism - ANS ✔✔the belief that within races, lighter is better
-gives differential value to people in the same racial group based on a continuum from light to dark
-can also describe eye color, hair color and texture
skin-color stratification - ANS ✔✔a system in which resources such as income and status are distributed
unequally according to skin color
pigmentocracy - ANS ✔✔A society in which Blacks, Asians, and Latinx have different social statuses
according to their skin color
legal permanent resident - ANS ✔✔someone who is legally and permanently living in the U.S., but not a
citizen
slavery and genocide - ANS ✔✔some scholars argue that the preference for light skin stems from the
history of ___ and ___ in the Americas
mulattos - ANS ✔✔Persons of mixed European and African ancestry
-darker than White people but lighter than Black people
hypodescent - ANS ✔✔the idea that having any amount of black ancestry makes you black
-it has existed since the colonial era
-Africans who were brought to the North American colonies as slaves were primarily dark-skinned
-state laws and their classifications of who is Black
-association of light skin with elite status and higher class
-skin color stratification: White slaves typically worked in homes instead of fields - ANS ✔✔what is the
origin of colorism
castas - ANS ✔✔an elaborate system developed by the Spaniards based on ancestry that determined
one's social and legal ranking in society
mesizos - ANS ✔✔persons with on Spanish and one indigenous parent
Ramayana - ANS ✔✔the ancient Sanskrit text that featured light skin as ideal
-Ramayana: women are describe to be beautiful with white faces that shine like the moon
-Dutch-colonial period: preferential treatment to Dutch-Indonesian ancestry; Japanese
-in many African tribes, many women with brown or reddish skins are seen as more beautiful than those
with very dark skin
-skin whitening products in Asia - ANS ✔✔origins of colorism in asia and africa
, global color hierarchy - ANS ✔✔white or light skin is privileged and people-especially women-strive to
become lighter
diaspora - ANS ✔✔A dispersion of people from their homeland
Aryan Indian beauty ideals, Japanese and Chinese ideas of white skin as a sign of leisure, and colonial
domination of India and Indonesia by European powers - ANS ✔✔the privileging of light skin in Asia and
among Asian Americans has its roots in?
caste system - ANS ✔✔In India, the preference for light skin is connected to?
mestizo - ANS ✔✔A person of mixed Spanish and Native American ancestry
mestizo, pardo - ANS ✔✔___ is an official classification in Mexico, Peru, and other countries, and ___
(brown) is an official classification in Brazil
global color hierarcy - ANS ✔✔a worldwide system in which light skin is privileged and people- especially
women- strive to become lighter
leisure, work - ANS ✔✔In Asia, the preference for light skin is equated with ___ and dark win with___
beauty - ANS ✔✔light-skinned artists of color are more likely to rise to fame because light skin is
associated with ___ both in the US and around the globe
patriarchy - ANS ✔✔Margaret Hunter explains that beauty, like colorism, is an ideology that can be used
as a tool to maintain ___, or male dominance in a society
beauty queue - ANS ✔✔a concept explaining how sexism and racism interact to create a queue of
women ranging from the lightest to the darkest, in which the lightest get the most resources
skin color privilege - ANS ✔✔the privilege of being considered more beautiful as a result of having
lighter skin
erotic capital - ANS ✔✔a concept linking the attractiveness and sensuality of a woman to her skin color
color hierarchy in Indo-Trinidadin - ANS ✔✔the ultimate desire to become light, but not White, as
Whiteness signifies cultural loss
-many slaves were rapped, causing a mix of races and lighter offspring
-Black elites: Black people with lighter skin; given slightly better positions
-were more likely to be freed - ANS ✔✔what role did colorism play during slavery?
-in Indonesia, this preference for light skin was reinforced during the Dutch colonial period
-when Japanese beame the colonial power in Indonesia in 1942, they also brought their preference for
lighter skin - ANS ✔✔origins of colorism in asia
privilege - ANS ✔✔a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular
person or group of people
