Spain’s Controversial ‘Equality Stamps’ Get Pricier The Lighter The Skin Tone
Image via Correos
While using color matches to shine a light on diversity isn’t a new concept—you see makeup brands regularly updating their lines to meet a spectrum of skin tones—one government-run company has shaken the internet for deliberately creating a campaign that can broadly be described as “tone-deaf.”
Spain’s postal service, Correos, left social media users shell-shocked after debuting ‘Equality Stamps’ with unequal prices. The darker the stamps were, the cheaper they would be.
The palest of the four was priced at €1.60 (US$1.95), whereas the darkest cost only €0.70 (US$0.85)—less than half the price of the most expensive stamp.
Right away, the postal service knew the collection would tick off audiences, as it explained that the campaign aimed to showcase how locals have been putting a value on people from their skin color alone, hence the whitest stamp being the most valuable. Correos asserted in a video that more black stamps had to be purchased than white stamps per delivery as a reflection of “an unjust and painful reality that shouldn’t exist.”
As part of #EuropeanDiversityMonth, and coinciding with the first anniversary of the murder of #GeorgeFloyd, we are launching #EqualityStamps: A series of stamps that aims to shine a light on racial inequality and promote diversity, inclusion and equal rights. pic.twitter.com/eSStZ0GrBw
— Correos (@Correos) May 25, 2021
The series was launched with the Spanish Federation of SOS Racism in honor of Europe’s Diversity Month, while commemorating the first anniversary of George Floyd’s unjust death. It was claimed as a move to “shine a light on racial inequality and promote diversity, inclusion and equal rights.”
The initiative was still deemed as offensive even with the context, and users questioned how the idea had passed through levels of management without anyone wondering if it would backfire.
“Making the white stamp the most valuable is a contradiction to their so-called effort of fighting racism,” one user wrote. “A campaign that outrages those it claims to defend is always a mistake,” detailed Antumi Toasijé, president of the Council for the Elimination of Racial or Ethnic Discrimination.
According to CNN, the option to purchase the stamps was taken down just three days after their launch. A spokesperson for Correos dismissed the suggestion that the stamps were being removed due to the backlash, and said that the company “will not make comments” about the controversy.
In contrast with the move’s response, several brands before Correos have been applauded for reinforcing racial equality through the use of skin tones. For instance, Tesco’s rollout of diverse bandage colors was met with adoration, while Crayola left a mark for debuting ‘Colors of the World’ crayons—which proves that there are ways to execute this concept successfully. Correos’ stamps could have elicited a similar reaction had they been valued on a level plane.
Spain's idea of promoting equality is releasing a set of 'skin tone' stamps where the darker the colour, the less valuable they are.
— Arvind Hickman (@ArvindHickman) May 28, 2021
Can't see that one backfiring. #EqualityStamps #Fail pic.twitter.com/qvV8gPiy7I
I wonder about the work meeting that approved this:
— SuperheroesInColor (@HeroesInColor00) May 26, 2021
"At Correos we believe that the value of a person should not have color, that's why we launched #EqualityStamps - A stamp collection in which the darker the stamp color, the less value it is. " pic.twitter.com/TWJgEi2YZ9
— Alejandro 💊 (@alejoarangoc) May 27, 2021
So they made things equal…by making them very much not equal?
— Miha Rekar (@MihaRekar) May 29, 2021
That’s some galaxy brain thinking right there… #EqualityStamps pic.twitter.com/yXGVy3K08Z
[via The New York Times and CNN, video and cover image via Correos]
