Colorism in Zanzibar

A Qualitative Field Study on The Effects of Colorism on Women’s Identity and Ethnicity Construction

Feven Tekie

Department of Global Political Studies International Migration and Ethnic Relations (IMER) Two-Year Master’s Thesis, 30 Credits, January 2020 Supervisor: Margareta Popoola Examiner: Anne Sofie Roald

Abstract This paper is a by-product of a minor field study conducted in Zanzibar, Tanzania during eight consecutive weeks in early 2019. The purpose of the study was to examine how colorism affects women’s identity and ethnicity construction through the research questions; how do women in Zanzibar experience colorism in their daily lives and; how does colorism affect their self-perception? The data was collected through seven semi- structured interviews with women in Zanzibar and observations. The concepts of identity and ethnicity saturated the study and the identity process theory (IPT) was used as a theoretical framework to analyze the inquiry. The findings suggest that colorist ideals were dominant in society as light and medium colors were more valued than dark. This was demonstrated by associating light and medium skin color, as well as relaxed and straight hair to “good” and “beautiful”. However, colorism proved to impact women in their daily lives to various degrees. Informants who grew up on the mainland admitted to being more affected and expressed feelings of unworthiness or praise, depending on skin color. Whereas women born and raised on Zanzibar, felt colorism affected their lives minimally, but nevertheless acknowledged the existing problems for many women of e.g. skin bleaching. According to the IPT, a strong sense of distinctiveness from mainlanders, a continuity in past and present identity and a high self-efficacy seemed to guard self-esteem against existing colorist ideals. Furthermore, inclusion to the Zanzibari ethnic identity proved not to be affected by colorism, as color was not a prerequisite factor to ethnicity but rather, shared land, religion, and history.

Keywords: Colorism, Zanzibar, Tanzania, Identity, Ethnicity, Skin Color Bias, Internalized Racism, Identity Process Theory

Word count: 20, 814

Acknowledgements There are many people involved in this journey whom I would like to thank. To begin with, I am forever grateful to the Swedish International Development and Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and Malmö University for granting me this Minor Field Study (MFS) scholarship. Without it, this research project would not have been feasible. To all the women I interviewed who so kindly devoted me their time, and the staff at The State University of Zanzibar who helped me in all my endeavors, I would like to give the biggest ‘thank you’. I also want to show gratitude to all of the people I have met along the way who has sent me articles, raised my awareness and enriched me with knowledge on colorism. Your help and insights have been irreplaceable. To my supervisor, Margareta Popoola, thank you for the many interesting conversations that have flourished, your guidance and your devotion.

Asante sana Zanzibar, mpaka muda mwingine tutakapokutana

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Table of Contents 1. INTRODUCTION ...... 1 AIM AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS ...... 1 DELIMITATIONS ...... 2 CLARIFICATIONS ...... 2 STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS ...... 3 2. CONTEXTUAL BACKGROUND ...... 4 CONCEPTUALIZING COLORISM ...... 4 RESEARCH LOCATION: ZANZIBAR ...... 6 3. LITERATURE REVIEW ...... 8 MAIN FINDINGS ...... 8 RESEARCH GAP AND CONTRIBUTION ...... 12 4. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ...... 13 IDENTITY PROCESS THEORY ...... 13 IDENTITY ...... 15 ETHNICITY AND ETHNIC IDENTIFICATION ...... 15 5. METHODOLOGY ...... 17 PHILOSOPHICAL POSITION ...... 17 RESEARCH DESIGN ...... 17 INTERVIEWS ...... 18 OBSERVATIONS ...... 20 DATA ANALYSIS ...... 21 VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY ...... 22 RESEARCHER POSITIONALITY ...... 23 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS ...... 24 6. FINDINGS ...... 25 7. DISCUSSION ...... 43 COLORISM AS A THREAT ...... 43 COLORISM’S EFFECTS ON THE ‘SELF’ ...... 44 COPING METHODS ...... 50 8. CONCLUSION ...... 53 CONCLUDING REMARKS ...... 53 SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH ...... 54 9. REFERENCE LIST ...... 55 APPENDIX I ...... 62 APPENDIX II ...... 68 APPENDIX III ...... 70

1. Introduction

Some scholars have argued that colorism is one of the decade’s most intense manifestations of ‘racial’ inequality (Burton, 2010: 443). As a global phenomenon that has persisted over centuries, expressions of colorism can today be seen worldwide among various cultures and nations. From booming skin bleaching industries in Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean, to the entertainment industry in the US and small-scale households globally. In countries throughout Africa, such as Nigeria and Zambia, statistics show that over half of the female population use skin bleaching products (Blay, 2011: 5; World Health Organization). American actress Zendaya expressed that she held a privilege by being light-skinned in American popular culture and stated “I am Hollywood’s, I guess you could say, acceptable version of a Black girl, and that has to change (Danielle, 2018). When winning ‘Miss Algeria 2019’, Khadija Ben Hamou, endured massive racist criticism, including from Algerians, for her facial features and being ‘too dark’ (BBC, 2019b; Morocco World News, 2019). Kenyan Oscar-winning actress, Lupita Nyong’o, shared that her experiences of colorism brought her to feeling unworthy as a child, because of her darker skin color (BBC, 2019a).

After dissecting a lack of existing academic research of the effects on identity construction, as a consequence of the above-mentioned acts of internalized racism, the idea for this study came into effect. This master’s thesis was partially conducted in Zanzibar, Tanzania where the data collection took place in early 2019. Although more known for its’ turquoise waters, paradise beaches and as the birthplace of Freddie Mercury, Zanzibar holds a rich history with inhabitants originating from various corners of the world. As a former colony and slave-trade hub in the region, colorism in Zanzibar becomes particularly significant to study, as colorist ideas relate strongly to both colonization and slavery (Haywood, 2017: 762).

Aim and Research Questions The research paper aims to explore how colorism is experienced by women in Zanzibar and how it affects their identity and ethnicity construction. To achieve this aim, the following research questions will guide the inquiry; how do women in Zanzibar experience colorism in their daily lives and; how does colorism affect their self- perception? To answer these questions, semi-structured interviews were conducted

with seven women in Zanzibar and observations were done as a complementary method with the scope of giving an overall perspective of how colorism manifests itself in Zanzibar.

Delimitations To narrow down the scope of this study, while considering the shortage of time, some delimitations had to be made. Firstly, this paper only focused on the experiences of women and not men. Even though men are also affected by colorism, women have been shown to be more affected (Chen et al., 2018: 257; Hunter, 2016: 55). Secondly, due to convenience when sampling, all the informants had some kind of academic background, were young, spoke English fairly well and lived in the capital Stone Town or the outskirts. Therefore, this might affect the results of the research as their experiences of colorism and opinions might differ from other Zanzibari women with diverse backgrounds. Thirdly, as studies of colorism can be of importance in many nations and cultures, the interviews all took place in Zanzibar and the choice of location will be described in Research Location: Zanzibar. Therefore, the study can only account for some women’s experiences on this particular island, which limits its’ generalizability.

Clarifications Black – Many of the people in Zanzibar used the word ‘Black’ to describe a person with dark skin color (concerning people and the context in Zanzibar). Therefore, the word Black will not be applied in terms of ‘race’ as it is usually in American discourse to describe African Americans or persons of African descent.

Mzungu – Referring to a person who is a foreigner (Swahili direct translation: wanderer) to the land. Most of the time, this implies the person being White.

Skin color – A way to refer to a person’s skin color. Whilst skin tone and skin complexion also can imply the color of one’s skin, they can also refer to other elements of a person’s appearance such as skin texture or cool/warm skin tones. This way of referring to one’s skin color is also exempt from any racial connotations and color- based race labels (Chen et al., 2018: 256).

Swahili people – A common way for people in Zanzibar with African origin to refer to themselves.

Tanzania – Zanzibar works as a semi-autonomous state within the country of Tanzania and when Tanzania or Mainland is written in this text, reference is to the mainland.

White – Frequently, many of the informants stated the word to describe a Zanzibari/Tanzanian with lighter skin color. On a few occasions, the word was used to describe a foreigner, e.g. European who is White. To ensure clarity, the word will refer to the first meaning of a Zanzibari or Tanzanian person with lighter (brown/lighter brown) skin color.

Zanzibari – inhabitants of Zanzibar who claim to be Zanzibaris. This does not include non-residents, foreigners who stay here for shorter periods or Tanzanians who identify as mainlanders.

Zanzibar – When referring to Zanzibar in this paper, the island of Pemba or other small surrounding islands, are not taken into consideration as the study has not been conducted there. Unguja is the most known island to refer to as Zanzibar. Besides, when simply stating “the island” throughout the text, the reference is to the island of Unguja (view: Figure 1 and Figure 2 in Appendix I).

Structure of the Thesis This paper is structured into eight chapters. In Chapter 1 the scope of the research has been introduced to the reader. Chapter 2 will provide a brief contextual background to the topic of colorism and also the cultural context in which this field study was conducted. In Chapter 3 a literature review will follow that lists some of the previous findings related to the research topic. Chapter 4 will outline the theoretical framework and in Chapter 5 the methodology will be described more in-depth. Following in Chapter 6, the findings of the interviews and observations will unfold. In Chapter 7 a discussion of the findings in relation to the literature review and theoretical framework will take place. Finally, Chapter 8 will conclude with responding to the research aim and also propose some suggestions for further research in the field.

2. Contextual Background

This chapter sets out to familiarize the reader with colorism, through both a present and a historical perspective. To get an insight into the country and culture in which this study was carried out, a brief introduction to Zanzibar is presented as well as the motivations behind selecting this place as the research location.

”Colorism is born of racism. It is the daughter of racism”. - Lupita Nyong’o (BBC, 2019a).

Conceptualizing Colorism The term ‘colorism’ was first coined by Alice Walker in 1983, where she stated that it was; “prejudicial or preferential treatment of same-race people based solely on their color” (Walker, 1983: 290). In some contexts, colorism can also be referred to as shadism, skin tone bias, color complex or pigmentocracy (Gabriel, 2007: 5). It stands for both the privilege and discrimination a person experiences depending on the degree of lightness in a person’s skin color. The prejudice, perceptions of beauty and stereotyping occur both within and between ‘racial’ groups (ibid; Hochschild and Weaver, 2007: 646). Margaret Hunter, one of the most eminent scholars within the academic field of colorism, defines colorism as; “a process that privileges light-skinned people of color over dark in areas such as income, education, housing, and the marriage market”, and thus affecting more than just beauty standards, as colorism is commonly associated to (2007: 237). The skin-color bias, although a form of racism common in many fields and institutions, does not necessarily coincide with individuals being racist per se, as it oftentimes in unconscious (Hunter, 2016: 55).

Even though the term is fairly new, the ideology of colorism and the practices are not (Jones, 2000: 1489). Whilst some argue that colorism evolved through Europeans giving preferential treatment to individuals and groups in places like Africa, Asia and Latin America who had more Eurocentric physical appearances (Keith and Monroe, 2016: 8), others have found that colorist practices were occurring before ages of colonization. For instance, in ancient Egypt, the intermixing of Africans and Asians led to the darkest Egyptians being pushed down the social ladder and the mixed gaining social, political and economic control (Gabriel, 2007: 9). Dahan Kalev stated that the

discourse about colorism in Israel started in 1882 with the birth of the Zionist movement and that globally, the desire to have lighter skin can be traced back to ancient times (2018: 2102-2103). Hyein was also of that idea and underlined that people in Korea would apply rice powder on their skin to lighten it before any contact with the ‘western world’ (2016: 45).

During the sixteenth century, the English had already asserted negative connotations to the word “black”. It was seen as dirty, evil, deadly, devilish and ugly, while its’ opposite, “white” was equated to be beautiful, good, godly and clean. (Gabriel, 2007: 6). Christian and Manichean ideologies have been endorsing an idea of dualism that many claim to have influenced the institution of colorism. By depicting Christ as White and associating whiteness to godliness, good, and “the light”, blackness has in contrast been representative of the dark, evil and immoral (Blay, 2011: 8). The Manichean ideology was also held by philosophers such as Descartes, Hume, and Kant, who all became notable devotees of this philosophical standpoint (ibid: 9). According to Blay, the biggest impact the Manichean ideology had, was on the construction of identities making White the superior one and Black inferior (ibid: 10). In many languages today, sayings such as “white Christmas”, “white lie”, “blackmail” and “black market” are all influenced by the Manichean worldview (ibid).

However, most of the scholars today argue that modern-day colorism stems from slavery and European colonization (Haywood, 2017: 762). In the age of slavery in the US, lighter-skinned slaves, who often were the result of slave-owners raping enslaved women, would be treated better and become house slaves whilst their darker-skinned counterparts, would be forced to the fields. Also, for a slave owner to buy a lighter- skinned black female with long hair and white phenotypical features, entailed a higher social status for the slaveholder (Jordan, 2018: 250; Gasman and Abiola, 2016: 40-41). Perpetual degradation of black bodies and white supremacy have been key drivers of linking lightness to something desirable (Keith and Monroe, 2016: 5). Although, the divide between lighter and darker-skinned Blacks did not only show through the White slave owners. It also manifested itself within Black communities through marriage preferences, blue vein societies and fraternal organizations where the brown paper bag was used to distinguish those of lighter (ibid: 41).

In Latin America, conquest and colonization resulted in a large population mixed with European, African and Indigenous ancestry (Keith and Monroe, 2016: 7). The term “mejorar la raza” is common and refers to marrying someone White to increase or better one’s racial status (Haywood, 2017: 762). Colonialists in the Americas not only enforced the thought of a particular language, religion and culture as being superior, but they also brought ideas of bodily aesthetics that they viewed as superior, such as blonde hair, pale skin, and blue eyes. This eventually led to the colonized internalizing the dominant ideology of the Europeans (Hunter, 2016: 55). Many of Afro-Latinos today tend to have to explain that they are both Latino and Black due to the historical narrative that constructed Latino as being distant from being Black (Haywood, 2017: 765).

Research Location: Zanzibar In 1963, the islands in the Zanzibar archipelago gained its’ independence, to then one year later, merge with the mainland of Tanganyika and form what we now know as the United Republic of Tanzania. Today, Zanzibar has a population of 1, 3 million spread mainly in the bigger islands of Unguja and Pemba and works as a semi-autonomous region of Tanzania with its’ government and parliament (Globalis, 2018; World Population Review, 2019). The capital of Zanzibar is Zanzibar City, which is located in Unguja with its’ historical center and World Heritage Site, Stone Town (Tanzania Tourist Board). Contrary to the mainland, the inhabitants of Zanzibar (99%) and coastal Tanzania mostly adhere to Islam. The official languages of Zanzibar are Swahili and English but Arabic also has a stronghold in the society (Globalis, 2018). The island was long known as ‘the spice island’ and in particular, the island became the largest clove exporter in the world. Nevertheless, today the spice trade has seen a decline and the island is more known for its’ tourism and ‘paradise beaches’ (Aljazeera, 2016). The tourism industry today stands for a major income source in Zanzibar and is the largest source of foreign exchange in Zanzibar (World Bank, 2019: 14).

The people said to have settled first on Zanzibar were Bantu-speaking Africans. For 200 years it was ruled by the Portuguese to then be dominated by Omanis in the 17th century. In 1832, the Sultan of Oman moved the capital from Muscat to Zanzibar, which by that time was a key slave-trading center (Aljazeera, 2016). People were brought in as slaves mainly from the Democratic Republic of Congo and what today

consists of mainland Tanzania. They were auctioned off to countries in Asia such as Persia, India and Arab countries (Tanzania UNESCO, 2006). The slave-trade on Zanzibar was one of the world’s last slave markets and was run by Arab traders until the’ abolishment (Smith, 2010). Even after it’s’ abolishment in 1873 by the British, it secretly continued for years (Tanzania UNESCO, 2006). The Omani rule, Asian merchants and traders who accompanied the Omanis in their endeavors with slave auctions, simultaneously created a hierarchical system where the Arabs were considered superior to the Africans. Consequently, proximity to Arab ancestry became sought-after. Following, the Pan-Africanist movement, anti-colonialism and Revolution in 1964 emerged, sparking what we now know as Zanzibari identity (Keshodkar, 2013: 3-4). The language of Swahili and the religion of Islam emerged as markers for the united Zanzibari identity (Keshodkar, 2013: 5,26).

Zanzibar was the selected location for numerous reasons. The island has a rich history and since the early 1st century, Zanzibar served as a gateway for Arab, British, European, Indian and Persian tradesmen (Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar). This influx of people from all corners of the world, together with the massive slave- trade on the island, contributed to Zanzibar becoming a multi-ethnic melting pot (Chiteji et al.). When studying colorism, this was seen as an advantage as it could allow access to different people’s experiences with the implications of their skin color. Additionally, as colorism is linked to colonization, it seemed relevant and appropriate to conduct the study in a historical place that experienced decades of colonialism like Zanzibar.

However, Zanzibar is not only of interest when studying ‘ethnic’ and ‘racial’ issues from a historical lens but also from a modern-day perspective as immigration to the island, especially from the mainland and countries both in Africa and the ‘Western hemisphere’, is grand. Also, the major tourism-boom that the island has experienced in the past 20 years has led to the presence of a lot of white and light-skinned people on the island. This was also viewed as valuable to the study because it allows for having a frame of reference when discussing whiteness. Zanzibar was also optimal as a research location due to practical reasons. The island has a lot of interactions with tourists and is therefore accustomed to foreigners and many also speak English fairly well.

3. Literature Review

Although significant studies relating colorism to identity and ethnicity construction are scarce, this chapter seeks to dissect the main findings within the study of colorism and themes connected to it such as skin color bias, whiteness, skin bleaching, and ethnic identification.

Main Findings An abundance of the existing research produced in the US, show that African Americans, Asians and Latinx in the US with lighter colors do comparably well to their ethnic-racial group (Keith and Monroe, 2016: 4; Vasquez, 2011: 439-440). On the contrary, people of darker skin are negatively affected both in educational outcomes, wages, finding an occupation and romantic options (Gabriel, 2007: 1; Keith and Monroe, 2016: 5). Hunter found in her study of colorism and education, that students of color felt the effects of white racism among their race and community, even if there was no presence of white students (2016: 57). Even though much of the research suggests that people of darker skin are more affected, Hunter found that lighter-skinned persons can be disadvantaged when it comes to ethnic legitimacy. Darker skin tones are in many ethnic communities perceived as being more ethnically authentic and as a consequence, many lighter-skinned and biracial can feel abandoned or left out of their co-ethnic groups (2007: 244).

The concept of social capital indicates that people can possess social advantages, transmitted by generations. Coleman, a prominent theorist within this paradigm argued that if the capital is not renewed, it risks being extinct (Cherti, 2008: 32-38). Many studies on colorism have been geared towards studying its’ connection to marriage homogamy, in this context; that similar color is a determinant when choosing a partner. According to Reece (2018: 19) and Bodenhorn (2006: 256, 259), this can be explained by the fact that marriage acts as a mechanism for transmitting certain social advantages. Light skin color then, just as economic or financial capital, acts as capital according to Dahan Kalev (2018: 2102) and Margaret Hunter (2016: 57). Using bleaching creams and getting cosmetic surgery can thus be seen as a way of acquiring racial capital (Hunter, 2016: 57). Hence, during the times of slavery in the US, lighter-skinned

parents could pass on educational advantages generationally due to the advantages held as house slaves, such as literacy (Gasman and Abiola, 2016: 41).

Characteristics such as the width of the nose, the fullness of the lips and the texture of hair and in particular, skin color, have been used as mechanisms to designate people into different racial groups (Jones, 2000:1493-1494). Although skin color has played a huge part in the categorization of people into different racial groups in the US, it has not been the sole determinant. If, for example, a person who appears to be White, have ancestors that are Black, that peculiarity becomes a criterion to be categorized in the ‘Black’ category. Here, ancestry becomes the primary characteristic rather than appearance (ibid: 1495-1496). In the American context, this can be explained by ‘the one-drop rule’ which was a way for White people to assign people to the ‘Black category’ if they had a “drop of Black ancestry”. The system of slavery was built on the assumption that White was the superior race and therefore they could not become slaves. The drop-rule then justified the enslavement of ‘multi-racial’ slaves and hence, the emergence of the one-drop rule (Jordan, 2018: 250; Khanna, 2018: 96-98).

White supremacy is characterized by a system of maintenance and ideology. As such, it is maintained by many Whites, but not only, as many non-whites also unknowingly or purposely adheres to and practices the ideology. White supremacy is viewed to be upheld by e.g. colorist thoughts and practices. Even though people who bleach their skin don’t necessarily want to become or strive for absolute whiteness, they are striving to access a privilege that has throughout history been awarded those who approximate whiteness the most and therefore endorsing the superiority of whiteness (Blay, 2011: 7-8). The practice of bleaching one’s skin, therefore, becomes a way of empowering oneself and approximating a white ideal (ibid: 37). Blay explains that skin bleaching and other forms of altering one’s appearance such as straightening hair and undergoing surgery to obtain aquiline features is an attempt to reach the white ideal and consequently, get access to a social status that throughout history have been reserved for Whites (ibid: 4). Renowned psychiatrist and philosopher Frantz Fanon also asserted this when stating that women in Martinique were keen on marrying into whiteness or the seemingly least Black man, in an attempt of ‘moving up’ the social ladder 1952: 33).

Vasquez stated that “the perceptions of people of color about themselves and others with colorism is a powerful mitigating factor in the development of racial/ethnic identity, acculturation, language identity, and its impact on the perceptions of gender throughout these processes” (2014: 440). On the same note, Chen et al. stated that values and culture-based meaning put on skin color, could influence an individual’s self-evaluation, perception of one’s body image and attitude (2018: 256; Vasquez, 2011: 439). Jacobs et al. argue that the usage of skin bleaching creams can partially stem from a deeply rooted emotional and cognitive evaluation of one’s worth, in other words, self-esteem (2016: 69). In a study done in Tanzania, the women who used products with skin whitening agents, among many motives claimed they wanted to be more beautiful, remove pimples and rashes, look more European and attract the opposite sex (Blay, 2011: 22). In South Africa, the legacy of apartheid along with western beauty standards creates the desire to lighten the skin to overcome color stigma but also institutional forms of discrimination (Jacobs et al., 2016: 67).

According to medical experts, skin bleaching is “one of the most common forms of harmful body modification practices” (Jacobs et al., 2016: 67). Yet, the skin bleaching industry is thriving and the number of people using skin lightening products is increasing rapidly. Many of the scholars interested in colorism and how it manifests itself have been geared towards studying the practice of skin bleaching (Blay, 2011: 5). In India, the fairness cosmetics industry is estimated to be worth about US$180 million (Nagar, 2018: 1). Estimates also show that 35 % of South African women have used or are using skin lightening products. In Bamako, Mali the number is 25 %, in Dakar, Senegal 27% and in Lagos, Nigeria, 77% (World Health Organization). In the Ivory Coast, the estimates show that 80 % of women who are seemingly fair in their color use skin lightening products regularly. In Ghana, more than 30% of the population, both male and female, are reportedly using bleaching creams regularly. In Zambia, 60% of all women are estimated to use products with skin lightening components (Blay, 2011: 5). The World Health Organization estimated that 40 % of women in China, the Philippines, Korea, and Malaysia have in some period of their life used skin lightening products (Hyein, 2016: 45). Most of the skin lightening products are produced in European and Asian countries and exported to Africa and other places in the world. Blay states that this is yet another exemplification that Black bodies are being exploited whilst upholding the ideal of whiteness in the world. Meanwhile, the White body is

being exempt and protected from the harmful practice, as skin lightening products were banned in Europe after the reign of Elizabeth I when it was discovered to be affecting people’s health as early as 1724 (2011: 24-25).

However, colorism, as mentioned previously, does not only manifest itself in the desire to have lighter skin. It also entails the wish to have more “Caucasian features”. Statistics show that in Korea, one of five women have undergone some plastic surgery to achieve more “White features” (Hyein, 2016: 45). Snell explains that these measures are not taken to ‘pass’ for White, but rather appearing more approachable to a larger White populous (2017: 206). Reece also highlighted that colorism is not necessarily the desire to become White, but more so of approaching whiteness by stating that colorism is “the process by which people of color are awarded advantages based on their phenotypical proximity to whiteness” (2018: 5).

In the 1920’s the trend of fair skin and white-powdered faces became outdated. This due to the discovery of benefits of vitamin D generated by the sun, a changed mindset that no longer viewed fairer skin and indoor work as a token of social class and famous people like Coco Chanel proclaiming the golden tan as a ‘chic look’ (Chen et al., 2018: 256). Some claim that the current and future sought-after color, by Whites and non- Whites alike, seem to be a middle-way color; ‘beige’ (Snell, 2017: 205). Even though there seems to be a preference for lighter or ‘beige’ skin colors around the world, there is no evidence in science that confirms that specific skin colors are traits humans are attracted to biologically (Currie and Little, 2009: 409). However, numerous scientific evidence links attractiveness to traits such as symmetry in the face, volume-to-height index and waist-to-hip ratio. The latter ones have been some of the biggest indicators of attraction when humans choose a female partner. Reasons for this being that they signal female reproductive health such as fertility, for the opposite sex (ibid: 410; Dural et al., 2015: 232-233).

Research Gap and Contribution After reviewing the previous literature on colorism, it appears that most of the existing research has been conducted in the US. As a result, the academic contribution has mainly emphasized the implications of colorism and its’ correlation to ‘race’, in various intersectional ways. Many scholars have in particular investigated the outcomes of darker-skinned vs. lighter-skinned people within various racial groups in the marriage market, education, and incarceration. Much of the research has also addressed the beauty industry and the excessive usage of bleaching products in various countries around the world. However, little has been researched on the effects of colorism on people’s identity and/or ethnicity construction. Beyond this, the little research on colorism that has been produced in African countries has largely been centered on post- apartheid South Africa.

The contribution this research project aims to make is threefold. Firstly, this thesis aims to fill the research gap within the academic field of colorism by bringing light to effects on identity formation and bringing perspectives from an East-African country. Secondly, as colorism relates significantly to the concepts of identity and ethnicity, the study hopes to contribute to the ER part of the master’s program, IMER (International Migration and Ethnic Relations). Thirdly, upon request, this paper will also be shared with the Ministry of Culture in Zanzibar, who confirmed that a similar study has not been done in Zanzibar prior to this. For this reason, another aim is that the humble findings of this study, hopefully, can spark interesting discussions amongst people and authorities in Zanzibar.

4. Theoretical Framework

“What is this thing – this identity – which people are supposed to carry around with them?” - (Billig, 1995: 7).

In order for the study not to lack precision, a key step in the initial stages becomes to thoroughly conceptualize the terms that will saturate the study (6 and Bellamy, 2012: 131). This chapter will, therefore, explain how the identity process theory, identity, and ethnicity are intended to be used in this paper. The main theory will first be introduced and then followed by definitions of the concepts that constitute the aim of this study.

Identity Process Theory The identity process theory (hereinafter: IPT) was developed by Glynis Breakwell in 1986 with the intention to “achieve a better understanding of how people seek to cope with experiences that they find threatening to their identity” (Breakwell, 2014: 21). Later, the theory has been used to assess four identity principles: distinctiveness, continuity, self-esteem and self-efficacy and how the motive of protecting these principles shape the identity structure (Vignoles et al., 2006: 308). IPT argues that self- identity should be viewed in terms of two universal processes; assimilation- accommodation and evaluation. The first process treats the handling of new information to the identity structure, whilst the latter one refers to the value that gets put on the contents of identity (Jaspal, 2013: 4).

Illustration 1: Construction of self-identity according to Breakwell. (Source: author). 13

Distinctiveness (1) entails the need to preserve personal distinctiveness and uniqueness. In research regarding settlement and community identity, this principle has been seen to associate to distinctiveness in terms of lifestyle and connection to one’s land and environment. Breakwell suggests that the preservation of one’s self-concept throughout time and situation depends largely on continuity (2). This means that past and present definitions of self are not jeopardized by threats to the self. Self-esteem (3) refers to a person’s positive evaluation of its and its group identity’s worth and social value. This has been regarded as a central part of the ‘self’ (Twigger-Ross and Uzzell, 1996: 207- 208). On the other hand, self-efficacy (4) is a later added principle that entails the individual maintaining and enhancing feelings of control and confidence in their capabilities (Vignoles et al., 2006: 309). This principle relates highly to personal agency (Twigger-Ross and Uzzell, 1996: 207-208).

The perception of what a threat is can be explained in terms of the very coping processes set to deal with these threats. They are only significant in social contexts as they, and the coping methods need to be understood through dominant beliefs and expectations in the society (Breakwell, 1986: 7, 49). Breakwell reinforces that “the individual learns their social worth through interaction in the context of dominant ideologies” (ibid: 98). However, she also highlights the differences between a threat to a sudden change as e.g. being fired, to being in a state of threatening position due to unemployment (ibid: 75-77). Nevertheless, if the principles are threatened, the person will use strategies to cope with the posed threat (Jaspal, 2013: 5).

But then, what constitutes a coping method? Breakwell states: “any thought or action which succeeds in eliminating or ameliorating threat can be considered as a coping strategy, whether it is consciously recognized as intentional or not” (1986: 79). She argues that although a person might not admit or be aware of using a coping method, the observer may dissect a threatening position and the used coping methods. For instance, if denial is the used coping method of an individual, this person will not claim that a denial strategy is being implemented to cope with the threat (ibid). The coping strategies can be manifested at three levels; intrapsychic deals with cognition, values, and emotions such as denial or salience. Interpersonal focuses on action and negotiation with other people and intergroup describe group strategies such as self-help groups or social movements (Jaspal, 2013: 5; Breakwell, 1986: 77-105).

Identity Even though most people seem to have a clear understanding of what identity is, a precise definition can be troublesome to pin down (Lawler, 2014: 1). The word ‘identity’ and ‘identical’ stems from the Latin word idem, meaning ‘same’. This then presupposes that humans have a ‘shared identity’ by simply being humans and other categorizations based on gender, nationality, etc. Simultaneously, there is also an aspect of identity that suggests a difference from others and argues for uniqueness (Lawler, 2014: 10). Two influential people on studies of identity, Barth and Tajfel, both described identity and identification as a process. While Barth regarded identification as a by-product due to an individual’s interests, Tajfel argued that identification was based on group membership that generates different behavior in favoritism and discrimination, based on membership (Jenkins, 2008: 7).

Sociologist Richard Jenkins defines the essential meaning of identity as knowing “who is who” and thus also, what is what (2008: 5). This then implies us knowing who we ourselves are, who others are and others knowing who we are. His understanding of identity is that it is characterized by relationships based on similarity and/or difference, which individuals and collectivities have with other individuals and collectivities (Jenkins, 2008: 17-19). He also makes a distinction between collective identity and individual identity, stating that the two are separate phenomena. The collective identity he describes as emphasizing similarity whilst individual identity emphasize difference (ibid: 37-38). Identification makes sense because of interactions and relationships with other people, and because of this, hierarchies exist socially and interactionally. Because of these relationships, hierarchies of scales of preference, ambivalence, competition, hostility and, partnership occur (ibid: 5-6). This study will apply Jenkins understanding of identity.

Ethnicity and Ethnic Identification The word ‘ethnicity’ derives from the Greek word ethnos which today, many refer to as ‘people’ or ‘nation’ (Jenkins, 1997: 10). In its’ essence, ethnicity can be described as a question of ‘peoplehood’ (ibid). Baumann argued that the term ‘ethnic’ could be distinguished in two separate ways (1996: 17). The first one is connected to ‘race’ or ‘descent’, i.e. biologic criteria. The departing point of this paper, Baumann, as well as many other social scientists, neglects this biological argument and rather view these

criteria as social constructs (ibid: 17-18; Jaspal and Cinnirella, 2011: 508). The second one, which will be applied in this study, is judgment that ethnic division simply arises and develop from collectives feeling a sense of distinctiveness from other groups (Baumann, 1996: 18). ‘Ethnicity’, as a social construction, derived from Weber and Barth who defined ethnicity as “a subset of people whose members share common national, ancestral, cultural, immigration or religious characteristics that distinguish them from other groups” (Burton, 2010: 440-445).

Stemming from the workings of Durkheim and Mauss, the study of classification has been of pivotal relevance in anthropology. The central idea is that humans are classifying beings by nature, who create classes of different phenomena to make symbolic orders, often power asymmetries (Eriksen, 1993: 72). Jaspal and Cinnirella argued that a prerequisite for ethnic identity construction is for it to be validated by ‘genealogical facts’. They can be either common cultural characteristics, religion, language or physical similarities. While ethnic can entail belonging and togetherness, it is also a way to differentiate people from other groups depending on e.g. kinship, race, culture, religion, and customs. The sense of distinctiveness can lead to the in- group perceiving themselves as distinct from the out-group, in a positive way (2011: 504, 508-510). Hence, ethnicity in itself always indicates a collective identification. Group identities thus evolve through a mutual contact, by people who view themselves as being diverse from members of other groups (Eriksen, 1993: 1, 15-16). As membership in a social community or identity exists in relation to others, it is also exclusive, therefore not everyone can take part (Eriksen, 1993: 73-74). These ethnic boundaries are drawn depending on context and various criterions (Baumann, 1996: 18). Jenkins argues that ethnic identification can be regarded in the light of both individual and collective. Individual in the sense that it internalizes in self- identification and collective as it is externalized in various interactions with others as well as categorization (1997: 14).

5. Methodology

In this chapter, the methodological approach of the study will be presented in various sub-chapters. After declaring the philosophical stands upon which this study rests on, the research design and data collection will be presented. Following that, discussions will prevail on validity, reliability, ethics and researcher positionality.

“Reality is socially defined. But the definitions are always embodied, that is, concrete individuals and groups of individuals serve as definers of reality” - (Berger and Luckmann in Guess, 2006: 656).

Philosophical Position In the social sciences, the outcome of the study can vary tremendously depending on which philosophical stand the researcher has, and because of this, it is important if not crucial, to declare one’s philosophical position (Rosenberg. 2012: 3). This paper departs from a constructivist point of view that sees societies as social constructions maintained by individuals and their actions. Social institutions and norms, contrary to natural phenomena, therefore exist as social constructs because of human beliefs and desires (ibid: 130-133). Therefore, when ‘race’, ‘ethnicity’ or ‘skin color bias’ appears in this paper, it is not discussed from an essentialist perspective but rather as useful tools to discuss social constructions that have been formed and upheld by humans. This ontological position sees that social actors not only produce phenomena and certain categories but that these are constantly changing, which means that the results are not definitive (Bryman, 2016: 29). In this paper, human action will outline the criterion for producing meaning, i.e. an interpretivism approach will be applied where the experiences of the informants form what is epistemologically true (Hill Collins, 2000: 258; Bryman, 2016: 26).

Research Design The nature of this research will lean towards an inductive approach rather than a deductive approach even if it can be difficult to strictly use one of the approaches as they often overlap (6 and Perri, 2012: 76). The usage of an inductive approach is favorable over a deductive approach when there is a scarce range in previous research in the field (ibid: 77), as is the case in this study. Additionally, qualitative research, which focuses on words rather than quantification, tend to use an inductive approach 17

in the structure between theory and research (Bryman, 2016: 33). The theoretical framework has therefore been applied to analyze the data and not act as a template to form the interview guide or direct the nature of the interviews.

Interviews Severn semi-structured interviews were the primary source of data collection. These interviews rest on an ontological stand where people’s experiences and interpretations are some of the main focuses (Lewis-Beck et al., 2004: 1021). The method was chosen because the open and interactive nature of the interview is designed to generate the participant’s perspectives, understandings, and experiences, as was the motive of this study. The usage of semi-structured interviews also allows the researcher to discover events and meanings important to the participants, that were not anticipated in the early stages. For instance, the interviews came to focus a lot on the practice of skin-bleaching and outside influences from the mainland, which was not intended but later turned out to be relatable and comprehensible topics in the context. Nonetheless, the same questions in the interview guide (view: Appendix II) was formulated to all of the informants in the same manner to avoid different interpretations of the questions and the risk of expanding too much on themes that are not relevant for the aim (Bryman, 2008: 202; Lewis-Beck et al., 2004: 1021). Furthermore, when outlining the interview questions, Coyle and Murtagh highlights the problematics of asking direct questions when assessing e.g. confidence, as this remains someone’s subjective evaluation (2014: 43-47). In this context, questions such as “how did colorism affect your self-esteem during your childhood” were avoided and instead, general questions were posed with follow-up questions such as “how did that make you feel” or “how did you handle those situations?”.

Selection Criteria As this study wants to explore experiences of colorism by different women, a variation of skin colors among the participants would have been to prefer. Although, due to difficulty in measuring skin color (as ethical complications), this was not chosen as a criterion. Some earlier studies used the ranges of very light, light, medium, medium- dark, and dark to categorize skin color and during the interviews, all of the informants were asked where they felt they fit in. Furthermore, the motive was to understand the ordinary woman’s experiences with colorism in Zanzibar, and therefore was no

particular target group within the category of ‘women’ when sampling. However, it was of importance that they had Tanzanian or Zanzibari roots and some type of relation to Zanzibar to understand and have a conversation about the location. In the end, seven interviews were conducted with women from the ages of 23-33 who considered themselves to range between light, medium and medium-dark. Two of the women were born in Unguja, two in Pemba and three of the women were born on the mainland. All of the informants were residents of Zanzibar except for one who lived on the mainland but due to work spent a lot of time in Zanzibar.

Sampling Process Doing the interviews in the last weeks allowed for getting to know the culture more, expanding my network and learning some Swahili. Through my network, a staff member at The State University of Zanzibar (hereinafter: SUZA) spread information forward to some classes about my study and four women showed their interest in participating. One of the informants I met in a restaurant, another informant I met when she was traveling for leisure and another I met in the reception at SUZA. Thus, a convenience sampling was employed, meaning what is most accessible to the researcher by virtue. This way of sampling can become problematic for the generalizability because it rarely exemplifies a representative sample (Bryman, 2008: 183). As the objective was to interview the everyday woman in Zanzibar, this was not seen as a disadvantage.

To a certain extent, purposive sampling (Bryman, 2016: 410) was applied as my contact at SUZA approached classes of students who had a fairly high level of English. I am aware of the fact that purposive sampling can have affected my results. I explained the purpose of my study to my contact and she forwarded this information to some classes. Because I was not present in these classes when the information was shared with the students, I am not sure what values or emphasis of the information I gave, have been communicated simultaneously. There were many shared opinions between the students that offered to participate which I will discuss more in the Discussion chapter. Nonetheless, with this in mind, the contribution of the women is seen as valuable to the study and I believe that the assistance of the contact was of great help.

Interview Setting The interviews took place in Stone Town between the 29th of March 2019 and the 4th of April 2019. Two of the interviews took place in an accommodation in Stone Town, one at the informant’s workplace and the remaining four at the facilities at SUZA. All of the interviews were recorded, upon the consent of the informants. The duration of the interviews varied, the longest being 1 h and 13 min and the shortest 19 minutes. The interviews were held in English, even though not all informants were completely fluent and English not being the mother tongue for neither me nor the informants. In one interview where the informant struggled to express herself, we used some basic Swahili vocabulary and in some instances, google translate. To avoid the language barrier from affecting the results, I avoided giving examples to not affect the validity and instead used synonyms to the words the informant did not understand. This might have affected the results in a way that I could not get in-depth with some issues with one informant.

Presentation of Informants Below follows a short presentation of the women who participated in the interviews. The names are written in pseudonyms to ensure anonymity.

Informant Birthplace Occupation Self-identified skin color Duration Tishala Mainland Student Medium 31 min Abby Mainland Tourist guide Medium-dark 1 h 13 min

Sofia Mainland Waitress Medium (also referred to herself 40 min as light in the interview) Halima Pemba Student Medium 19 min Kamara Unguja Student Medium 43 min Neema Unguja Student Medium-dark 26 min Adia Pemba Student Medium 34 min

Observations The secondary method of data collection used in this paper was observations. This method was chosen because observations can exemplify ‘real-life’ happenings in the field we are studying (6 and Bellamy, 2012: 75). Certainly, the two months I spent doing observations in Zanzibar cannot account for any broad generalizations about colorism in the society. Instead, it can act as a complement to the interviews. When

making observations, it is important to know that not all of what is observable is simply ‘naturalistic’. I, as a researcher, can choose where I want to go, what I pay attention to and therefore, what I see (ibid: 74). As such, I acknowledge that the surroundings in which the observations have taken place, cannot count as a representation of Zanzibar. Most of the locations I navigated around were under the influence of my privilege as a European, my network and where I lived. I came across predominantly mainlanders and Zanzibaris that work in the tourism sector and people from the academic world. I mostly moved around the center of Stone Town and in the touristic northern part of the island. As such, I did not have many encounters with people living on the outskirts of ST or people who work in other fields than tourism or academia.

For eight consecutive weeks, I lived mainly in Stone Town. I conducted observations in open spaces such as restaurants, markets, the beach, social events and in general when making conversations with people I met daily. I usually carried my phone and took notes. In cases where this was not possible, I wrote down the observations during the evening at my accommodation. As a part of my observation, few pictures were taken that will be included as supporting data. Respecting the culture and the integrity of the people, the pictures do not reflect any individuals. To ensure that the observations implied significance for the research, I had some guidelines. In everyday conversations, I paid attention to keywords such as color, beautiful, hair or anything to do with ethnicity, nationality or race. Moreover, my observations also consisted of noting how my surroundings reacted to my ethnicity, my appearance and what consequences that could have for my self-perception. However, this is not an extensive ethnographic study where the observations can be assumed to affect the researcher radically. Nevertheless, a reflection on the researcher’s identity principles with regards to the new terrain can show indications of how colorism possibly affects identity construction.

Data Analysis The processing of the data begun with transcribing the interviews with great attention. The quotations were consciously left as they were, without any grammatical adjustments for the sake of transparency and to avoid affecting the data. The transcriptions were then re-read several times, to manually focalize and get a sense of what the central themes were. Bryman argued that the handling of qualitative interviews and field notes, once it is gathered, can be baffling for many and that creates

a risk of becoming “a mere mouthpiece” (2016: 570, 584). Although it is important to serve informants justice with what they have put forward, it is also important to interpret and understand the findings and categorize them according to the focus of the study (ibid: 584). In this case, the data collected was large and a lot had to be screened away. A thematic analysis approach was applied where the main themes from the data acted as categories. Coyle and Murtagh highlighted the dangers of applying the IPT without clear definitions of concepts and words (2014: 42). For instance, the possibility of categorizing statements of ‘self-efficacy’ into ‘self-esteem’ can have major misleading effects for the study (Vignoles et al., 2006: 311). For transparency, an illustration showing the categorization of principles is provided (view: Appendix III). The observations, on the other hand, had been compiled in a separate document for the entirety of the stay and parts were then included in these categories. The findings were consciously listed in one chapter for the results to be compared to each other.

Validity and Reliability Validity refers to whether or not the conclusions drawn from the findings are sound. Bryman argues that this is the most important criterion of research (2008: 32). To determine ways in which colorism affects identity construction, empirical research is essential (Rosenberg, 2012: 56). Therefore, it is of importance to state ‘what’ is being studied and that the conclusions drawn correspond to the aim and research questions. To increase the validity in this study, concepts have been thoroughly defined and a list of clarifications was introduced in the beginning. Ensuring conclusion and internal validity has been prioritized through transparency, by providing citations throughout the findings that support the conclusions and an interview guide that allows for the reader to see what has been discussed (but not limited to) (6 and Bellamy, 2012: 22). This study focalized on the island of Zanzibar, although, one of the informants lived on the mainland and came to Zanzibar often for work and leisure purposes. To not affect the validity, the data generated from the informant and other informants’ experiences from the mainland were analyzed with great precaution and mainly served in distinguishing differences between the mainland and the island.

One of the biggest limitations of this study has been that I do not possess sufficient language competencies in Kiswahili. This made it difficult when searching for informants as the majority of the people in Zanzibar do not speak English and the

women to an even lesser degree. Another limitation due to the language barrier was that I only spoke to fairly educated women as all of them had attended some kind of higher education. Because of this, I did not get the opportunity to speak to women in different strands of life. This could indeed have affected the reliability of the study. Moreover, the emphasis has been put on the qualitative nature of this study and the factors that can have affected the results such as sampling and the language barrier have been discussed. This makes for the external validity and reliability, which scope is for the study to be repeatable in another study or situation (Bryman, 2008: 31-32) to be low in this study. On the other hand, this is not seen as negative as some trade-offs when conducting research, are inevitable. In this particular case, causality has been prioritized over generality (6 and Bellamy, 2012: 290).

Researcher Positionality When researching humans, the researcher is a participant in the social field that is being studied (Rosenberg, 2012: 21). In this context, I, as a researcher, am a Swedish citizen of Eritrean descent, conducting research in Zanzibar. I have chosen to do research on colorism, being no stranger to it and I also hold strong opinions on internalized forms of racism. It is therefore incorrect to state that I am oblivious to the matter. On the contrary, I had to consider my role whilst conducting the research to prevent eventual biases and to pay attention to how my positionality could affect the results. I made a conscious effort to read up on the culture of Zanzibar, talk to people about colorism, ask for their opinions and not let my prejudices prevail during the interviews, observations and when writing the paper.

To avoid conducting the interviews with no comprehension of customs or the Zanzibari culture, I conducted all of the interviews at the end of my journey. This enabled me to get a feel for how colorism played out in everyday life, according to my experiences on the island and in discussions and interactions with others. I then had a solid ground to create an interview guide that confronted the topic of colorism in an objective, easygoing and palpable way. Additionally, when doing observations questions such as ‘why’, ‘what’ and ‘where’ become relevant to ask oneself. Why a specific situation is noteworthy to observe de facto becomes subjective. To ensure that my observations were objective, I made a conscious effort to react to and notice situations where skin color, hair and any other connotations to colorism was mentioned. Another thing that

is of importance to mention is that I do believe that the nature of the interviews could have had another outcome if the researcher was an NPOC (non-person of color), where colorism could have been a more delicate topic to discuss. On the contrary, if the researcher was Tanzanian or Zanzibari, the interviews could probably have been able to go more into depth, seeing there is a profound understanding of the shared culture.

Ethical Considerations Taking moral considerations when studying humans is crucial (Rosenberg, 2012: 253). To avoid causing harm to the informants in any way, several ethical measures were taken. Anonymity and confidentiality were guaranteed by using fictional names and not exposing personal information of the informants. With the consent of all informants, the interviews were recorded with audio and will be deleted after the thesis is finalized. At the beginning of the interviews, the informants were also informed that they at any time, during or after the interview, could end the interview and/or demand the audio recordings to be deleted. I made sure the informants were comfortable, by asking them during the interview if they felt it was okay to continue and paying attention to any discomfort and body language. Since the topic of colorism can be a sensitive one to discuss, I excluded questions that could have been too profound. Moreover, doing a semi-structured interview often leads to a power relationship between the researcher and informant to be equalized (Lewis-Beck et al., 2004: 1021), as such this might have strengthened the ethical nature of the interview. The informants were given space to expand on matters important to them and the interviews leaned more towards a discussion.

In line with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the guidelines provided by Malmö University, the handling of personal data was registered on the University’s online registry for students using personal data for research purposes. Following regulations in Zanzibar regarding foreigners conducting research on the island, a research permit was obtained at the Ministry of Culture to be able to carry out interviews and use the collected data for the research project.

6. Findings

This chapter presents the findings from both the interviews and observations simultaneously. The results are based on different categories covering the most reoccurring themes; Differences between Zanzibar and the mainland, Skin bleaching, Opinions on skin color, Mistreatment due to skin color, Opportunities due to skin color, Hair, Ethnic groups, Family relations.

Differences between Zanzibar and the mainland One of the most frequent arguments that emerged when speaking to locals on the island was that Zanzibar and the mainland differed in culture, traditions, and norms. Many self-identified Zanzibaris viewed skin color bias as a non-issue on the island and, on the contrary, expressed that it was highly prevalent on the mainland. In conversations, especially with elderly men and women, the revolution and unification of the people of Zanzibar were often brought up as a reason why people no longer had colorist thoughts. Congruently, all four of the Zanzibar-born informants; Halima, Kamara, Neema and, Adia believed that practices of skin bleaching were imported influences from the mainland that did not belong to the culture in Zanzibar.

“It (practice of bleaching skin) is common most in mainland. People who live here in Zanzibar maybe imitates them. The source is mainland”. – Kamara

“I think it’s more common in mainland. Many actresses in the mainland use skin bleach. So lets say they inspire others. More in mainland. Here, people are just mixed. Maybe Arabians and some other tribes, they have medium skin. But for mainland many are black”. – Neema

“In Pemba and Zanzibar it is not common. (…) Mainland and Zanzibar are different. When you live here, a lot of time you see the difference. A lot of people in mainland they bleach their skin, a lot of people. When you see someone you become surprised, when you look in the face they are light, when you look at the hands it’s black. So you’re surprised”. – Adia

“You know that, here we are Islam, Islamic religion here, so also we have culture here Zanzibar”. – Adia

Some of the informants also pointed to tribalism in Tanzania, as being something foreign to Zanzibar.

“No tribalism in Zanzibar.. but Unguja and Pemba. Here there is Unguja and Pemba so sometimes Pemba they don’t like Unguja. Here it’s not tribe, lakini (but) lets say like a group or society which is maybe ‘makunduchi’, here we call it shamba, it’s like the origin of you. There’s people from Kusini, from kazkazini. (villages). So sometimes it’s difficult for them to associate to each other. Sometimes there is and sometimes there isn’t”. – Neema

“In Tanzania I don’t think so. Because in Zanzibar we don’t have different kinds of tribes, tribalism, we don’t have that in Zanzibar. But in mainland they have tribalism, there are many tribes there, so I know that until now, people are, even though they are fighting for their level best, because of that, education, different kind of knowledge, but until now people get married they consider their tribe there. You can see that this tribe cannot get married with this tribe. ‘Nyakyusa’ cannot get married to ‘Makonde’, something like that. But here in Zanzibar we don’t have that. I can say we are more united just because of that”. – Halima

Whilst the informants born in Zanzibar often marked the differences between the islands and the mainland, the mainland-born informants Abby, Sofia, and Tishala, frequently referred to Zanzibar and the mainland as being ‘the same’.

“In Tanzania girls want to change color, maybe to lotion, to mixing to change color, me I don’t like. They (friends) say Tishala change color, you look so nice after you change. (…) (Hometown in mainland), Zanzibar, everywhere. Because all Tanzania to like white color”. – Tishala

My observations also confirmed a sort of “apathy” for mainlanders. For instance, when I reported one of my belongings as stolen to the police, many immediately assumed that the person was from the mainland because they were considered as “thieves” and “scams”. Moreover, I was advised to be careful when interacting with mainlanders and was told that ‘they’ did not respect the culture in Zanzibar and that they brought “bad influences” to the island such as drugs, alcohol, immodest clothing and criminality. Likewise, when I discussed colorist issues, many claimed that practices such as skin bleaching occurred within groups of mainlanders and that it was yet another “bad” thing being brought to the island.

Skin bleaching Many of the interviews came to consist of in-depth discussions about skin bleaching. The informants were all in agreement that the usage of skin bleaching products was bad and harmful. Common opinions were that one should be happy with their appearance and love their color. Though, some also saw practical issues with bleaching such as a vicious cycle that makes it hard to stop and the impaired results, in comparison 26

to the first application. Two informants also affirmed that ‘good’ results were hard to obtain, as the knuckles are difficult to lighten and many neglect parts such as the ears, which made spotting bleached skin unmistakable.

“Anybody (should) love their color. This is Tanzanian color, (should) not change it in to mzungu color”. – Tishala

“I hate it (skin bleaching) for real. Once they take it off, it won't come back again. It takes 5-6 years to get the skin back. My color they can get it anytime, but their color I can't get it”. – Sofia

“You will be a slave to your own skin, because you have to use it every day just to make you, you know?” – Abby

With the exception of Adia, all informants knew at least someone who bleached their skin regularly. Sofia and Abby also stated that many girls used to bleach their skin when they went to school. In Abby’s high school class, around half of the girls bleached their skin.

“Most of my friends from Tanzania, they are supposed to be like me, like medium dark, but they change *giggles*, they bleach. And they are becoming lighter”. – Abby

“My mom use cream. Now is white my mom. Before is black, now is white. Also my cousin, my grandmother”. – Tishala

“Yes, just 5 friends. And their color is not good. Different to the first time they put the cream. For example, one people they have three color on their body”. – Kamara

“I think every chemical is damaging. (…) It’s something we use and this is a chemical and this is a problem in our life in general”. – Adia

Sofia in particular had a younger sister who started lightening her skin from the age of 16. Sofia also expressed that she used to be lighter than her sister but that her sister was now the lightest in the household. When I asked about her sister’s purpose for bleaching her skin, she responded:

“Because of the slogan we have here in Tanzania; Beautiful is light. So every woman feels beautiful when she is light. She started using it since she was young, 16 maybe. But, she can't stop because people who know her now don't know she is dark. So she can't go back”. – Sofia

She then went on to say that her youngest sister also wanted to start but that the family stopped her. I asked if it was because of her young age and she responded:

“No, because her skin is good. She's like my daddy, she's not much light and not dark. She has that soft oil skin which yeah. So we want her to be like she is (…) My grand mum is super super light. My grandfather is super super light. Light in our family, it's there, but they want to be lighter”.

Even though the informants expressed aversion for skin bleaching, Kamara and Sofia also held opinions such as some products being high in quality and that some achieve good results in the beginning.

“But there are some advantages, not many. But there are some. People look good when they make cream, in the beginning. The way you look is good. (…) I have one sister that use skin bleach. She’s about 40 years. She started it when she married. Because within a marriage a woman prefer to be more smooth. But myself, I don’t like. Even when I marry I cannot make cream. She only does when she goes to weddings. She makes kidogo (a little). Just 5 minutes. It comes from Oman. It’s to make smoother and brighter”. – Kamara

“We called the people fanta and coca cola because if you put fanta and coca cola and you don't mix there will be two colors in there and one people will have to colors. Some chemicals came in which even the government got rid of. It was very quick and very dangerous. Even young ladies were using it. Now they use good lotions, like my sister now is using good lotion which make the skin soft and it remains as it is. She is using good quality and its quite expensive and it maintains the skin color (lightness). She never got burned, but some chemicals don't give results so you have to change”. – Sofia

To the question of why people bleach their skin, various reasons were presented. Influences from artists who collaborate with companies on social media and promote their products were frequently listed. Additionally, influences from the family and mothers who bleached were also mentioned. The most common reason, however, was that women want to find a partner more easily and that people simply think it’s more beautiful to have lighter skin. Halima, Kamara, Adia, and Neema also stated that the practice was inspired by the mainland.

“Root cause we can say inspiration. Maybe she saw someone and she think she is more beautiful than her. And for some other reason maybe having a boyfriend. (…)” – Neema

“In my home I see some of my neighbors just change their skin from black to white. I think they are not satisfied (…) Maybe they want to be more beautiful. Maybe to get

husband or to get someone to marry them. They want to look sooo (emphasizing) beautiful”. – Adia

“I don't know other countries in Africa, but most people think White it's like you are something else. You are more beautiful or you have something, you are different from others. The other reason is they think you can't be beautiful when you are black. You understand? (…) Being light that is how the definition of beauty, which also is not true. (…) Other thing is the other side. If I would be black and another light, and you tell the man choose, he will choose the light one. So the men, they pushing the girl to change. You understand? Like, they like white. So you understand?”. – Abby

“(…) other people here in Zanzibar imitates and try to do the same”. – Kamara

“If I will be honest, women like musicians or celebrities in Tanzania, most of them, the one who stays natural, all Tanzanian we know them. Like we count them. Like who is natural. Like this one, this one. So most of them bleach themselves. (…) And also, there is this, if you bleach, here it will remain (knuckles). So it's like everyone wants to remove it, so everyone is coming out with the thing that can remove it. (…). Some was lighter and they stay lighter because that's how they were born. But the one who are dark and have stayed like that, we can count them, for the girl it's like 3 or 2. Everyone knows”. – Abby

The informants agreed that a majority of celebrities bleached their skin and/or that a high percentage were light-skinned. Halima, however, disagreed:

“They are mixed. I mean singers and those who are acting, they are mixed. Some of them they are light and some of them are black”. – Halima

One thing that was quite common to see when walking outside was women who had a noticeable lighter yellow-toned powder on their faces. The visible contrast in color could be seen by e.g. the hands being distinctively darker. Though, this could perhaps be explained by a lack of ranges in the makeup supply, which did not carry a large variety in makeup for deep brown colors. Also, while scrolling through pictures of acquaintances’ social media accounts, it seemed to be quite common to apply filters that made the skin appear lighter. For example, I met with Tishala on several occasions and when she showed me pictures of herself, she looked ostensibly lighter in all of them. During the interview I asked if she’s ever used bleaching products, to which she negated but added to the response by saying:

“Maybe snapchat or so. To change color in snapchat”. – Tishala

Accessing bleaching products in Zanzibar seemed quite simple (view: Figure 3 and Figure 4 in Appendix I). However, during my time on the island, I rarely saw people who outwardly looked like they had bleached their skin. From my observations, a high prevalence in people with seemingly bleached skin were sex workers (almost exclusively mainlanders) in bars and nightclubs. Male sex workers, often self-titled ‘beach boys’, also engaged in other activities such as selling handcrafted items on the beach or offering tour guides. I was informed that the women often had day-jobs as well and that prostitution was not organized. Whilst I never came across a beach boy with noticeably bleached skin, all of the female sex workers I encountered were light to medium in skin color and many had visibly bleached skin. I seldom saw a female sex worker with darker skin, whilst the male sex workers mostly had dark skin.

Opinions on skin color In some interviews, the opinion of dark skin being “too much” or medium skin being ‘moderate’ or ‘just enough’ prevailed. For instance, when Kamara was asked what she looked for in a partner and what her perception of beauty was, she responded:

“(…) Tall because myself, short, so better to have tall for the purpose of our children. White kidogo (little), like me, simple. His eyes like me. Like good. And his nose good, like you. I don’t like big nose. I don’t like people more black. Some of the children white, other like me and like his or her father. But you don’t want them to be really black. No, I don’t like this color”.

“For me, a beautiful woman is not only tall but also in the middle, not fat and the skin color is maybe not white and not black. So medium color”.

When Adia and Tishala were asked what the first thing was that came to mind when they thought of a beautiful woman they referred to me. Contrary to Kamara, Adia expressed not being a fan of lighter skin colors but rather medium and dark.

“Your skin is medium so you look so… (doing a hand gesture). I don’t like maybe white colors. I just like medium and black, like you, like me, like my husband, like my sisters, my brother and so on. (…)”. – Adia

“The same to you. (…) Because you’re tall like me, and skin like me”. – Tishala

The same informants also emphasized that the skin color one possesses, can change over time. Adia articulated that she was happy with her skin color because it had not changed since childhood. Kamara affirmed that a child’s skin color is ‘good’ but that 30

it later becomes darker. When asked if good meant that the color is light, Kamara concurred.

“Yes, because I think my color is not changing. The same”. – Adia

“Maybe family, friends and so on, all of them they just liked my color. Now it’s like black, but when you are child the color is good. But now, more from the sun and many activities people can change a little. I think even you, you have a quite difference now and then”. – Kamara

Whilst Adia felt content about her color stagnancy, Abby expressed that she felt proud of herself for being natural. Neema and Tishala also voiced that they had confidence in, and respect for their color.

“Yeah, not only happy. Maybe I am proud over myself. You know why? Because now I see all my childhood friends who bleach themselves, and they, to be honest some of them or maybe most, they really like to go back to their skin. They regret. Most of them. And some of them would be like, Abby, don't try to use bleach". I like this color and I wish I did not use this bleach. SO I'm proud in front of everyone, like yeah, I have my natural color. (…)Now when the days go everything is changing, like if you meet new friends, hey you look natural, I really like the natural color, hey you're so good, you didn't change your color. Because a lot of my girls change. It's changing and people are more educated and they understand what is going on (...). So I'm very proud and I'm so happy with it, and my hair”. – Abby

“Maybe, I just heard some other people saying that having white skin will be very benefitting for them. For me, I think I’m just okay with it. Because I believe in myself”. Neema.

“I like my color, I respect my color”. – Tishala

While on the island, I attempted to get an understanding of people’s perception of tanning. The general temperature in Zanzibar during February-April was 30 °C. As such, most people, avoid striking sun, especially during the afternoons. My experience was that evading the sun was not a question of tanning, but rather of avoiding the unbearable heat. However, there were some instances where comments on tanning arose. For instance, while waiting for my pre-ordered taxi at the airport, I was suggested by many taxi-drivers to stand under the trees in the shade. Having just arrived from cold-tempered Sweden, I did not mind the sun. After a while, one man came up to me and said: “do you want to change your skin color?!”. In addition to this, the interviews didn’t show that refrainment from the sun was something people consciously practiced.

The informants described that as Africans, they didn’t consider that. Nonetheless, Abby spoke about a situation where she had tanned and as a result, got dispiriting comments from her friends.

“If I go to Moshi, and I climbed Kili (Kilimanjaro) the sun is so close and it’s very cold so when you see the sun you want to go close to it. So after I came back I was really dark, especially in my face, like really dark. And my friends when they saw me, instead of saying congratulations, you made it and stuff, they were like hey you're so black, you really lose your beautiful. You're black, you're so dark, and you’re ugly. And stuff like that”.

In two instances, Kamara and Adia reacted to my tan line peeking through my clothes and saw that I had become notably darker. I explained that I had been visiting the beach a lot in recent days and they both had seemingly worried facial expressions while they expressed pity for me.

“Pole” (in this context: sorry in Swahili). – Kamara

“So sorry”. – Adia

Tishala, Halima, Adia, Neema, and Abby expressed that they would not want to change their color even if they could and Kamara was the only one of the informants who stated that she would want her skin to be lighter.

“I like chocolate color, light. I like to be maybe light, kidogo (a little bit), not much”.

Sofia, on the other hand, showed a preference for darker skin.

“Dark to be honest *giggles*. Because no one can buy that. Everyone can be like I am. That color I really love it. If I like to change, maybe I would go a little bit darker. Dark skin, there are which you can have benefits. Especially in business. There is a lot of things you can do with that skin. You can represent anything. You can be a model, ambassador in the skin and you can take very good pictures. So there are so many opportunities in that skin. Which light skin can do too but it can't fit. You say something is missing”. – Sofia.

Mistreatment due to skin color In general, the informants conveyed the message of not experiencing better or worse treatment because of the color of their skin. While many informants felt that their childhood was not affected by their skin color in any way, Sofia and Abby expressed that they were treated with both praise and neglect because of their skin color. Sofia,

contrary to what colorism often supposes, stated that she experienced negative treatment during her childhood owing to her lighter skin.

“In primary I was super light, my hair was brown and my eyes were light, not like now. Now it's a bit dark, it was much lighter. So kids were making fun of me, they called me ugly names. They wanted to, albinism was like a bad way, they cut their hands and heads, because they believed in witchcraft. So they were harassing me with that and would say that they would cut me. So I was light, my eyes was much lighter and my hair was brown. So I looked a little bit like albinism (…) My hair was red. I was coloring my hair to be black, because it was like I had dust in my hair”. – Sofia

When asked how that affected her, she said:

“I didn't fight with them, I just changed my hair”.

However, with age, and coming to Zanzibar for the first time, Sofia expressed feeling glorified for the lightness of her skin.

“Somehow, especially when I came here (Zanzibar), everyone was looking at me like I was a tourist, I was treated like a tourist. And other places when I go they treat me like high class, because of the skin and maybe you dress good, you have some weave. That's how they treat models, you have first call because you are light”.

“I did some videos as a model, when I went there I was supporting my brother. I was supporting him. And they were like you have to be in the video, you look nice, your body looks nice, you are white. Yeah so I did that because they wanted someone who was light but not chemical-light”.

Abby, who also grew up on the mainland, brought forward instances of mistreatment because of her darker skin. Whilst the informants all claimed they never wished to be lighter when growing up, she expressed the contrary.

“Yeah. When I was a kid, I won’t deny it. You felt like you need it”.

I asked if it was because those who had lighter skin were treated better and Abby responded:

“Eh he (Swahili expression of showing agreement). And even they are like, not like us. Like if she is mixed from maybe white, like really white and black, she’s kind of cappuccino. So when she is in front of all, she will be the first to be chosen. (…) She will be special. So you wish you could be like that”.

“Ah.... *sighs*.. When I was growing up… (…)Sometimes we were in the group and playing and everyone would, you know the light one would be like a queen inside of, sometimes you feel like you need to be there also. And you try to say I’m just dark outside but here I’m lighter (point at the underarm), this is just the sun (points at her skin) (…)”.

“When I was growing up it is not like now. There is some words we call each other if you are so black. "Cheusi, cheusi". Cheusi it's like black, like if I say can I have this black clothes. It's like that. Cheusi". There are people called Cheusi as a name but Cheusi (also) means you are black. “Nyeusi” is black. Cheusi is "something black". - Even when you play and stuff or your brothers will joke, but it's not a joke actually, they mean it. “Hey my cheusi come here, hey you cheusi come here”. So it's like that. (sighs) Because you see I'm dark”.

Followingly, Abby also shared a specific occurrence during her teens where she experienced poor treatment that affected her in several ways.

“Yeah, I have been treated badly.. really. This one time when I was in Dar and I was studying, (…). When I was there I was interested in acting and there is a category in school like its coming and who wants to learn about drums, music and instruments and acting and stuff. I just wrote my name there and I went to act. But before, because we were a lot they had to choose, so they give us a scene and we did it and after they choose. So they gave me my scene and I did it very well. And everyone was like hey you did good. But then the guy didn't choose me because I'm you know... dark.. and he was like yeah because in this scene I need somebody that is more lighter. And one girl was in our class and she was tall and light and he took her. Even if he didn't say, we understood that he took her because she is more lighter. I felt really bad at that time. And they took it like a joke. Hey Cheusi stay, people who are black will never go anywhere, he didn't see you because your skin is dark. He just saw the person who is lighter and stuff. So I felt bad for maybe 2-3 days in school. And I mean it's okay because it was about acting in one thing, but it's about education, it's about what they say, it was advertised as school stuff, education stuff. I wanted to go, but you know... Sometimes it's still in life now, somebody can be like, just talking they don't know your name and most are men and they will be like heeeh, this Cheusi, oh this one. you know, the Cheusi one. They can say maybe this short girl or girl with dreads but (instead) they say Cheusi”.

“For now, I'm used to it. For now, after some time, I am proud over it. You know sometimes somebody can talk about it and the way I act, because we can sit like this and somebody can make a joke but I understand it's not a joke, ... the way I behave, I don't like it but I didn't say anything and comment. For me, I'm just like hey, I wish I could be more dark so somebody can call me Cheusi and it's really dark. I'm lighter (than Cheusi) but I'm very medium. And somebody will be like you are so black. And I'm like yeah and I love to be so black and you don't have to use it as something negative or differentiate me. But I react, and I don't like it, and sometimes it's hard and for now I’m used to it”.

“Sometimes it affects me. Because after that thing I told you about school, I never went in to acting again. I lost it there and I left it there. I just think, whenever I go to any competition the thing will be .. so.. I prefer to not. I can have another passion. Like after, I'm just into nature and tourism, I'm really happy with it and I love it. The people I meet inside there, they appreciate me, with my color and everything. I travel and I meet people. I'm happy and I'm enjoying it”.

Further, Abby also emphasized that these comments were continuous even today as people still compare her and her sister to each other.

“Yeah. I get them until now. Because when I show somebody a picture, yeah but she is beautiful, she is more beautiful than you, she is more lighter. But your sister is beautiful more than you. They use that, more lighter more beautiful, you understand?”.

Opportunities due to skin color The informants were posed with the question if they believed that their skin color provided them with advantages or disadvantages when obtaining jobs or the possibility of entering various fields. The majority acknowledged that color was not significant for one’s opportunities.

“In Tanzania it depends how you put yourself. For the people who have dark skin here they don't believe that they can do, and they don't believe they are beautiful”. – Sofia

“The same. In Zanzibar no discrimination because of color”. – Tishala

“What matters is the qualification that you have”. – Halima

On the same note, however, some informants highlighted that color did matter in the entertainment industry. Others neglected this idea and stated that the representation of both colors existed amongst celebrities in Zanzibar and Tanzania.

“In the industry light skin matters”. – Sofia

“To have the skin that they have. Natural skin, just like that. If you were darker/lighter. I think it is the same”. – Adia

“Actresses, singers they like to use cream… all. Before they were black now they are white. (…) Here in Tanzania they like (that)”. – Tishala

“No because there are a lot of people who are black in modeling, and a lot of people that are light in modeling”. – Halima

Discussions also arose on whether someone with a dark skin color could enter into professions such as acting or modeling. Some asserted that it was a non-issue, meanwhile, Kamara responded:

“Ah, no. I think it would not go. Difficult to enter into ceremonies and competitions and so on”.

On overall advantages with having lighter skin, Halima, Tishala, Adia, and Kamara stated that the color of one’s skin made no difference, and the other informants responded:

“If I would have it (lighter skin), I would have more opportunities. Because that's how it works here. The light have more opportunities you know, if we go to apply for work we have the same degree, the same maths, we did the same, maybe in the hotel or like fancy hotel or maybe in secretary we want to be in front office, they will choose the lighter. Because they believe white is beautiful. That is true. I'm not lying. So they get more”. – Abby

“I think it's normal, I have both. Right now I'm not that much light, I am in the middle of everything. Sometimes when I was applying to be an ambassador and they were like, they wanted tall, skinny and black ladies so you can't get that. But most of them want white ladies”. – Sofia

“In daily life, Sometimes, yeah. Not in all situations”. – Neema

Hair All the informants except for Halima stated that they have used hair relaxing products at one point in time. They all upheld that it was not for the purpose of ‘changing’ oneself or trying to imitate mzungus, but simply for the hair to be more manageable. However, arguments of straight hair being more beautiful, and this being the reason to relax the hair, also rose. Abby also stressed that many who bleach their skin also put relaxers or wear wigs so that the overall look of the person does not deviate because of hair texture. Altogether, the informants were negative to the usage because of its’ damaging effects on the hair.

“Omg.. yeah.. most of girls they don't have natural (hair). But the time is going and the fashion is becoming natural. They put chemical in the hair, it's like something normal (...) It's not so comfortable to say I bleach myself to somebody, but about the hair, it's normal everyone is doing it (...). For now I want to say I want to roll my dreads, but if someone says I'm going to the saloon, you know they are going to (put chemical on the hair). (…) But now there is this thing called wig and human hair and stuff (…) So to 36

match the image, if they bleach their skin they get a wig or braids... so you can look lighter”. – Abby

“Yes, they (friends) use it. It’s called “Dawa”. To make them beauty”. – Halima

“For us, using perm or relaxer here is normal. At least in Zanzibar or in Tanzania. Many people use perm for straightening their hair. Some of them use it for beauty, some for watoto (children). Because I have a sister, when she was young her hair was like African hair, let’s say. So when she was combing, it was always dry. So mom put some relaxer in her hair”. – Neema

“It’s not that good. That’s why now I decided to be natural”. – Neema

When asked what the reason was for relaxing her hair Neema said:

“To be more beautiful. It became straight. Now I just braid”.

Kamara stated that her hair became damaged by the usage of chemicals on her hair when she was 18. She expressed that she would like to have ‘good’ hair and when asked what that was, she clarified by saying:

“The good hair is very smooth and long”.

A majority of the women in Zanzibar cover their hair by wearing hijabs. For this reason, I could not explore how women on the island wore their hair and the public attitudes towards hair relaxing products, except from the interviews. However, before coming to Zanzibar, I consciously decided that I would wear my hair in different ways such as straight, curly, tied up and in box-braids, to see what kind of reactions and comments this would generate. It is worth mentioning that because a majority of the women cover their hair, this certainly has played a factor in the amount of attention I was getting as a Black woman on the island without a hijab, and not necessarily for my hair in itself. The first week in Zanzibar I wore my hair straight. When wearing this hairstyle, I received comments such as “I like your hair”, “nice hair” or “I like your long hair”. Most people who approached me assumed I was Arab or mixed. Most of the time, however, I wore my natural afro-curly hair. I believe that this hairstyle got the most attention and comments during all of the hairstyles that I wore, and more people assumed I was African rather than non-African.

Ethnic groups As viewed in Figure 5 (view: Appendix I), approaching the question of ‘ethnicity’ and ‘descendance’ was quite sensitive. In daily life, I quickly saw a pattern of how people identified themselves by national adherence to Zanzibar rather than origin. When people would ask me where I was from, I usually re-posed the question to them. The majority responded with ‘Zanzibar’, a city in the mainland or any other country. I never came across someone who identified with e.g. their ‘Arab’, ‘Indian’, ‘Persian’, ‘Portuguese’ or ‘Swahili’ descent. Correspondingly, when I posed the question in the interviews, informants who identified as Zanzibaris responded with Zanzibar and informants who were born on the mainland responded with their ethnic groups. Sofia and Abby (on her mother’s side) belonged to the ‘Chagga’ ethnic group and Tishala was from the ‘Sukuma’ ethnic group. Regarding these groups on the mainland, stereotyping was particularly emphasized. It was expressed that some tribes stereotypically were lighter in skin color. Tishala explained that many tribes in the highlands of Tanzania had lighter skin due to temperature and Abby stated that this created expectations for girls to have certain features.

“There is part of them are more light, yeah, a lot. Who come from Rombo, are lighter. I mean Chagga, most of them are light light. So they think ‘hey, girls from Chagga they are so beautiful, they are really light’. But also there is from Singida, also they are light”. – Abby

“You know my young sister is lighter than me, so they will be like hey where are you coming from. You could have taken your mother's side. If you had taken your mother's skin you could have been ... you know?”. – Abby

“In Arusha it’s baridi (cold) so they don’t change color”. – Tishala

“Sukuma is tall with a figure. Small here (chest, upper body) and big here (hips)”. – Tishala

One day I had a conversation with a woman in Stone Town who explained that people from the mainland view the features of Zanzibari people as desirable. She told me that when she went to the mainland for business trips, the people she encountered often commented on her features and assumed she must be from Zanzibar. She highlighted that almost everyone in Zanzibar has some ancestor who is from e.g. Oman and therefore his or her looks tend to be different from the mainlanders. Further, she stated that her great grandfather was Arab and therefore, people could spot this straight away on the mainland. Even though her skin was dark, she said many noticed by the shape

of her nose and her face, that she was from Zanzibar. She also explained to me that the perception of being lighter is viewed as something unique on the mainland, whereas on Zanzibar, many people have mixed origins and view themselves as equal. Therefore, there is not much to be astonished by if someone is light in Zanzibar.

When meeting people on the streets who were curious to know where I was from, I responded with ‘Sweden’. And usually, I would get a follow up-question asking where I was really from, to which I would respond ‘Eritrea’. In the instances where people had already have guessed that I was either from ‘Ethiopia’, ‘Somalia’, ‘Arab’ or ‘Indian’ they usually nodded in agreement saying “I see that” or “Aha! That’s why”. To my revelation, nobody from the locals mistook me for being Tanzanian or Zanzibari. Many of the people I met also assumed that one of my parents was White. When I asked people why they stated that it was because of my “good” hair and skin. On a trip to the northern part of the island, I came across nicknames given to me such as “half- caste” and “cappuccino”, implying I was bi-racial. One man, in particular, stated that it was “impossible for fully Africans” to have the same hair like mine. After me clarifying that I was Eritrean, many said that it explained why I deviated from the “African” look saying Ethiopians and Eritreans have ‘good hair’. However, people did not seem to have one standard opinion of traits that signaled how a ‘typical ‘Zanzibari’ looked. During my stay, there was another Eritrean in Zanzibar who many claimed looked Zanzibari, even though her skin color was seemingly lighter than mine.

Before my departure, I had been informed that there existed a large Somali immigrant group in Zanzibar and that by virtue, many would mistake me for Somali. As they can be scrutinized of judgment and stereotyping of being ‘radical’, I was recommended to clarify my background, to be more accepted with the locals. Accordingly, during the two-month stay, some presumed I was Somali because of the texture of my hair, somewhat lighter skin and features. Even though many ‘treated me well’ before and after finding out about my origin, I did feel sentiments of more acceptance for my appearance after stating I was Eritrean. In general, I believe that both of my Eritrean and Swedish identity gave me a set of privileges in Zanzibar. For starters, by being Eritrean, I experienced the ‘benefits’ of colorism by receiving compliments and a positive attitude towards my ethnic adherence. My Swedish (and European) identity, on the other hand, allowed me to access spaces easily and to get fast and great assistance in contact with various authorities. Moreover, the general perception of Sweden tended 39

to be positive due to international investments on the island (view: Figure 6 and Figure 7 in Appendix I).

A discussed topic in the interviews was intermarrying between different backgrounds. The informants held different opinions on this.

”You know, nowadays, people don’t consider that. We never heard about that. Before, those who were lighter in Zanzibar, Mwarabu, they don’t like to be with those who have black color. Warabu – it’s white people. Not like the English but those who are Arab. (…) But nowadays mainly you can see that light people is married to black. So nowadays they don’t consider that actually. (…) We can say that after the revolution, but maybe after globalization we have started to people going this way and that way and people get education. People look at themselves and see that this colors are, is no use. Those people with dark color and light color are all the same. What is matter is the character of that person. But before, should I say the matter of colonization, but nowadays we don’t consider that. Even those people from Pemba they don’t want to get married to people from Unguja island. But now we don’t consider that. (…) Just I want to say that, before people they consider these kind of difference, races, but nowadays here in Zanzibar we don’t consider that. People like, in choosing partner a person can choose a partner just not because of the color, they choose because of their physical and inner appearance, nowadays. Even the parents, a partner for their daughters and sons just because of that”. – Halima

“Honestly it’s difficult some times. Especially for Arabian people and Indian people. They just don’t like Swahili people. When we say Swahili people we can say maybe you are medium dark. So sometimes it’s not easy to marry Arabian people or Indian people (…) People in Pemba they like more Arabians”. – Neema

“People can marry each other. The thing they consider is religion”. – Kamara

“They (her parents) prefer people from mainland, Zanzibar or maybe mix with Arab.. Not Indian”. – Kamara

“Yeah, a lot of persons here marry from people from India, from Arab, from Saudia Arabia, from Oman. Because they think of the life of the person”. – Adia

The observations also aligned with some of the informants’ statements regarding Zanzibaris with Indian heritage. From the observations, Zanzibaris with Indian descent tended to group themselves together, more than any other group. I would often spot groups of 10-20 women, sitting down together in Forodhani (a well-visited park by both tourists and locals in central Stone Town). They were often easily spotted as they usually wore outfits seemingly traditional to India. In discussions, I also learned that Indians, according to the interviews and in discussions with others, were the group that

were least likely to engage with or marry other groups such as Arab or Swahili. A reason for this was the shared religion between ‘Swahilis’ and ‘Arabs’. During my stay, I did not have any acquaintances or informants (to my knowledge) who identified having an Indian background. The little meetings I had with Indians were when I visited shops or boutiques.

Family relations As mentioned above, the informants stressed that skin color was not an important factor in a potential partner. Instead, acknowledged that for some, it is more important that the person shares the same religion or is a Zanzibari from Arabic/African origin rather than e.g. Indian origin, because of religious reasons. Many also stated that they don’t look for appearance, but rather the personality and inner traits. On my last encounter with Tishala, she told me that a guy had recently been showing interest in her. When I asked if and what she liked about him, she responded:

“He is tall and his skin is like mine”.

To the question if it would be harder to find a partner if they were of darker skin, the informants varied in their answers.

“Maybe, but I don't know everyone love their choices. The main key in Tanzania they don't like the ladies who are much dark. They only think you're beautiful if you have white skin when they go to clubs, to see celebrities, all have light skin. In their minds beautiful is light skin”. Sofia

“It depends on the person and what you like”. – Halima

“In general, it would be complication. Many men love a light skin woman”. – Neema

“It's not like five years ago when I was in school it was like so much, but now (…) men they are like we need natural. If you are light, be light from your mother. If you're black, you need it. So now a lot of women are trying to stay the way they are. But others who already do it, yeah. And some do it, but not so much like before. it's about to change, even if you bleach yourself in secret, before it was so open, so now it's changing, you bleach but yeah”. – Abby

The informants all neglected the thought of marrying someone lighter for the purpose of having lighter children. However, Abby shared an example from the morning of the

interview where she was suggested by a friend to pursue a lighter man because of the aforementioned motive.

“Even today I was talking to my friend at breakfast. And then he, because he is my friend and I saw a white guy who was interesting, one was really interesting and he's so pushy and I refused. And he was like ‘hey why are you refusing’? He looks nice and he looks like he really likes you and maybe you can have a good kid, everyone like to have them because you can have a cappuccino kid. So the only reason he wondered why I refused or reject him, is because I would get a cappuccino, it's like it's lucky. And he's my friend, a guy, imagine. So I had to explain. To be honest, I explain so much. Because also through my work I meet them, a lot of different people, most of girls, the first thing they ask me is like "hey did you get one" you can get some nice kids. That is the first thing they say, kids will be beautiful and stuff. People tell me Abby you're beautiful and stuff but I'm not white”. – Abby

7. Discussion

This chapter is divided into three sub-chapters each attempting to analyze the findings through the framework of the IPT. The first step is to clarify how colorism can be seen as a threat to and challenge the identity structure. Followingly, the second section explores how colorism affects Breakwell’s four identity principles and the last step of the analysis is dedicated to identifying applied coping methods to deal with these threats to the ‘self’.

Colorism as a threat IPT claims that when identity is threatened, people come up with strategies to deal with the posed threat (Jaspal, 2014: 4). In this context, it is important to underline what a ‘threat’ to the identity structure is, according to the findings. To do that three clarifications stressed by Breakwell becomes relevant to discuss. Firstly, threats can only be understood through dominant beliefs and expectations in society (1986: 7). A majority of the findings showed that a dominant opinion was that lighter skin is better, regardless of the individual beliefs of the informants. This could be shown through statements such as: “Because of the slogan we have here in Tanzania; Beautiful is light” (Sofia), “Because all Tanzania to like white color” (Tishala) and “Many men love a light skin woman” (Neema). A reluctance to tanning and therefore getting darker was also prevalent in some interviews. This can be demonstrated through Kamara and Adia showing their worry when they saw my tan lines or Kamara stating “all of them they just liked my color. Now it’s like black, but when you are child the color is good”. Sofia also expressed how she felt like she was being treated as “high class” when she first came to Zanzibar because of her lighter skin.

Although changing the hair texture was not believed to be in the purpose of ‘changing’ or aspiring to look like a mzungu, many expressed that the hair becomes beautiful when it’s straight. Neema stated, “To be more beautiful. It became straight. Now I just braid” and “(…) Because I have a sister, when she was young her hair was like African hair, let’s say (…)”. This then suggests that ‘African’ is not the desired ideal for the hair. A light skin preference could also be seen from the observations, as it was common to see women appearing with lighter-skinned faces because of makeup, in comparison to

other darker features such as the hands. Using filters on pictures to appear lighter was also common.

Secondly, Breakwell argues that the usage of coping methods, de facto makes the situation a threat (1989: 49). As will be discussed in the third section of this chapter, various methods such as skin bleaching, giving up passions and turning to pursue other interests can be seen as a response to the threat of lighter color being valued in the society. Thirdly, a threat can be understood both as a sudden and as being in a threatened position under a long period of time (ibid: 75-77). The findings showed that colorist threats mainly consisted of stagnant threats in daily life, and not in terms of sudden shifts or changes to the identity structure. The latter, however, will be applied in the third section to assess the observations from a researcher’s perspective.

Colorism’s effects on the ‘self’ Distinctiveness This principle covers the need to preserve one’s uniqueness and distinctive persona (Breakwell, 1986: 24). The feelings of distinctiveness that emerged from the findings can mainly be described as a distinction between Zanzibar in contrast to mainland Tanzania. The Zanzibar-born respondents Halima, Neema, Adia and, Kamara often pointed out that the mainland is the contributor to skin color bias and the practice of skin bleaching. Some explained that before the revolution, people in Zanzibar used to consider the color of a person’s skin when intermarrying, but that it was bygone thoughts, contrary to the mainland. This was exemplified by statements such as: “(…) The source is mainland” (Kamara), “No tribalism in Zanzibar” (Neema) and “(…) nowadays we don’t consider that” (Halima). Also, alcohol and criminality were said to be additional negative influences that were brought to the island. In this sense, Zanzibaris often described themselves as positively distinct from the (out-)group (Jaspal and Cinnirella, 2011: 510). Zanzibaris highlighted the similarities between themselves while marking the differences between islanders and mainlanders (Jenkins, 2008: 17-19). Even if the collective identification by Zanzibaris from the interviews and observations proved to be excluding of mainlanders (Eriksen, 1993: 73-74), the mainland-born informants often spoke of Tanzania as both being comprised both of mainland and Zanzibar. While the sampling of the four island-born informants was

predicted to affect the results, their answers seemed to align with other island-borns’ perspectives from the observations.

To distinguish ‘what’ the interpretation of ethnicity is in Zanzibar as prevailed from the findings, we need to frame ‘ethnicity’. The findings suggest that people identified mainly as Zanzibaris rather than descendancy. As viewed in Figure 3 (view: Appendix I), the historical context contributed to descendancy being sensitive and not commonly discussed. Therefore, the construction of ethnicity seemed to lean towards ‘genealogical facts’ such as shared land (Zanzibar), history (the uniting revolution) and religious characteristics (Islam) (Jaspal and Cinnirella, 2011: 504). However, some informants expressed that intermarrying with Zanzibaris of Indian origin could pose issues because of religious reasons. This was the only instance where a distinction in ethnicity in terms of origins, was discussed. Although, this was mainly a religious distinction as the dominant religion of Islam was a factor the informants valued in a partner to marry.

Moreover, the Zanzibari uniqueness was also described as having physical similarities as a consequence of mixed origin, in contrast to the mainland. However, this did not presuppose that everyone in Zanzibar looked similar, but rather that being lighter was not uncommon, as it was on the mainland. Instead, it appeared that skin color had little value on the ‘criteria’ for a “typical” Zanzibari appearance. On the contrary, a Zanzibari could identify and be identified by others as Zanzibari, regardless of lighter or darker skin color. The people encountered from the observations, identified as Zanzibari regardless of Arab, Indian or Swahili origin (mainly these three groups were talked about). Another example showing that a Zanzibari look was not determined by the shade of color was the fact that people assumed another Eritrean girl living on the island to be Zanzibari, notwithstanding having lighter skin.

The described differences between the mainland and Zanzibar can in part be demonstrated by the findings of Abby and Sofia’s childhood. Abby was born on the mainland and lived there for the most part, and fittingly with the informant’s thoughts on the mainland, expressed being affected by colorism the most. She experienced situations where she was not chosen for acting roles because of her skin color, enduring name-calling while growing up and in general, was told that she was not beautiful

because of her skin. Also, the claim of skin bleaching being more common on the mainland could be seen by both Abby and Sofia, testifying that girls used to bleach their skin while they went to school. Sofia also showed to have been affected by skin color bias, however, in her case, it was for her lighter skin and hair. She also was of the opinion that dark skin was an opportunity factor for many things as that color can represent anything. She stated “Which light skin can do too but it can’t fit. You say something is missing” and ”(…) My color they can get it anytime, but their color I can't get it”. This can in part relate to what Hunter described as ‘ethnic legitimacy’ and lighter-skinned people feeling disadvantaged in this area (2007: 244). The observations can also, to a certain extent, confirm the claim of mainlanders importing skin bleaching practices, as the women with apparent bleached skin, tended to be from the mainland (mainly sex workers).

Continuity A threat to continuity means that the past and present self is being jeopardized across time and situation (Breakwell, 1986: 24). An aspect that was highlighted by two of the informants was the continuity in skin color from childhood to adulthood. Adia expressed that she was happy that her color had not changed and Kamara stated that her skin color was ‘good’ as in light, when she was younger but that it had now changed. Both of them also reacted with worry when they saw that I had gotten tanned from the tan line on my collarbone. Additionally, when asked if Kamara would change her color if she could, she responded “(…) I like to be maybe light, kidogo (a little bit), not much”. Kamara’s preference for a lighter color could also be seen in statements such as: (…) I don’t like people more black (…) but you don’t want them to be really black. No, I don’t like this color”. This then suggests that the continuity, in these cases, becomes enhanced with a stagnant color from childhood. In Kamara’s case, the desire to be lighter and the outspoken preference for lighter colors can be seen as a consequence of a threatened continuity, according to the IPT.

Another commonly held opinion by some of the informants was that of medium skin color being “just right”. This can be exemplified by Sofia’s statement on why she and her family didn’t want her youngest sister to bleach her skin: “No, because her skin is good. She's like my daddy, she's not much light and not dark. She has that soft oil skin which yeah. So we want her to be like she is”. On the contrary, however, Sofia also

stated that her other sister who bleached her skin used to be darker than her and that “(…) like my sister now is using good lotion which make the skin soft and it remains as it is. She is using good quality and it’s quite expensive and it maintains the skin color (lightness)”. This can then be interpreted as colorist thoughts preserving Sofia’s youngest sister’s continuity whilst it being challenged for the other sister who used to be dark, as she was not discouraged from skin bleaching at 16. Sofia also stated “(…) But, she can't stop because people who know her now don't know she is dark. So she can't go back”. This also implies that keeping up with bleaching is a form of maintaining continuity.

The informants expressed that skin color was not a factor they looked for in a partner, for the sake of lighter children. However, Abby lifted an example from the day of the interview when she had breakfast and her friend told her to pursue a guy for the purpose of having a lighter-skinned child. She stated: “(…) and he was like ‘hey why are you refusing’? He looks nice and he looks like he really likes you and maybe you can have a good kid, everyone like to have them because you can have a cappuccino kid”. The idea of purposely having children with somebody light (in this case Mzungu) to birth lighter individuals can be seen as a way of “passing on” continuity that is not threatened by colorism. This can also be explained by social capital theory where people can pass on social advantages by generations (Cherti, 2008: 32-38). In relation to this, some of the findings also showed a way of speaking about lighter skin as capital. For instance, Sofia mentioned: “Light in our family, it's there, but they want to be lighter” and Abby received comments such as “You could have taken your mother's side”. That also indicates that skin color, as Hunter (2016: 57) and Dahan Kalev (2018: 2102) described it, can be seen as ‘racial’ capital.

According to Jaspal and Cinnirella, ethnic group members are likely to construct a positive narrative of themselves throughout ‘continuity across time’. Whilst the negative narratives become latent (2011: 511). In this case, it can be argued that the horrifying history of slavery (view: Figure 3 in Appendix I) is latent in the ethnicity construction, as more unifying and positive traits become the indicators of the ethnic identity. This then leads to an elevation in positive continuity (ibid). One identifying factor for Zanzibaris was their felt distinctiveness from mainlanders. However, many explained that colorist practices such as skin bleaching was being imported by

mainlanders to the island and influencing other people. This can be understood as a felt shift to the identity structure that is challenging immutable traditions and norms in Zanzibar. As such, the informants’ negative views on skin bleaching and the changing times from then to now, can be an indicator of the collective continuity being challenged (ibid: 512).

Self-esteem Threats to self-esteem are related to the positive evaluation of the person’s and its’ member groups’ identity’s worth and social value (Breakwell, 1986: 24). As identity principles are not mutually exclusive, a positive sense of continuity can e.g. lead to a positive sense of self-esteem in the same realm (Jaspal and Cinnirella, 2011: 512). The results in the informants’ conceptions of their identity’s worth and social value varied. Halima and Adia were not necessarily of the belief that light skin was more valued in society. As such, they did not express any indications of their self-esteem being threatened by color bias. As for the rest of the informants, they all testified to light skin color being the preference in many situations. Even though none of them claimed to be light, except for Sofia in some instances, they did not report any experiences of their self-esteem being affected by skin color bias. All of the informants stated they were happy with the color of their skin. Tishala also expressed a good feeling about her skin color as she stated: “I like my color, I respect my color” and “Anybody (should) love their color. This is Tanzanian color, (should) not change it into mzungu color” even though her friends’ pressure: “They (friends) say Tishala change color, you look so nice after you change”. Neema also stated that despite many people caring for light skin, she did not let this affect her and stated “For me, I think I’m just okay with it. Because I believe in myself”.

Additionally, the informants expressed that people bleaching their skin was a way for them to feel more beautiful and enhancing their chances of finding a partner. This can be seen as a way of enhancing one’s self-esteem to meet dominant beauty ideals. As none of the women had or had intentions to ever start bleaching their skin, we can deduce this as a content of the body and color they possess. However, one informant who openly held the opinion of lighter skin as being more beautiful was Kamara. Correspondingly, when asked if she could change her color, she stated that she would like to be lighter and referred to her childhood skin color as “good” in comparison to now in adulthood as it was Black. Chen et al. (2018: 256) and Vasquez (2011: 439) 48

argued that values and culture-based meaning put on skin color could influence an individual’s self-evaluation, perception of one’s body image and attitude. In Kamara’s case, her preferences for lighter skin could affect her self-esteem.

Contrary to the informants who lived on the island, mainland-born Abby described that her self-esteem was affected by people teasing her with “Cheusi” and not being chosen for an acting role when she was growing up. Nonetheless, she expressed that she today feel empowered because of her skin color and being ‘natural’: “Yeah, not only happy. Maybe I am proud over myself (…)”.

Self-efficacy Self-efficacy is a later added principle that entails the individual maintaining and enhancing feelings of control and confidence in their capabilities (Vignoles et al., 2006: 309). The findings showed that the color of one’s skin was not a determinant in the informants’ feelings of control over their prospective opportunities. When finding jobs they stated that color was a non-matter as sought-after traits were rather qualification and the capabilities of a person. One argument that was stressed was that how you put yourself also affects the opportunities you attract in society. Sofia mentioned “For the people who have dark skin here they don’t believe that they can do, and they don’t believe they are beautiful”, insinuating that believing in oneself and one’s capabilities are important, but that many dark-skinned people don’t. The results thus show that regardless of color, informants stated they had personal agency.

However, statements such as “In the industry light skin matters” (Sofia), “Actresses, singers they like to use cream… all. Before they were black now they are white. (…) Here in Tanzania, they like (that)” (Tishala), suggest that one field where the individual’s feelings of confidence and control, is depending on skin color, is the entertainment industry. When asked about the possibilities for a dark skin person to enter into modeling or acting, Kamara stated: “Ah, no. I think it would not go. Difficult to enter into ceremonies and competitions and so on”. However, Adia and Halima disagreed on this and stated that both darker and lighter-skinned persons had the same opportunities to enter this field. On the other side, Sofia and Abby testified experiences from the mainland where their color did matter. Sofia said she participated in some videos because they wanted someone who was “light but not chemical-light”. Additionally, Abby said she was not chosen for an acting role because of her dark skin, 49

and that the recruiter openly said that he wanted someone lighter, despite her good performance.

Coping methods I urge to clarify that the scope of this study has not been to look at how women deal with the effects of colorism, but rather explore how colorism affects the formation of identity and ethnicity. However, Breakwell stated: “The perception of a ‘threat’ may be modified by the very processes designed to cope with threats to identity” (1989: 49). Therefore, an assessment of coping methods revealed from the findings becomes relevant to discuss when interpreting colorism as a threat. Moreover, the IPT has mainly been applied in studies to look at the evaluation of new information in situations where the identity structure suddenly becomes threatened. For this reason, it is in its place to analyze the observations I collected and asses my experiences with regards to the IPT.

Breakwell affirms that “the individual learns their social worth through interaction in the context of dominant ideologies” (1989: 98). A way to look at some of the informants’ indifference to the dominant preference for lighter skin in the society is that other principles are being emphasized more. Breakwell calls this prioritization of principles the ‘salience of principles’ (ibid: 97-98). The strong sense of distinctiveness, continuity, and self-efficacy that has been shown, becomes more salient than self- esteem. This statement by Neema: “For me, I think I’m just okay with it. Because I believe in myself”, serves as an example. Another explanation as to why the informants were not fazed by lighter ideals can be that they have applied a ‘re-evaluation of the prospective content of identity’ (ibid: 104). This means that if an individual possesses values that are deemed by social ideologies as negative, the person will accept this value but argue that it is not a characteristic that should be seen as worthless. This re- evaluation then becomes subjective (ibid). Although light skin preferences prevailed in society, as seen by the first section, some judged it as having no implications in real life. “No because there are a lot of people who are black in modeling, and a lot of people that are light in modeling” and “They are mixed. I mean singers and those who are acting, they are mixed. Some of them they are light and some of them are black” (Halima).

Other coping methods to combat the threat of colorism can include Sofia changing her hair to black after being teased or her sister continuously using bleaching creams because people don’t know that she used to be dark. Abby can be described as using coping methods when insisting she was light-skinned to others by pointing to the lightest area of her body and changing her passion from acting to instead pursuing an interest in nature and tourism. Abby also explained that she now has found people who accept her color in her new surroundings when traveling. Moreover, the majority of the informants knew somebody who bleached their skin. The popularity of this practice can be seen as a coping method that deals with enhancing one’s self-esteem by approaching a dominant social ideal. This aligns with Blay’s argument on skin bleaching being a way to access privileges (2011: 7-8). As Blay also found in his study of skin bleaching in Tanzania, women bleached to “be more beautiful, remove pimples and rashes, look more European and attract the opposite sex” (ibid: 22).

To assess myself in this, I made a continuity shift when embarking on this journey which can be explained in two ways. (1) Being a Black second-generation immigrant in Sweden à a ‘light’ – ‘medium’ European in Zanzibar and (2) from ‘medium’ – ‘medium dark’ in the Eritrean community à ‘light’ – ‘medium’ African. The only time my distinctiveness was challenged was when I found myself using nearly ‘defense’ strategies when my ethnic legitimacy (Hunter, 2007: 244) was being questioned, and my ‘good’ features seemed to be in gratitude of a Mzungu parent. This can be explained through whiteness being valued amongst non-Whites and traits that have been assigned to African people, not being valued (Jones, 2000:1493-1494; Blay 2011: 7-8). At the same time, the most positive response from people came when it was already assumed I was “fully” African. According to the literature, this can be described as a preference in approximating whiteness, rather than total whiteness (Reece, 2018: 5).

My ethnicity was seen as the reason for my “good” hair. In this sense, my self-esteem did not get threatened but rather saw somewhat of an upswing in acknowledgments. Feelings of worthiness emerged as my value and my group’s identity (‘good’ ethnic membership - Eritrean) value was constantly affirmed wherever I went. Furthermore, my self-efficacy was not threatened as being Swedish gave me a set of advantages and possibilities. I met with the authorities several times and always got the help I needed, I received support in my research from the biggest University in Zanzibar without any

costs. At the core, I was also a person with a scholarship by governmental funding. In short, I had a set of privileges. All of this enforced the feelings of my capabilities and control over my life in Zanzibar. The color of my skin might or might not have enhanced my self-efficacy further, as the majority of encounters positively pointed out my skin color and hair.

8. Conclusion

This inquiry set out to study the effects of a global phenomenon called colorism on the identity and ethnicity construction of women in Zanzibar. The collected empirical data from seven semi-structured interviews and observations were analyzed through the framework of the identity process theory. The sections below will conclude the paper and propose future research ideas on some identified loop-holes in this study.

Concluding Remarks To the question: how do women in Zanzibar experience colorism in their daily lives? The answer is; to various degrees. Colorist ideals were dominant in society and this was evident through associations to lighter (and medium) skin, relaxed and straightened hair as “beautiful” and “good”. However, rather than a pattern of opinions shown by darker-skinned vs. lighter-skinned informants, the analysis showed that the degree of experienced skin color bias varied on birthplace. Mainland-born shared experiences of not being chosen for acting roles, receiving discrimination and name-calling, and getting suggested by friends to bleach their skin. Whilst Zanzibar-born informants and Zanzibaris, in general, claimed to experience colorism to a minimum degree. Nevertheless, some Zanzibaris expressed that men usually prefer a lighter woman and that the common practice of skin-bleaching is a way for women to conform to beauty ideals.

The found divide between the mainland and Zanzibar can also aid in responding to how does colorism affect their (women’s) self-perception? Again, mainland-born admitted to feelings of exclusion because of dark and lighter skin, turned to coping methods such as coloring their hair or changing hobbies. They also expressed feelings of unworthiness and praise, depending on skin color. Contrary, Zanzibar-born women conveyed that their self-perception was affected by skin color bias to a less – minimum degree. From an IPT perspective, the indifference of dominant social ideals can stem from the fulfillment one feels in their distinctiveness (from mainlanders), continuity (one’s color not changing) and self-efficacy (feelings of having personal agency regardless of color). However, some informants expressed wishes of being lighter or being happy that they have not darkened. Moreover, the analysis showed that skin color bias was not a determinant in the construction of ethnic identity for women in Zanzibar.

People of all colors identified first-hand as, and were identified by their co-group, as Zanzibaris. The analysis instead suggested that the ethnic construction was composed of other factors such as shared land, religion, and history.

Suggestions for Further Research Because of the narrow scope of this study and its limitation to Zanzibar, some emerging themes from the interviews and observations could not be elaborated fully. Hence, this section suggests future research on colorism that could not be explored in this paper. Firstly, the findings indicated opinions of the mainland being the primary source of colorism. Therefore, colorism in Tanzania (or other tribe-based countries) and the interplay between tribalism or witch-craft would be interesting to dig further into. Secondly, the interviews consisted of many discussions on skin bleaching as this was a graspable way to talk about colorism. However, a lot of the interesting material that prevailed from the interviews could not be included. I then suggest that research on skin bleaching focus on the correlation to ethnic legitimacy, the role of social media or discourses surrounding colorism. Thirdly, studies could advantageously look into colorism in Zanzibar and other (semi-) autonomous states with the scope of exploring the meaning of color in nation-building and the construction of national identities.

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Appendix I Images

Figure 1: Map of Zanzibar’s placement in Tanzania. (Source: Wikipedia, 2006).

Figure 2: Map of Unguja. (Source: Wikipedia, 2008).

Figure 3: Skin whitening SPF in a minimarket in Shangani Str. in Stone Town. (Photo by author, February 28th 2019).

Figure 4: Skin whitening sun block in a pharmacy in Kenyatta rd. in Stone Town. (Photo by author, March 4th 2019).

Figure 5: Picture taken in the Old Slave Market (Slave museum) in Stone Town. The picture describes how even though slavery was abolished a century ago, the stigma of being a descendant from a slave, still to this day, holds a sense of shame. (Photo by author. February 9th 2019).

Figure 6: Pictures of the Slave chambers in Stone Town. The standing exhibition was sculpted by the Swedish artist Clara Sörnäs and funded by the Swedish companies Skanska, Swedfund and Ericsson (Photo by author. February 9th 2019).

Figure 7: (Photo by author. February 9th 2019)

Appendix II

Interview Guide

Warm-up questions: - Age? Occupation? Where were you born? Where do you live now? What’s your relation status? Do you have any children? Which language/languages do you speak?

1. Skin color

- Of the following five skin colors, where would you say you fit in?

Very light, Light, Medium, Medium dark, Dark

- If you could choose, where would you want to fit in?

- Where would you say your parents and siblings fits in?

- (Where would you say your partner and children fits in?)

2. Childhood and Adolescence - During your childhood and during your adolescence, were you happy with your skin color, your hair and overall the way you looked? - Did you receive any positive comments from your family, friends or society on your skin color, your hair or other features while growing up? - Did you receive any negative comments?

3. Adult life - Are you happy with your skin color, hair and other features? - In your adult life, do you receive any positive comments from your family, friends or society on your skin color, your hair or other features? - Do you receive any negative comments?

4. Family and relations - Have you ever gotten treated well or bad because the shade of your skin color? - By family members. - By colleagues/classmates. - Friends. - Neighbors. - Strangers. - What is important for you when looking for a partner?

5. Beauty ideals - What is beauty to you? - Have you ever used skin bleaching products to make your skin lighter? - Have your friends or family ever used bleaching creams? - Have you ever used hair relaxer on your hair?

6. Advantages and Disadvantages - Do you think that your skin color brings with it more advantages or disadvantages? - In your daily life - When finding a partner - When finding a job - In school - Do you think you would have more advantages or disadvantages if you were of a lighter or darker skin color?

7. Ethnicity - What ethnicity do you identify with?

8. Other - Is there anything you would like to add or mention?

Appendix III

Coding of Interview Findings

1. Distinctiveness Zanzibar: In-group Mainland: Out-group (Positively) Distinct from mainlanders (Negatively) Distinct from islanders Culturally different: Islam, History: Tribalism Revolution, Shared ancestry Skin color: some light skin, some dark skin Mainly dark skin No to little skin color bias Skin color bias

2. Continuity History Present Future Positive stories about Changing times Changing times (influences from the group (influences from mainland) mainland) Change in color (from Medium as Tanning, Passing on color (lightness as childhood) being enough, social capital, Desired color, Future Stagnant color consequences if bleaching stops

3. Self-esteem Enhancing self-esteem Diminishing self-esteem Good feeling about distinctiveness Bleaching Good feeling about color Desiring lighter skin Proud about color Experiences of discrimination

4. Self-efficacy Enhancing Qualifications Confidence in Good opportunities Control over self-efficacy capabilities one’s life Diminishing Entertainment self-efficacy industry