Colorism and Sexual Health: A Rapid Review

Colorism is a skin-tone stratification system that privileges proximity to Eurocentric features and disadvantages darker skin tones and Afrocentric features. Although colorism is increasingly recognized as a gendered social determinant of health, its role in shaping sexual health among Black and Brown girls and women remains understudied. This rapid review synthesized peer-reviewed empirical evidence on the relationship between colorism, skin tone, and sexual health outcomes among girls and women. Searches were conducted in PsycINFO and PubMed between April and May 2026. After removing duplicates, 114 unique records were screened in Covidence, yielding eight eligible studies. Five studies were quantitative, two were qualitative, and one was mixed methods. The included studies were synthesized narratively due to heterogeneity in study design, measurement, and outcomes. Findings suggest that colorism is associated with sexual risk behaviors, sexual agency and desirability, sexual development, and HIV-related sexual functioning. Across studies, colorism appeared to shape sexual health through three interrelated pathways: internalization and self-esteem, colorist desirability hierarchies that influence sexual agency and relationship dynamics, and differential sexualization experiences that shape girls’ sexual development and vulnerability across the life course. One study also highlighted parental support as a potential protective factor. Collectively, the findings position colorism as a potentially important social determinant of sexual health and underscore the need to integrate colorism into future sexual health research, prevention, and intervention frameworks.