Beauty is skin deep
Photo: Unsplash
Women often face stringent beauty standards, and this has commonly been heightened amongst women of colour. Asian women are frequently sexualized as ‘exotic’, but yet have to maintain the fantasy of being demure and pure. One of the main intricate links between beauty standards, identity, and colonialism is colourism, which refers to the ways that light-skinned people of colour have historically been privileged and preferred in many cultures over their darker-skinned counterparts. Colourism not only is harmful in the construction of self-worth, confidence, and economic opportunities to women of colour, but also poses public health risks, as we shall discuss in this article.
Colourism arose from the colonial pasts of many Asian nations that were colonized by European nations. Euro-centric beauty standards have long been entrenched in various Asian cultures as the pinnacle of beauty; women were considered more beautiful or of a higher class if they had European features such as pale skin or high noses. Even in the postcolonial world, identity politics persisted as a means to hierarchize Asian women in society based on Euro-centric beauty standards, and continued the process of people’s construction of themselves as a ‘white personhood’.
Thus, for the longest time, in countries such as the Philippines and India, having a dark skin tone was considered to be ugly or of a lower class. For example, in international beauty pageants such as Miss Universe and Miss World, Filipinas with a lighter skin tone or having features of a mixed ancestry from Europe or America (also known as Mestizas) are more likely to be selected to compete and represent the Philippines.
In their quest to have lighter skin, Asian women have tried many methods. For example, it is common to see East Asian women, such as the Chinese and the Japanese, using umbrellas on a nice sunny day, shielding their skin from the sun. A more extreme method is using skin whitening products. These beauty standards were also openly advertised, from skin whitening commercials to the mono-representation of beautiful and slim Asian women on television.
This is not just confined to Asian women in Asian countries, but also to those who migrate to Western communities. It is common in Western media to portray little representation of Asian women beyond the exotic or smart/nerdy, but still pale and slim, stereotype, so it remains easy for Asian immigrant women to adhere to the ‘traditional’ Euro-centric standards of beauty.
This type of internalized racism brought about by beauty standards not only is detrimental to Asian women mentally but also physically. Skin lightening, whitening, or bleaching, which is fetishized and encouraged amongst Asian nations, has proven to pose serious and damaging health risks. Common ingredients used in these skin whitening products, such as hydroquinone, mercury, and topical steroids, can cause burning, discolouration, or even thinning of the skin, lead to a higher risk of cancer, and even cause mercury poisoning, muscle atrophy and kidney damage. Worse effects can include neuropathy and an increased chance of infection, causing scarring and extreme discolouration.
However, this so-called skin “fairness” industry is one of the fastest growing, with a predicted worth of approximately US$12.3 billion by 2027. The industry has even started to target men, offering products marketed specifically for men. These efforts are naturally supported by the advertising industry, both traditional and digital, with well-known models, actors, and even influencers becoming spokespeople for these skin products. This is particularly evident in Asia and also Africa, and it would be remiss of us to not mention our African and other POC counterparts, as they also face issues due to conflicting beauty standards, colonial histories and trauma.
What’s worse is that after having imposed a white-centric standard of beauty on colonized nations and peoples, these days Western countries have decided to reverse the standard of beauty where it is desirable to be ‘tanned’. Many white women flock to beaches, use tanning products, or frequent tanning salons just to have a darker complexion; the similar complexion that many Asian women try their hardest to avoid or replace.
However, the situation is not all despondent. Decolonization efforts, while slow, have been undertaken since the independence of many colonized nations. This includes de-centering whiteness, for example in beauty advertisements. Moving away from using only blond hair and blue-eyed models is an example of a first step.
Further, some major health organizations have started to have serious discussions on public policy interventions of skin whitening, such as instituting quality and safety standards for skin whiteners; prohibiting the manufacture, marketing and distribution of toxic whiteners; releasing updated and frequent lists on safe and reliable products and ingredients; and mandating public education on the health risks of skin whitening accompanied alongside the products and advertisements. However, there are still concerns about whether governments could effectively regulate the industry. For example, national food and drug administrations, which normally govern such products, may lack the resources or even political will to maintain accountability.
In the Philippines, Morenas, which are Filipinas with a darker skin tone, are emerging as another standard of beauty by being selected as the national winners to represent the Philippines on the international pageant stages. In many ways, the Philippine community sees this emerging trend as a form of decolonization and resistance. Seeing Morena beauty queens can have a huge positive impact around the world for young girls and women in the Filipinx diaspora community on their self-esteem and mental health.
The supremacy of whiteness as the sole standard of beauty is harmful because it invalidates other concepts of beauty and ultimately erodes people’s self-confidence and identity as they struggle to achieve the same standard. Tackling this issue is one of the first steps to combating colourism and the larger system of racism, but it is still an important one. Only by taking the leap of faith to show the world who you truly are and what you represent displays the possibilities of what unique and diverse definitions of beauty look like.
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