Objectivity and objectification. On the ethics and epistemologies of skin colour measurements in the social sciences

• Instruments like skin colour scales and colorimeters are increasingly used in American social science studies addressing issues of racism and social inequalities. • It is crucial to consider the ethical dimensions of measuring skin colour, due to the ever-present risks of objectifying skin colour and reifying social conceptions of ‘race’. • Historically, problems of objectification are tightly linked to approaches that emphasize the search for ‘objective’ ways to quantify bodily traits like skin colour. • Feminist and antiracist standpoints offer useful ethical and epistemic resources for anticipating and mitigating the risks of objectification at different moments in the research process: instrument design, data collection, and science communication. • It is not always obvious what is meant by ‘objective’ measures of skin colour in contemporary social science contexts, and clarifying what objectivity means in specific research contexts can help scientists design more appropriate and ethical methodologies.