14 DAY TRIAL // A company selling paint in Sweden is under fire after allegations of racism in making up their catalog.
Paints developed by Universal Color and Chemicals are used throughout the country. A 14-year-old girl came upon the “skin color” hue, which was being used in construction works at her school.
The tint is in fact a light beige, which has recently been renamed to depict that it is the color of skin.
The teenager has contacted authorities about what she believes is obvious discrimination on part of the manufacturer.
The Local describes that she has filed a complaint with the country's Equality Ombudsman (Diskrimineringsombudsmannen), or office for race equality and protection against racial discrimination.
“By renaming beige to skin color they show that there is a whiteness norm in society,” the young girl, identified only as Thyra, tells local reporters.
The plaintiff argues that defining the color of skin as white only takes Caucasians into account – it says nothing of the skin color of other races.
“It is completely sick that they just rename beige to skin color when black and brown are also that,” she speaks out.
The teen's father clarifies that Thyra has placed a “racist” label on the product because she is looking out for her younger sister.
The girl has dark skin and it is wrong for her to read that her skin is not the norm, as that norm is beige or white.
The concerned dad argues that marketing experts developing the name of this paint color are probably white.
“Her little sister has brown skin but according to the paint manufacturer she has no skin color. ... I think [the company] just looked at themselves and imagined that's what skin was,” the man says.