By Emily Lin
“You’ve got to put on some whitening cream. You don’t want to get darker”. This is a line many Asians were told repeatedly growing up. Walking down the aisle of a cosmetic store, countless products can be seen, featuring unrealistically white skin. Some often have slogans like “get whiter!”, “get the dark shades away”, and not to forget “pure, pearly white skin tone” in order to get rid of “dark skin”.These products take advantage of the deeply-rooted notion of colorism in the Asian/Asian-American community, and have caused serious stigmatization of dark skin.
The cause of colorism in the Asian/Asian-American community can be traced back to the histories of different Asian cultures and the values they behold. In the research "Skin Lightening and Beauty in Four Asian Cultures" by York University, Canada and University of Utah, several examples of colorism in Asian cultures are provided. In Japanese culture, the color white symbolizes purity and is the color of gods; in Ancient Korea, fair skins are viewed as “flawless jades”, meaning precious gemstone; in Ancient China, there were popular practices of women swallowing pearls in hopes of gaining “pure, shining whiteness”; in Indian culture, the color black symbolizes the underprivileged and dirty, while the color white symbolizes happiness and peace. This shared preference of light skin tones over dark skin tones amongst the Asian diaspora is seen across various Asian cultures.
Another reason behind colorism in the Asian/Asian-American community is the associations between skin tones and socioeconomic status. In Asia, there is a stereotype that manual laborers often have darker skin tones because of the long working hour under the sun. This is a false correlation that exists between dark skin colors and the working class.Trina Jones, a professor at Duke University School of Law in her study “The Significance of Skin Color in Asian and Asian-American Communities: Initial Reflections”, states that lighter skin tones symbolizes upper-class status and the privilege to work indoors. Therefore, to comment that one has “white skin” is considered a compliment in the Asian/Asian-American community. It is not that Asians strive to have Caucasian-like skin tones, but rather having a lighter skin color often correlates to having wealth and high social status.
Unrealistic beauty standards that portray darker skin tones as lesser than lighter skin tones has casted negative influence on the self-image of Asians/Asian-Americans and has caused struggles for those of the Asian community to embrace their natural skin color. In an interview with a female high school student from India, she shared that “I remember thinking as a child that [being] called ‘dark’ was an insult. I would cry when my cousins said I was darker skinned than them, even though it was a fact, I was conditioned to think it was a derogatory insult”. Colorism in India can be seen in the film industry, where she says that “in the South Indian film industry, (although most South Indians are darker toned) North Indian actresses are brought in, taught the local language, and given the lead roles purely because their lighter skin tone is more favourable to the public”. Another female high school student of Taiwanese descent shared that “I have always been given the notion that beauty is associated with light skin. Every skin care item I have is to whiten my skin. There were multiple times when my friends complimented me [on my looks] because my skin tone looks whiter”. Ironically, it has become popular, especially in the U.S., for people of natural light skin colors to tan their skin. Pop culture normalizes calling dark skin tones a “trend” and “exotically beautiful”. This furthers the stigmatization of dark-skin and categorizes Asian/Asian America.
In response to the recent discussions on false usage of “white” as the definition of beauty, more and more brands are starting to recognize the need to eliminate colorism. Hindustan Unilever (branch of Unilever in India) has announced that they will stop using phrases such as “whitening” and “lightening” on their products and that they will remove the word “fair” from their Fair and Lovely skin care product line. Johnson & Johnson has also said that they will stop selling the Fine Fairness serum (sold under the brand Neutrogena in Asia and the Middle East) and the Clean Fairness Cream (sold under the brand Clean & Clear in India). Asian cosmetic brands such as Koh Gen Do, Clé de Peau, and Shiseido are creating more skin tone diversity by launching foundations that enhance warm skin tones instead of whitening the skin.Despite these efforts, whitening products currently dominate the cosmetic market in Asia. According to Stratistics Market Research Consulting, skin lightening products had a market around 4 million in 2017, and they predict that the market is going to grow to make over 8 million by 2026.
The skin tones we are born in are something we should be proud of instead of trying to conceal. Although it is not easy to eliminate colorism, it is important that we love ourselves for who we are and embrace our natural skin colors. We are beautiful and we shine, with or without skin lighteners.
Sources:
Eric P.H. Li, Hyun Jeong Min, Russell W. Belk, and Junko Kimura, Shalini Bahl (2008) ,"Skin Lightening and Beauty in Four Asian Cultures", in NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 35, eds. Angela Y. Lee and Dilip Soman, Duluth, MN : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 444-449. http://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/13415/volumes/v35/NA-35
“Global Skin Lightening Products Market is Expected to Reach $8011.17 Million by 2026”. PR Newswire. 26 August 2019, Gaithersburg, Maryland.
Jones, Trina. "The significance of skin color in Asian and Asian-American communities: Initial reflections." UC Irvine L. Rev. 3 (2013): 1105. https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6189&context=faculty_scholarship
Safi, Michael. “Unilever to rename Fair & Lovely skin-lightening cream in India”. The Guardian. 25 June 2020.
Toh, Michelle “Unilever, Johnson & Johnson will pull or rebrand skin-lightening creams in India”. CNN Business. 26 June 2020. https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/25/business/hindustan-unilever-fair-and-lovely-intl-hnk/index.html
Hou, Kathleen. “Why it’s time to embrace skin-tone diversity”. Vogue. 21 August 2019. https://www.vogue.com.au/beauty/skin/why-its-time-to-embrace-skintone-diversity/news-story/ad16ea17a28ef4718e7558702c94ba65