Internalized Racism in the South Asian Community

When I was 8, I used to swim at the local sports center. It was just a day in October and I was about to start my class. There was this new girl who had come next to me and we both smiled at each other. About 15 minutes into the class, she started to quietly pick on me. First, she starts by telling me that she's a better swimmer, which I ignored. Then, she noticed that I had mehendi on my hand and told me that it looked awful. She kept asking me questions and made fun of whatever I said. She made fun of me being vegetarian, of my skin color, etc. Although racism, in general, is something to have no excuse for, I was heavily confused because she was Indian too. Why would she be making fun of me when we're part of the same culture, the same race?

Internalized racism is discriminating or criticizing one's own race. It is the act of looking down upon one's own culture, one's people. A popular example of someone displaying internalized racism is Treasure, a Black-American teen on the Dr. Phil show. On the show, she claims that black people are obnoxious. Whether Treasure was actually against her own race or if it was just an act, we'll never know, but we do know it is an example of what exists today.

The act of being racist towards your own culture comes in many different forms, just as being racist to someone else's culture. First or second-generation Americans have probably faced much more of this.

On Tik Tok, a social media platform, there is a lot of internalized racism, especially in the South Asian community. For example, there is a user that is known throughout "Brown Tik Tok". Being South Asian himself, he puts down girls of his own race on the platform. He claims that girls of other races are much prettier and shames brown girls. While the majority of the comments disagree with him and express disapproval, sadly, there are users who agree with him. Even today, whenever a video on social media is posted, one where there is internalized racism, it is disappointing to see that there are comments that agree and spread the racism even more. Unfortunately, this isn't the only form of internalized South Asian racism on Tik Tok.

In the summer, there was a Tik Tok sound made for South Indians to show off themselves and their culture. This was unique because Indian Tik Tok sounds are primarily North Indian songs, or having to do with North Indian culture. However, someone decided to make a North Indian version of the South Indian trend for fun. This caused a rift on brown Tik Tok. People from different parts of India were fighting each other in the comments. Even amongst the South Asian community, people were making fun of other South Asian cultures. Many didn't realize that we're all equals. No Indian is beneath one another, we are all one.

Not only does this form of racism occur on social media, but it also occurs in social settings. For example, an instance happened where my friend was sitting on the bus. Her peers were sitting nearby, "the popular kids". They were Indian, yet they were still making fun of Indian names.

You might be wondering why this happens. The main reason why we've heard or thought of these things is that as a kid, we felt the need to fit in more with American culture. As we've grown up, we've become more comfortable and have been able to embrace our beautiful culture. However, another reason many people are internally racist is that they're misinformed. Many don't take the time to educate themselves and assume the worst. Some may hear bad things about their culture through people that they trust or the media. I agree that there are ideals in South Asian culture that need to be changed, but it is no reason to be racist. We are all one.

Thank you for reading! If you have any suggestions or anything to add (like an experience), please feel free to comment below. :)