“Stay out of the sun or no one will marry you”: How colorism is perpetuated in the South Asian Community (Part 1).

Written by Dr. Komal Gupta

Reviewed and Edited by Leah Berk

Photo Credit: Mayur Gala

Colorism is a sensitive issue that is difficult for many of us to acknowledge and talk about. As a mental health professional and a South Asian woman, I feel that it is very important to create a safe and respectful space to identify our own internalized colorism and recognize how it impacts our lives and those around us. The intent of this article is not to represent every South Asian person’s experience with colorism (my experience as someone with a light brown skin tone limits my perspective) but to initiate a discussion about the individual and systemic impact of colorism. 

If you grew up in a South Asian community, you have likely heard some of the comments below:

“Stay out of the sun, or no one is going to marry you.” 

“You’re pretty for a dark-skinned girl.”

“He is so fair, he must be from a good family.”

These types of comments reflect the attitudes and cultural meaning assigned to skin color in the South Asian community. For many South Asians, lighter brown skin tones are associated with attractiveness, “goodness”, power, status and competence (Tummala-Narra, 2007) in comparison to darker brown skin tones, which are associated with “badness”, lower class and caste, lower intelligence and a lack of beauty. This form of skin-tone prejudice within the South Asian community and the resulting discrimination that occurs is called colorism. Dr. Sarah Webb, colorism expert, defines colorism as “the social marginalization and systemic oppression of people with darker skin tones and the privileging of people with lighter skin tones.”

Why should you learn about colorism?

Prejudice or discrimination based on your skin color can affect how you feel about yourself, how you relate to others, and how you access social, educational, marital and economic opportunities (Shaikh, 2017; Modi, 2016; Tummala-Narra, 2013; Hwang, 2021). Colorism creates divisions within the South Asian community (Shaikh, 2017) and also divisions amongst racially marginalized communities because it promotes Anti-Blackness attitudes, which creates more obstacles to changing sociopolitical systems.

No one is immune from bias.

We all have preconceived notions about skin color but may not be aware of our own biases for a variety of reasons. Maybe you have not had to deal with the consequences of having a darker skin tone. Perhaps, you might feel guilt or pride about having a lighter skin tone and enjoy the related privileges. Or, possibly, it feels uncomfortable to think that your skin color might have something to do with how others are treating you favorably, or unfavorably. Maybe you have no idea how ingrained these biases are in your psyche and in the society that you live in. Whatever the reason, raising our awareness and identifying the factors that contribute to colorism in the South Asian community is important for our mental health and to create change.

How do we develop these skin-tone biases? 

1. Skin-tone biases are often taught at home.

South Asian beauty ideals are often taught directly or indirectly to children by family, relatives, friends, aunties and uncles (Shaikh, 2017). Here are some examples:

• Being policed about avoiding sun exposure.

  Being told to stay out of the sun, to stay indoors or cover your body with clothing in efforts to avoid a parent or relative’s anger, disapproval or criticism.

• Treatment based on skin tone.

  Witnessing preferential treatment towards family members with lighter skin-tones and punitive behaviors towards family members with darker skin-tones. Observing South Asian relatives with darker skin tones being discriminated against when trying to access housing, jobs, marital, and economic opportunities while those with lighter skin tones receive preferential treatment.

• Pressure to marry someone with a lighter brown skin tone.

  Hearing or experiencing prejudice or discrimination when choosing to date or marry individuals who have darker skin tones and a positive bias towards choosing a romantic partner with a lighter skin tone.

• Language use and nonverbal cues that favor lighter brown skin tones.

  Hearing South Asian aunts, uncles, family or friends’ commentary in which they assign positive labels (e.g., beautiful, good, smart) to South Asians with lighter skin tones and negative labels (e.g., unattractive, bad) to South Asians with darker skin tones. Observing body language to communicate approval and/or disapproval (e.g., saying words like kaala (i.e., dark/black) in a condescending tone when referring to darker skin tones and in contrast, saying fair complexion with an approving, excited tone while rocking the head from side to side.

• Normalizing use of skin-whitening creams.

  Being told to use skin whitening creams to look more “beautiful” while downplaying the negative health effects. Observing others with similar skin tones using skin whitening creams without question.

2. Sociopolitical systems play a significant role in the biases we have.

Skin color stereotypes in the South Asian community are rooted in a long history of casteism and colonialism (Shaikh, 2017). These stereotypes can be even more pronounced for South Asians living in countries that uphold a racial hierarchy. In the United States, for example, White Supremacy is deeply ingrained in sociopolitical systems (Shaikh, 2017). South Asians in the U.S. experience discrimination in an unpredictable manner because of being racially ambiguous (i.e., the range of brown skin tones can make it difficult for people to identify their racial background; Modi, 2016). As a result, South Asians can experience the repercussions of a range of racial and ethnic stereotypes depending on whether someone assumes you are a “model minority,” “terrorist,” or “criminal” solely based on your skin color and facial features (Modi, 2016; Shaikh, 2017). In efforts to protect themselves from being negatively stereotyped and to increase social status, South Asians, particularly women, experience increased pressure to manage their skin color by avoiding the sun, and using skin-lightening creams (especially if they received positive reinforcement for doing so) (Modi, 2016).

3. Popular culture, Bollywood and marketing practices profit from promoting these biases.

Popular culture, multinational corporations, literature and media systemically perpetuate these skin color biases either by villainizing darker skin tones, idealizing lighter skin tones, or lacking representation of darker skin tones. Here are a few examples: 

• Bollywood movies and popular Netflix shows like Indian Matchmaking.

  Villains in Bollywood movies are often portrayed by someone with a darker skin tone indicating they are from the working class, lower castes or religious minorities (Modi, 2016). In Indian Matchmaking, there is an emphasis on skin color, i.e., having a “fair complexion”, as an important criteria for marriageability. 

• Multinational corporations and marketing practices.

  Multinational companies promote skin-whitening creams like Fair & Lovely, which encourage and promote these negative stereotypes of darker skin tones in efforts to promote their products. 

• Children’s literature.

  Some children’s books including some classics reinforce racial stereotypes, do not display variations in brown skin tones, and do not tend to represent darker skin tones, in general.

In summary, our skin-tone biases are developed through a complex interplay of family, community, sociopolitical systems, marketing practices and popular culture. Colorism can impact many aspects of your life including how you feel about yourself, your identity, your relationships, and access to life opportunities. To learn more about how the systemic consequences of colorism can impact your mental health, read Part 2 in the series.

References

Hwang, W (2021). Demystifying and addressing internalized racism and oppression among Asian Americans. American Psychologist, 76(4), 596-610

Modi, R. "Brown: The Asianization of the U.S. Racial Divide" (2016). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 1903.

Shaikh, M. (2017). Struggling to escape colorism: Skin color discrimination experiences of South Asian Americans. Thesis

Tummala-Narra, P. (2007). Skin color and the therapeutic relationship. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 24(2), 255-270.

Tummala-Narra, P. (2013). Psychotherapy with South Asian women: Dilemmas of the immigrant and first generations. Women & Therapy, 36(3-4), 176-197.