You may have seen the seductive glance with piercing eyes, scrunched-up brows, and come-hither pout online. It has an unspoken charm that has invaded social feeds like wildfire. This look is called the “lightskin stare,” and its popularity on the internet (as well as in movies and cartoons) is hard to miss.

Image credits: DreamWorks Animation and PDI/DreamWorks

So, what’s the connection between the light skin and the seductive stare? We were determined to find out. Join this exploration, filled with noteworthy moments from its first sightings until its recent appearances.

The Roots of Light Skin Preference

Piction Health’s 2024 blog entry explains that the light skin preference dates back to colonialism “when the notion of white superiority was widely propagated (1).”

The light skin preference wasn’t exclusive to any race and was a topic for discussion. In fact, colorism or favoring lighter skin over darker skin “can be seen within any racial or ethnic background,” says Cheryl S. Grant in her 2023 feature for Verywellmind (2). Even within communities of color, colorism prevailed.

According to a 1999 research by Malauna Andel Crivens of Purdue University, “overwhelming preference for or attraction to persons with light skin tones has existed in the African American community since the days of slavery in the United States (3).”

Tre’vell Anderson also supports this cultural reality, citing how people of darker and lighter-skinned color have their own internal dialogues in the 2015 feature for LA Times. There was “undue pressure to be ‘black enough’ for lighter women, or being ‘too black’ for darker women (4).” There is no denying that the disparities exist, and people react accordingly.

When Did the “Lightskin Stare” Become a Meme

Social media allowed racial and ethnic groups to express their reactions to skin color disparity in creative ways. While some were alarmed by the idea of internal colorism, others responded with satirical content.

The first known meme referencing “lightskin” can be traced back to Viner Melvin Gregg, who created satirical content as early as March 2013. His multiple Vine posts promulgated the “lightskin” stereotype. YouTuber Seher Yaşar posted one sample of Gregg’s work in an “Introducing Dem Lightskin Boy” video on April 25, 2015.

Melvin Gregg was a light-skinned African American, so colorism was his reality. He also took to social media to mock the prevalence of light skin preference within his community, marking the entry of the “lightskin” concept to social media platforms.

On June 13, 2013, around the same time as Gregg’s Vine posts, YouTuber @TravieBASED posted “LIGHTSKIN N****S BE LIKE,” a video that also mocked the “lightskin” stereotype. Since its posting over a decade ago, it has received around 1.5 million views and 31,000 likes. The creator says he was “obviously exaggerating in [the] video, basing off of memes and stereotypes.”

Many creators could relate to Gregg’s point of view and joined the conversation with their own videos on Vine and X. For instance, Vine producer BuddyBillz posted “Do the lightskin face” on May 28, 2014, showing a light-skinned Afro-American child doing the “lightskin stare.”

Video credit: BuddyBillz

Online Spread of “Lightskin Stare”

Over the years, we have seen references to “lightskin stare” as the pivotal image driving the stereotype forward. A decade later, the fluidity of the TikTok platform became ripe for resurrecting the stereotype in full force.

The unmistakable “lightskin stare” represents the stereotype with furrowed brows, puckered lips, and a flirtatious gaze, and the TikTok post, uploaded by @itsyuhboiisam on June 27, 2022 (below), shows how the stare is done. The post has received a staggering total of 5.2 million likes.

@itsyuhboiisam

Let’s see you try it 😁

♬ prolly my spookiest beat (slowed + reverb) – prodby668

Other Tiktokers jumped aboard, and we saw a plethora of memes mimicking the “lightskin stare,” like the video from @jai, which has gained  6.4 million likes since it was posted on December 4, 2022.

@jai_cypher

Light skin stare #lightskin

♬ light skin sound pls use sound charli damelio – RayRay🐐💯💯

Others immortalized their favorite light-skinned stare from TV or movies with lists, like this post by YouTuber @squewe on December 19, 2022, which garnered nearly 2.2 million views and 101,000 likes.

The “lightskin stare” became so prevalent that we started seeing it beyond social media. On February 6, 2023, TikToker @EasterIsland posted sightings of the “stare” across a rundown of animated characters. His post has gained 3.1 million likes.

@totallylegaltacos

😶 #lightskin #stare #lightskinstare @charlidamelio pls use the sound

♬ light skin sound pls use sound charli damelio – RayRay🐐💯💯

YouTuber @mrbuttershorts also made a list with a “Top 50 light skin stare” video posted on August 4, 2023. The video offers a fascinating look at the widespread influence of the “lightskin” trend.

Other video creators now reprise the “lightskin stare” on their feeds and channels. TikTok viral posts mock the “lightskin” stereotype, recognizing it in movie and video game characters and even featuring how-tos for others to follow. Most videos use “Sin City,” a song by Chrishan, as a soundtrack to the story. The videos also use a slowed-down song remix, like the first Vines and early videos.

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The “Lightskin Stare” as a Status Symbol

Today, the “lightskin stare” generally refers to “guys on TikTok who attract followers because they’re cute,” shares @BehindTheMeme in a YouTube video posted on November 29, 2022. Those dudes on TikTok “know they’re cute, and they use that to their advantage with their content.”

So, regardless of its more rooted origins, primal instincts have now kicked in when it comes to the “lightskin” face and its cliché stare. No longer is it solely about concepts of race or skin color. Nor is it limited to mocking (or celebrating) a stereotype. It is simply a look that’s too hard to resist (for some, at least) — the millions of likes prove that the “lightskin stare” has more than tickled the internet’s fancy.

References

1. Piction Health. “Light Skin Stare Explained: What Does It Mean?” Piction Health, June 24, 2024. | https://www.pictionhealth.com/post/light-skin-stare#:~:text=The+Light+Skin+Stare+is,the+impacts+of+societal+constructs.
2. Cheryl S. Grant. “Colorism: Understanding Skintone Discrimination.” Verywellmind, April 11, 2023. | https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-colorism-5077380
3. Malauna Andel Crivens. “What color is attractive? A look at the relationships between skin tone preference, self-esteem, and ethnic identity attitudes.” Purdue University, January 1999. | https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/dissertations/AAI9951938/
4. Tre’vell Anderson. “‘Light Girls’ documentary sparks social media conversation.” LA Times, January 20, 2015. | https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-light-girls-twitter-20150120-story.html

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