Thiloththama Jayasinghe, Jadetimes Staff
T. Jayasinghe is a Jadetimes news reporter covering Investigative News
Where skin color is concerned, the relationship South Asia has with its skin is quite contradictory in that fairness equates to beauty, status, and success. This deep-seated preference for lighter skin embedded in historical, colonial, and socioeconomic contexts has given birth to a lucrative industry: skin lightening. As advertisements proclaim creams and treatments as gateways to opportunity, the deeper issue this reflects about societal values is one where anti-Blackness becomes endemic through colorism.
Skin color preference within people of color is not new. It has its roots in centuries of colonization that placed European rulers atop a racial hierarchy and positioned light skin as superior. This was further cemented in South Asian societies, where lighter skin came to represent wealth, higher social class, and desirability. Skincare-lightening industry, with a multibillion-dollar turnover estimated globally, plays right into these insecurities by targeting the aspirations of young men and women alike.
But this is not about beauty standards; it's about identity, self-worth, and an issue related to anti-Blackness that South Asia has still to grapple with. This fairness-obsessed mentality devalues the lives of those with darker skin innately, not only within the region but also contributes to prejudice against people of African descent or those perceived as 'Black.' For example, in South Asia, one can observe the discrimination, derogatory treatment, and exclusion of those who have darker skin, either of South Asian origin or of African immigration, echoing the global issue of anti-Black racism.
Such preference for light skin fuels a dangerous cycle of inequality, furthering the notion that dark skin is irrelevant, inferior, or even carries negative attributes, thus instilling internalized racism. It also causes dark-skinned people to be an obstacle to development since such treatment will affect every other area of their social lives, including workplaces and schools. This is further extended into the media representation that rarely or minimally portrays persons with dark skin in positive or aspirational roles, further consolidating stereotypes in society.
Against the history of skin color prejudice, these movements really question and raise deep-seated biases that have often gone unchecked in South Asia. The fight against anti-Blackness globally cannot be separated from the fight against colorism within South Asia. Both systems of oppression are built on the idea that proximity to whiteness equates to value, and that darker skin is something to be 'corrected.".
The backlash against skin lightening products and colorism awareness are growing, but that is still a long way to go. Conclusive guidelines related to marketing fairness creams need to be enforced by governments and regulatory bodies alike, as they are thriving under various guises like 'glowing skin' or 'blemish-free' now. Media can also play a critical role in breaking this circle of nonrepresentation by making all skin colors much more representative and celebrating the beauty of diversity rather than promoting homogenous standards.
Ultimately, addressing skin lightening in South Asia goes beyond fighting beauty standards; rather, it means dislodging the structures that keep anti-Blackness and colorism alive and well. This journey to true equity starts with embracing all skin tones, empowerment of people to feel confident in the natural self, and denying those systems that keep on hurting.
Skin lightening will continue to thrive, and the problem of anti-Blackness will never be resolved until South Asia faces up to some uncomfortable truths. Real progress requires us to consider just what fairness is at its roots and why it has such power over the collective imagination of society.
