Today we will talk about a prevailing evil in our society called ‘Colourism’ which is a form of discrimination based on skin tone. Being a byproduct of colonialism, it is also heavily fueled by the global beauty industry, where sales of skin-lightening products are projected to reach $8.9 billion by 2024.
Colourism is such a common discrimination that sometimes we don’t even see it be wrong. Our automatic preference to light skin over dark skin leads to preferential treatment in education, employment and media representation. Humiliation, bullying, lost opportunities, not being able to find a suitable partner are just a few things faced by those born with a dark skin. With the BlackLivesMatter movement there is a lot that is being raised to change for better. But still there is a lot to achieve.
Tejas Gupta shares her very personal anecdotes facing Colourism at various stages in her life.
