“Let that stage be your stepping stone, not your tombstone.” That’s Uncle Clifford’s number-one rule at The Pynk, a strip club off exit 2-9 in the fictional town of Chucalissa, MS, that serves as the hub for Starz’s breakout series P-Valley. Adapted from Katori Hall’s stage play P*ssy Valley, this show offers a pan-seared view of the lives of strippers in the Dirty Delta. Hall serves as creator and showrunner of the hour-long drama that humanizes sexworkers through kaleidoscopic stories. The show is artivism at its best: an entertaining view of the Southern Black experience while honing in on the various nuances that exist within the backstories of those who occupy the same space — domestic violence, closeted gay men, racism, politricks, gentrification and, colorism.
Colorism, or shadeism, is discrimination within the same ethnic group based on your complexion. Individuals are treated differently because of the cultural meanings or stereotypes attached to the depth of their skin color. Colorism has long played a part in Hollywood