South Asian Colorism

Illustration by Ayush Kalra (Instagram)

I remember walking to my grandma's house alone under the sun in India, so excited to finally see her after a year. Little did I know, she would surprise me. I ran up to her and gave a big hug. She looked at me and told me that I had gotten darker. I was shocked that she had said this, especially since we had a similar skin tone. She pulled out this cream for me to use. Apparently, it would make my skin lighter. I refused several times, but she still applied it on my arms. I left her house shortly afterwards, then told my mom, but she refused to believe me.

Colorism, the discrimination against people of darker skin tones, is very prevalent in the South Asian community. Many people have been told that dark skin is considered ugly. It is very tragic to see that most celebrities in the Bollywood Industry have lighter skin and many have promoted skin-whitening brands like Glow and Lovely (previously called Fair and Lovely).

South Asian colorism originates from the arrival of Mughals and the British. Though the Mughals did not have much influence in societal colorism, it was the British that truly brought discrimination against skin color. They began enforcing their idea of lighter skinned people being more superior and intelligent. After hundreds of years of being under their rule, colorism was deeply rooted in society.

People say that a person's skin color determines just about everything: how pretty they are, how easy it will be for them to get married, how they will be treated in society. If you have lighter skin, it'll be easier for you: you'll likely be given more opportunities, marriage will be an easier process, many people will compliment you about your beauty. Most dark-skinned girls, however, are shamed into thinking that they are less worthy. They are rather forced to apply skin care products to make them look fairer, which contain many harmful chemicals. These ideals don't just exist in South Asian countries, however, they're still present in the South Asian American society today.

Nina Davuluri, former Miss America, has talked about an experience that she's faced in an interview. Before meeting her boyfriend's mom, she asked him what she would think of her. Surprisingly, her boyfriend told her that his mom would probably think she was too dark. Appalled by his answer, she couldn't help but think that this was what her boyfriend thought. Then, she realized that the Indian American society had colorist ideals as well.

In a Teen Vogue article by Malavika Kannan, she addresses that even though her family made her feel beautiful, society projected colorism around her. The fair-skinned models and the ads on TV were inescapable. She emphasized that millions of women face colorism in India and America. Moreover, society functions a certain way that is impossible to avoid. It takes time to realize that society might be wrong. However, it is our job to fix societal values. We must bring change.

It is 2021. Skin color is still a huge beauty standard for millions around the world, which is wrong in many ways. It is time to change society's mindset from thinking that some people are beautiful to everyone's beautiful.

Here are a a few things you can do to teach yourself and others about colorism/prevent it from happening:

1. Educate yourself! Realize that you are beautiful in your own skin. Self-realization is key in order to help others.

2. If someone comments on your skin color in a negative manner, stand up for yourself. Educate the other person.

3. If you see an act of colorism, stop it! If someone is criticizing another person's skin color, interfere. Stand up for the person who is being criticized and take time to teach the other person about how they can think differently.

4. Enlighten the community. If you know someone who thinks lighter skin tones are "prettier", ask them why they think so. Start a discussion, work on educating the person. The word will spread and more people will be willing to change their view.

5. Don't promote fairness products. This sounds obvious but discourage people from buying fairness products. In the South Asian community, brands like Glow & Lovely still thrive today. In India, they can be seen in many households.

6. Spread it on social media! There are many infographics about colorism online, so share a few. Keep the word spreading!

Remember, societal redirection is the way to go! Even changing one person's opinion is amazing. Encourage lifting each other up instead of bringing each other down.