by Meera Nandlal | Aug 30, 2021 | Colourism Stories, Discrimination, Prejudice, Skin Colour Bias
Surviving Colourism and Racism in Today’s World My first encounter with racism was in elementary school here in Texas when a girl named Ann Marie, who happened to be partially deaf said, “Ewww” as she backed into a corner and said, “You are black.” I told her I was...
by DISB | Aug 2, 2021 | Colourism Stories, Prejudice, Skin Colour Bias
Your Skin is Dirty I am a retired preschool teacher who emigrated from India and has lived in the US for 45 years. I loved working with young children and have many happy memories as their teacher. They were always curious and often would say the cutest things. ...
by Dark Is Beautiful | Oct 22, 2020 | Advocacy, Beauty Ideals, Colourism Stories, Dark Skin, Discrimination, News, Skin Colour Bias
The more we speak! Growing up in Dubai, I have always been surrounded by the love and acceptance of my family and friends. My parents have instilled confidence, courage, and passion in my bones, whilst always giving my wings the extra wind that they needed to...
by Dark Is Beautiful | Jun 20, 2020 | Advocacy, Casteism and Colourism, Dark Skin, Discrimination, Melanin, News, Prejudice, Skin Colour Bias
Casteism and Racism: How they matter on a platform for Colourism. Just think about the pandemic for a moment. Why are we all so keen on doing whatever is necessary to be safe from the virus? Clearly, because it affects all of us irrespective of caste, colour, creed,...
by Dark Is Beautiful | Jun 10, 2020 | Advocacy, Beauty Ideals, Colourism Stories, Dark Skin, Discrimination, Media Literacy, Melanin, Prejudice, Skin Colour Bias
It was a hot Saturday afternoon in March when I finished my 3 hour art exam. People who know me would tell you that it was a herculean task for me to sit cross legged in a place for 3 full hours. All I wanted to do was to go home and rest my mind and body. I was a...
by DISB | Feb 3, 2020 | Colourism Stories, Dark Skin, Discrimination, Melanin, Prejudice, Skin Colour Bias
“Her daughter used to be fair before. She didn’t bathe her properly, so she turned dark.” This was what was being said about my daughter when she was around three, and the “She” being accused so unfairly that it doesn’t even seem...
by DISB | Dec 15, 2019 | Colourism Stories, Discrimination, Prejudice, Skin Colour Bias
I’m rummaging through my bag of memories looking for instances when my skin color was used to define me. I’ve had a relative tell me that I wouldn’t get married because I am dark and it would have been better to be born a boy. My father who is as dark as I am, taught...
by DISB | May 13, 2019 | Beauty Ideals, Colourism Stories, Media Literacy
I wasn’t particularly aware of India’s obsession with ‘fairness’ until I lived there for two years in 2012. I’m not sure whether the marriage ads, skin lightening products, or the obvious film industry bias surprised me most, but I felt sad that in a country full of...
by Lydia Durairaj | Apr 24, 2019 | Advertising, Advocacy, Discrimination, Media Literacy, News, Skin Colour Bias
Advertisers are storytellers. They have the creative job of spinning a story of a product or service and convincing us that it is actually worthy of our attention, time and money. Keeping the target audience in mind, they weave in visuals, music, language, people,...
by Christy Jennifer | Apr 15, 2019 | Beauty Ideals, Colourism Stories, Dark Skin, Melanin, Photo Story
In the first of a new series of photo stories by Christy Jennifer, we present to you an interview with Merlin Lilly, a stylist and designer that lives and works in Chennai who talks about her experiences with colourism. Christy: What was it like growing up in your...
