michelle_obama.jpgCan you spot the glaring problem in this AP story about last night’s state dinner?

First lady Michelle Obama chose to wear a gleaming silver-sequined, flesh-colored gown Tuesday night to the first state dinner held by her husband’s administration. She was tending to her hostess duties in a strapless silhouette with the beads forming an abstract floral pattern that was custom-made by Naeem Khan.

Hey, AP? Crayola got the memo back in 1962–using flesh as a synonym for white or light-colored is, well, racist.

Sociological Images pulled together a collection of ads that trade on this same assumption–the default skin tone color is white. As Lisa wrote, “Part of the privilege of being white is having a society that considers you the norm and is, therefore, organized around you.”

–Phoebe Connelly

(AP Photo)

Phoebe Connelly is a former web editor of the Prospect. Previously, she was managing editor of In These Times. She writes on political culture, human rights, and feminism.