What color is Color Carne (flesh-colored)?
It’s pink, light beige, the nude effect.
Even the Italian dictionary says so:
“Color Carne: a light pink color, similar to that of human flesh.”
The color of human flesh. Just… pink?
Source: Treccani. And, with slight variations, Devoto-Oli, Garzanti Linguistica, Hoepli, Vallardi, and others (9/02/2022).
And so is this Color Carne?
COLOR CARNE IS NOT JUST ONE COLOR.
#colorcarne
THE ADVOCACY CAMPAIGN: LET’S CHANGE THE COLOR OF COLOR CARNE
Do you think that Color Carne (flesh-colored) = pink is a non-inclusive concept that needs to be changed because it assumes that a white person’s skin is the norm?
Then you can help us change the perception of Color Carne in Italy (and other countries where this expression is still in use) and raise awareness among people who are in a position to change things.
Together let’s change the way of describing and representing the world.
/ Video update, 21.3.2022
SHARE OUR CAMPAIGN CARDS
Choose the card you like and share it now on all your social media channels.
If you want you can use this message:
Let’s change the color of Color Carne (flesh-colored), from pink to all the colors of humanity. ✊🏻✊🏼✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿
#colorcarne
On March 21st 2022, the “International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination” we told the web community about the first goal that a collective and participatory advocacy campaign has managed to achieve: an important Italian dictionary has agreed to change its definition of “color carne” (“flesh-colored”). This video tells the amazing story of how influencers and the media supported the campaign.
/ Video update, 21.3.2022
We have changed the color of color carne (flesh colored)! ✊🏻✊🏼✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿
📖 In language
The Italian dictionary Garzanti was the first to modify its definition. It can already be consulted online at Garzanti Linguistica. It has inserted a notice regarding the sensitive use of this expression, which is officially flagged as “discriminatory because it assumes that the only reference to human skin is white, without considering all the possible colors and tones that the human complexion can have.”
And it’s not the only dictionary. After Nuovo Devoto-Oli, Zingarelli – Zanichelli have also agreed to change. We look forward to reading their new definitions.
📷 In visual representation
Googling “color carne” now produces a variety of skin tones. We have flooded the internet with images and cards from the campaign, and the colorcarne.it website is currently in first place.
/ Card updates on 12.4.2022
THE PROJECT’S PHILOSOPHY
Color Carne is an invitation to challenge standards, to ask ourselves questions and, when we can no longer relate to those standards, to act for change.
Color Carne isn’t just a color, it’s the symbol of all the certainties that we take for granted, without questioning them. Color Carne is a different and more inclusive way of thinking, speaking acting and even doing business.
In dealing with issues like this, there’s often a tendency to downplay them and ignore them. But it is precisely by modifying these false certainties that we can change things. Any one of us can help bring about change.
HELP BRING ABOUT CHANGE
ARE YOU A PUBLISHER?
Change your dictionary definition, perhaps adding a note, as has been done in English language dictionaries.
NOTE: This use of flesh-colored is considered to be offensive as it assumes that the color of a white person’s skin is the norm. (source: Merriam-Webster)
USAGE ALERT ABOUT FLESH COLOR: While flesh color originally meant the skin tone of white people, that meaning has been criticized as exclusionary and is now considered offensive. In fact, the term is no longer commonly used without qualifying it with a specific hue, such as peach flesh color or dark flesh color. The word nude in the past has been used to describe a similar hue approximating a white person’s skin color and has been criticized for the same reason. (source: Dictionary.com)
DO YOU WORK WITH A BRAND THAT USES THIS DEFINITION?
- Apply pressure so that the color of the products is defined with other words.
- You could try broadening the range of products with different skin tones, from the lightest to the darkest. Color Carne is a global issue. Thanks to the digital revolution, you can find new potential markets.
- When you develop advertising and communication campaigns, remember that there are many different types of… flesh-colored.
SOME EXAMPLES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
In order to provide you with inspiration and to let you know about some of the projects that have dealt with this issue, we’d like to share with you some case-studies and tools that we really like:
A NEW LIFE FOR COLOR CARNE
Color Carne is proof of the fact that concepts which appear to be harmless, especially in language and visual representation, can in fact contain implicit prejudice and discrimination, and that it doesn’t take much to change people’s point of view.
In this case we are talking about discrimination in terms of skin color, but the same is also true of all the groups that are under-represented.
Color Carne can become a meeting point for people who want to build a society that enhances diversity and where everyone can recognize themselves.
WHO IS SUPPORTING THIS PROJECT
Color Carne is an advocacy project from Bold Stories
