Colourism
Colourism is prejudice or discrimination against individuals with a dark skin tone and classified as a form of racism. In the current state of the world, eradicating stereotypes due to skin colour has become more important than ever.
​
The concept of colourism dates back to the start of the 17th century, with the start of British colonisation through the East India Company and British Raj. The Caste System was an Ancient Vedic principle geared at classifying members of society by their strengths e.g. as farmers / warriors / Brahmins. The British corrupted this system & the result helped contribute towards the establishment of colourism in Indian society as a technique to ‘divide and conquer’. Brahmins, for example, who were studying indoors, were not exposed to the Sun & thus had lighter skin whereas the adverse was true of manual labourers. Colourism was also seen due to geographical location, in terms of more Southern Indians being closer to the equator line than Northern Indians. The consequence of colonisation was that colourism became a large part of South Asian culture and fairness became associated with power and prestige.
​
Women and men are both affected by colourism in South Asian countries, but arguably women are continuously under more scrutiny. This permeates through all aspects of life, which can lead to discrimination e.g. for job prospects, and is often promoted and worsened by celebrity culture, the media and family pressures. From a young age children are indoctrinated with the false idea that they are not beautiful because of their dark skin and to avoid staying out in the sun to not become ‘too dark’. This is paired with the culture of fairness frequently seen in Bollywood and with modelling agencies, who will often opt for fairer models or actors, while equally talented models / actors of a deeper complexion, go unnoticed. Despite being a fan of Bollywood, the lack of representation is very obvious and needs to be addressed.
​
In many South Asian countries, such as India and Pakistan, the skin whitening industry is hugely successful and is an active agent in upholding colourism. Unilever, Fair and Lovely is the most successful skin lightening product in India, with numerous celebrity endorsements, including Priyanka Chopra and Virat Kohli. The brand has become a popular product with both Indian men and women and has become an integral part of many of their beauty regimes. Advertisements in India and Pakistan for skin lightening creams and cosmetics take up almost 90% of overall advertisements on TV, with so many naïve and vulnerable children being exposed to this toxicity.
​
All these things lead to low self-esteem in young girls and have heavy impacts on women’s mental and physical health. Skin whitening products contain ingredients like acid that can ruin people’s skin and have many harmful side effects. The mental health of many young people is also affected, as they become dissatisfied with their image, which can lead to anxiety and depression. With all these negative effects, how are these products still accepted in our society and kept legal? A ban on these products would save so many young people from falling victim to the ideology that “fair is beautiful”.
​
Sabyasachi Mukherji, Indian fashion designer, has gained widespread attention for hiring dark-skinned models to pose in his elaborate and intricate designs which is very uncommon in the modelling world. A new global campaign called “Unfair and Lovely” was started in March 2016, with a goal to "combat colourism and the under-representation of people of colour in the media…challenge the way colourism permeates our lives".
​
Being a dark-skinned, Tamil girl, my skin tone is something I will always love about myself and be proud of. Having learnt more about how colourism became such an inbuilt and prominent part of India culture due to colonialism, I have come to appreciate my complexion even more and I hope to inspire others to feel as empowered but also educate individuals to help combat colourism.
​
WE ARE THE FUTURE AND WE NEED TO PUT AN END TO COLOURISM IN OUR SOCIETY.
​
By Vaishali Sivasurathan