Gender, Socioeconomic Status, and Perceptions of Skin Color

• In Event: Racial and Ethnic Minorities Section Roundtables Session
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): Table Eleven: Open Topics on Race and Racism

Abstract

A growing body of research has examined how socioeconomic status (money whitening) shapes interviewer perceptions of skin color, yet less attention has been paid to the role of gender and ethnic cues. Most surveys measure skin color through interviewer assessments. We address this limitation using colorimeter-based, machine-rated skin color. Drawing on the 2019 PRODER, a nationally representative survey of approximately 7,000 Mexicans, we examine whether socioeconomic status, gender, and indigenous identity predict interviewer perceptions of respondents' skin color, holding constant their machine-rated skin tone. We explore three factors known to shape racial perception: status lightening, gender, and ethnic cues. Results confirm status lightening: higher SES is associated with being perceived as lighter-skinned, net of machine-rated skin color. Interviewers rate women as lighter than men, independent of their machine-rated skin tone. The association between SES and perceived skin color does not differ by gender. However, speaking an indigeneity is associated with perceptions of darker skin among men, but this effect is significantly weaker for women. These results have implications for our understanding of how colorism is experienced and measured.

Authors

• Denia Garcia, University of Wisconsin-Madison

• Emilce Santana, Texas A&M University-College Station