The poisonous tendrils of discrimination have no boundaries- they reach into the most obscure parts of a society’s mindset and create social classing systems that need not exist. Racism and sexism are well known examples of discrimination. However, there is one very damaging form of discrimination that is tragically underexposed but widely accepted- colourism. Colourism is a worldwide phenomenon that has origins so ancient that they are almost impossible to pinpoint. It is discrimination based on skin colour, and honestly, it is the dumbest thing ever.
Growing up in the Indian community of South Africa, I noticed that many people hold a preconceived idea that lighter skinned (or fair) people are somehow better than people who possess darker skin. These people believe that lighter skinned people are more attractive and more intelligent than dark skinned people. In fact, they view dark skinned people as lesser beings.
My family was indifferent to skin colour, so it was immensely shocking to realise that people were judging me because of my skin tone. It finally dawned on me that I was living in a society that embraced colourism; a society that associated only whiteness with beauty. It was heartbreaking and very difficult to understand, because why the hell does my skin tone affect your opinion of me?
Then, I realised that our society’s negative thinking did not come without influence. The media and Indian film industry tragically encourages colourism. Bollywood has created an almost unattainable standard of beauty (and even though I adore hindi movies, I must admit the negative message some of them promote). Every leading actress is light skinned, and if they’re a few shades too dark, they take to skin lightening methods to attain that widely desired lighter shade. Songs are written in praise of white-skinned girls, and it’s understood that the word gori(white-skinned girl) is another word for beautiful. Television advertisements openly advocate for skin lightening, and are shown without any shame. The advertisements for skin lightening products show a sad dark girl becoming progressively happier as her skin becomes lighter. What kind of message does this send? – That to be beautiful and accepted by a judgemental society, you must be fair.
Colourism is openly embraced by families. Light-skinned boys are taught to not be attracted to darker girls, because a dark girl wouldn’t suit a light skinned boy, and vice versa. A dark skinned member of a predominantly light skinned family is viewed as an anomaly. Marriage proposals ask for fair girls and being called dark is akin to an insult.
If people grow up and live in this environment, then obviously their thoughts would be shaped to fit that environment. But this has been going on for much too long and there has barely been a hint of progress. This sort of thinking is extremely damaging.
Little kids grow up believing that they are not good enough just because they were born with dark skin and dark skinned people are shunned in even the most subtle of ways. People measure their self worth by the lightness of their skin and dark skinned people are not given the same opportunities within the society. In fact, many families openly insult dark-skinned family members and make them the butt of various offensive jokes. This is not a progressive society.
How can we combat racism if we can’t even see people of the same race as equals? How do we progress if we still value one person more than another? We have seen developments in the fights against racism and sexism, but not much has been done to try and stamp out colourism. Colourism has too many detrimental effects to be ignored, and it needs to be eradicated.
Society needs to learn that EVERYONE is beautiful and intelligent in their own unique way, and that nobody should be judged solely by their physical appearance. Once this happens, we will finally be an evolved society.
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