Also I think the paint chip thing is based on Von Luschan's chromatic scale which was supposed to be a scientific way to record skin color except how it was actually subjective since different observers would report the same person having different skin color.
no subject
Date: 2011-06-01 03:44 pm (UTC)There is another scale, The Fitzpatrick Scale, which analyzes how skin reacts to UV light which is in theory less racialized and more sciencey. And yet, not entirely (Measuring skin cancer risk in African Americans: Is the Fitzpatrick Scale Culturally Sensitive? PDF link to study which says "eh...not so much.")