Image from Kojie San “Bring Your Skin To Light” ad campaign
As a Filipino woman, I know personally that Filipinos are just one of many South Asian ethnicities that can beautifully exist in a wide spectrum of hues, from ivory white to mahogany brown. Within my own family, my mother and younger sister both have a paler complexion — the one that is prized in our culture.
On the other hand, my little brother and I have more of a deep caramel complexion, a complexion alike to the coffee beans you greedily and thankfully cradle to your lips, or blooming hazel fay flowers, or smoky quartz.
What I would not describe my complexion as is a characteristic determining my worth or social status through colorism.
Colorism has permeated South Asian culture for many eras and this standard of beauty angers me. With the popularity of harmful whitening soaps and lotions, these products communicate to someone with a darker skin tone (like me) that they should be ashamed of the beautiful mahogany that encapsulates their body and that it should be burnt down for something whiter and better.
My mother has always used whitening soaps, as does my aunt, my grandmother and even her own grandmother before that. The idea that “white is right” has been ingrained in South Asian culture for generations upon generations, and it is ingrained into our consciousness. This is apparent when you look at the $10 billion this industry attracts per year, despite potential health ramifications.
In my household, we have many Filipino television channels, and I can’t help but notice that all the actors and celebrities broadcasted never have a skin tone alike to mine. If there was someone with brown skin, they either served as comedic relief or a sidekick. An example would be the controversial Filipino television show Nita Negrita, which even used blackface.
Miss Universe, Miss World, & Miss International????✨ pic.twitter.com/sIV73wf8v4
— jewel (@jewelmnazareno) December 10, 2016
Miss International 2016, Miss Universe 2015, and Miss World 2013 have all been celebrated for representing Filipinos worldwide (they are stunning!), but again, I notice that they do not reflect accurately beauty across the South Asian spectrum.
A popular Filipino entertainment blog, The Starometer, even has the audacity to say,
“It’s no secret that many Filipinas prefer fair, radiant and flawless skin. Come to think of it, who doesn’t? Having lighter skin gives a person unspeakable advantages. You will get noticed easily, admired by many and envied by some.”
Contrary to the above statement, skin tone should not be a benchmark of beauty. As we enter 2017, I believe that many of us are starting to realize that and demand more. We demand more accurate representation of all skin colors, more accountability and self-confidence from ourselves, and more awareness and rejection against this imaginary schema of beauty. It’s frustrating how colorism has poisoned expectations of beauty and I am frustrated at the growing skin-whitening industry.
Past generations of women in my family used whitening soap, but with my condemnation of it the practice stops here. Whitening soap may never disappear, but I believe the distorted ideals that support it can.
