Being “too dark” as a person of colour

From our first exposure to mainstream media, as a person of colour, there is an obvious praise of Eurocentric features throughout society. From our TV screens to our Instagram feeds what is considered beautiful,desirable and handsome is portrayed by ideals that people of colour are unable to achieve. However, this ideal has become so engraved in our society that it is not only represented within the media but in people of colour themselves. Whilst many natural features of people of colour are praised or sexualised, from their thick hair to fuller lips, many features linking them to their native country, such as wider noses and mono-lid eyes, are despised leading to insecurity and a desire to fit into the ideal beauty standard perpetuated by western society.

A common insecurity is the fear of being “too dark”. Being praised for not looking like you’re from your native country , being described as “exotic” whilst being of lighter skin but ugly and undesirable when you are darker, hearing people speak of how you are “pretty for a darkskin girl,” coming into contact with skin whitening products in your own home or hearing being “darkskin” used as an insult are all common experiences of people of colour around the globe.

The idea that being dark for a person of your native country, or the country you reside in, has led to people of colour feeling pressure from their own communities to be fairer and more “white.” A study by the University of Cape Town found that more than 1/3 of women in South Africa bleach their skin because they want to have “white skin” and 77% of women in Nigeria using these products on a regular basis. Skin whitening has become a huge industry in countries like China, Korea, Japan, and India. Asianscientist.com revealed that In China, where the skin care market is worth more than $5.5 billion, whitening products comprise 71% of the market. These alarming statistics show us how widespread the idea of Eurocentric features being the epitome of beauty has become that even in a country where people of colour are the majority the pressure to be fairer skinned is still present.

However , people are taking a stand and people of colour are embracing their dark skin along with many other features. All over social media people of colour are starting to be praised for their features not just scrutinised or over sexualised. Hopefully this change will lead people to love themselves even if the rest of society does not.