106 Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences 33(1) references, however, are informative, particularly when they are scrutinized for the implications of skin color today. By virtue of historical record, it is possible to examine the early Greek norms for beauty and their implications for skin color among Latinos. The combined Platonic, Lucreatian, and Ovidian assumptions of the classical norm image suggest a distaste for extremes (i.e., too light or too dark). The main characters in classical poetry seem to prefer their own skin color to that of the extremely light-skinned Germans and of the dark-skinned Africans (Snowden, 1983). In the aftermath, like all people, in their expressions of aesthetic preference, the Greeks internalized native skin color norms as ideal. Little mention is made, however, that there were Europeans, as well as Africans, who did not satisfy the Greek ideal. In some early Western cultures, there were those who extolled the beauty of dark skin and did not hesitate to do so publicly. Herodotus, the first known among Westerners to express an opinion about the physical appearance of Africans, described them idealistically (p. 57). Others put their feelings about dark skin into poetry. Such was true of Philodemus. In reference to a certain Philaenion, short, black, with hair more curled than parsley and skin tender than down, he concludes, “May I love such a Philaenion, golden Cypris, until I find another more perfect” (p. 77). What’s more, one Asclepiades praises the beauty of the dark-skinned Didyme. The poem continues, “Gazing at her beauty I melt like wax before the fire. And if she is black, what difference to me? So are coals when we light them, they shine like rose-buds” (p. 77). Another named Theocritus contends that those who refer to his Bombyca as sunburned should know that, to him, she is “honey-brown and charming and adds that violets and hyacinths dark but are the first flowers chosen for nose- gays” (p. 77). The aforementioned references to skin color were terminated following the Atlantic slave trade and European colonial expansion. Where dark skin among ancients might very well have been idealized, postcolonial trends dictated by Eurocentrism is not irrelevant to Latinos. In the aftermath are various forms of discrimination among and between Latino people in their aspirations for the light skin ideal. Although it is a no less insidious issue of the 21st century, the lack of atten- tion to skin color as a postcolonial issue among Latinos remains an intellec- tual extension of Eurocentrism (Hall, 2006). Subsequently, considering such lack of attention, there remain professors who are expertly trained with hardly any reference at all to the implications of skin color beyond the intellectual confines of the Eurocentric perspective. Mainstream academics dominated by the prescripts of Eurocentrism have failed accordingly to take notice of skin color in the 21st century despite an increasing Latino population (Hall, 2003a). at Alliant International University on January 24, 2011 hjb.sagepub.com Downloaded from

Hall 107 Furthermore, those who teach at some of the most prestigious institutions of higher education in the United States, which serve a substantial Latino population, have not the faintest idea of the extent to which Eurocentrism has influenced a failed acknowledgement of skin color. That failure is indi- cated by the minimal existing social science literature, which addresses its implications. Subsequent to Eurocentrism, the failure of academia to acknowledge skin color as a critical issue among Latinos has been confined to the limitations of Western academia. That is skin color as a vehicle of oppression does not merit validation by the Anglo-academic apparatus. The essence of this shortcoming then prohibits the comprehension of issues significant to the existential well- being of the Latino population. Consequently, academia remains burdened by this analytical limitation long past the time when such bias should have ceased to impose upon social science objectivity. Therefore Eurocentrism has continued into the 21st century as a tenacious extension of Western colo- nialism (Whitsett & Whitsett, 1996). In fact as per the 21st century human existence extends to a considerable degree beyond the confines of Eurocen- trism. About the accuracy of this assumption there should be no doubt. Not- withstanding, to characterize social science in such a narrow context does a disservice to the scientific method. It enables the otherwise absurd rhetoric of hierarchy within a single species. It provides a conduit for social, economic, and political oppression that has evolved among humanity worldwide. How- ever, challenging, the social science knowledge base must encompass a more objective, global context relevant to 21st-century population changes. While analyzing the broader aspects of human existence may not be popular or “politically correct,” to do so regardless is what distinguishes science from quackery (Morris, 1992). The objective of this paper is thus to extend the content of social science beyond the influences of Eurocentrism being more commensurate with the 21st century. It will suggest the significance of skin color as a comprehensive tool for the investigation of existential issues among Latinos, which may dif- fer significantly from those amenable to Eurocentric standards. Of particular concern is the psychological and physiological suffering visited upon Latinos by virtue of their alien proximity to Europeanisms, that is, Anglo characteris- tics. Therefore this paper suggests that the more comprehensive analysis of Latino existence less confined to the prescripts of Eurocentrism must be undertaken by explanation of skin color as frame of reference. Subsequently the author will offer explanation of the aforementioned as per the following: (a) Eurocentrism and (b) the postcolonial implications of skin color. at Alliant International University on January 24, 2011 hjb.sagepub.com Downloaded from