![]() ![]() All too often, anyone who isn't a paler pinkish-yellow than a medium-rare pork chop ( especially if they were born into Islam or one of the "Eastern" religions, or do not speak English as their first and preferably only language) will not qualify as "white" instead they will be referred to as "olive" or "beige" or just plain " brown." This concept is more common in the United States than in most other English-speaking countries, both because of the USA's greater diversity and (somewhat paradoxically) its rigid color line: There are many Americans who are ethnically ambiguous enough that they can't easily be assigned a clear-cut race. Also, food and drink is something the audience is almost guaranteed to be familiar with since we all need both to live. The reason food and drink terms are so commonly used to describe skin color might be because human skin color is usually in very neutral tones (brown, beige, cream, etc.), and most foods, aside from fruits and vegetables, are neutral in tone as well. Occasionally other color metaphors will be used some will be based on food and some will not. note That said, it's also used for mixed relationships involving a brown-skinned Latin American and a White person, so the reader should be attentive. ![]() Cafe au lait is another favorite, which resembles the look of coffee with milk cafe con leche is often used for the same tone when the individual in question is of Hispanophone origin (whether Latin American or a Spaniard). You may also encounter mixed-race characters who have "some cream in their coffee". Non-food descriptors include "ebony" for black skin, and "ivory" or "alabaster" for white skin. "White" skin is most often compared to "cream" or "milk," with "peaches and cream" being a fairly common term to refer to fair complexion with pinkish undertones. The colors of "black" or "brown" skin vary even more widely than the colors of "white" skin: Common comparisons include "honey" or "caramel" for the range of golden-browns, with the use of "chocolate" or "mocha" for darker shades. When describing the skin of a black person, simply calling them "black" or "brown" can sound underwhelming (or even insensitive, depending on the context). For black or other non-white characters, this is usually some kind of coffee beverage, and can be especially likely if the character in question is of mixed race attractiveness is also a factor, and sometimes those two concepts will be mixed together. It is common for characters in fiction to be described as having a skin color that looks like some kind of food or drink.
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