Mirror mirror who is the fairest of all..

#selfesteem #beauty #bias #southasian

Niti Nadarajah highlights unfair comparisons based on 'fairness' in a post in LinkedIn,

“You’re very dark for a North Indian...” (https://bit.ly/3eMjDYd)

Discrimination that fuels poor self-esteem because of colorism and 'beauty bias' cuts through all sections in South Asian society, irrespective of economic and educational status. Women are significantly affected. Men can face it too. Behind the back comments - \"he looks like an Asura\" and all the negative connotations that go with it are not uncommon. Media organisations and corporations try to exploit this light skin fixation by fuelling it. It's big business after all. The same organisations that may have reams of policy on inclusion!

When testing our prototype in slums and semi-urban communities in Eastern India, there was one conversation with pregnant women which kept coming up that I wasn't expecting and always took me aback, \"What should I do to make sure my baby is light skinned? Will drinking a lot of Daab (green coconut) water help!\" Niti Nadarajah pointed out to me, \"I am not taken aback. I am not at all surprised!\".