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Many popular brands, such as Loreal, Beauty Blender, and YSL, have faced backlash for releasing products that only cater to fair skin tones. Many POC can relate to the struggle of finding makeup that matches their skin tone because they simply don’t have the same amount of options as those with lighter skin.
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Many brands continue to create a huge shade range of lighter skins, while having only a few shades for darker skin tones. In the beauty industry, colorism isn’t as obvious to discern, but once you are aware of the issue, it is more and more noticeable. In an article from, Crystal Tai writes how there is a “deeply rooted cultural notion in Asia that associates dark skin with poverty and working in the fields, whereas pale skin reflects a more comfortable life out of the sun and, therefore, a higher socioeconomic status” (Tai). It also has been ingrained in the culture from the start. However, colorism isn’t only the result of western influence. This standard partly comes from western ideals and the eurocentric beauty standards society has pushed on the world. It is evident how desirable having lighter skin is in Asian cultures. According to a World Health Organisation survey, “nearly 40 percent of women polled in nations including China, Malaysia, the Philippines and South Korea said they regularly used whitening products.” (Tai). In many East and Southeast Asian countries, such as China, South Korea, The Philippines, and Malaysia, skin whitening is a multibillion dollar industry.
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are fair skinned, creating a harmful mindset in a country full of darker skinned people, making those with darker skin feel as if they are inferior.
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For darker kids growing up in India, they have no representation in the media, which can be exceedingly damaging for mental health. Many elders in India urge the youth to use these lightening creams, which are extremely harmful for the skin, once again enforcing the standard that “light is beautiful”. Bollywood icons, such as Priyanka Chopra, Aishwarya Rai, and many more, have endorsed products such as Fair and Lovely, which is a skin lightening product. Bollywood, the Indian version of Hollywood, only casts actors with lighter skin. There is an existing stigma in Indian culture on how having lighter skin is better, a sign of beauty. While these are more obvious forms of colorism within certain racial groups, it also plays a major role in the entertainment, modeling, and beauty industry, except it is more difficult to discern.Ĭolorism is extremely widespread in Asia, especially in India, where people of all skin tones exist. Most often, it’s members of that ethnic group that claim that “lightskin” women are more attractive or desirable than the “darkskin” ones. In relation to black culture in America, many African-Americans use the terms “lightskin” or “darkskin” to label each other. In many cultures it is encouraged to use skin lightening creams and other methods such as bleaching, enforcing the standard on both boys and girls from a young age. In overview, those with darker skin are deemed “less beautiful” than those with lighter skin. It affects POC everywhere, having a huge effect in Black, Indian, East Asian, Latinx and many other ethnic groups. Image From: “Detroit Public Library to tackle colorism conversation during ‘Dark Girls’ film screening”Ĭolorism is prevalent in many cultures around the world.
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Not only does it disadvantage those with darker skin tones, but colorism also has negative effects on self image and mental health. While not as addressed as racism, colorism is still a major issue across the globe, its underlying effect still seen on society today. Colorism is prejudice or discrimination against individuals with a dark skin tone, typically among people of the same ethnic or racial group. Many people associate this word with racism, not knowing what it actually means.