“When I was younger I used to believe that I was less than girls that were lighter skinned tha

“When I was younger I used to believe that I was less than girls that were lighter skinned than I. I believed and accepted that I was less worthy of love because for some reason being darker meant being less beautiful. It was and currently still is (for some ridiculous reason) an unwritten standard. I appreciate that not all people believe that. But people, people from my own race and culture, my own relatives, would ask if I had been in the sun because I have grown a shade darker or would tell me to use tumeric to "lighten my skin tone” or to “get a glow”. They would tell me to use creams like fair and lovely (). Heck, one of my family members even bought me a skin lightening cream that was so strong and contained chemicals which messed up my skin. I was 15 years old.The worrying thing, was that that kind of cream could be readily purchased from a pharmacy in most South-Asian countries. Even today. The leading heroines that I watched in Tamil movies were nowhere close to my shade and I felt like people my shade were under-represented. As I grew older I started listening to my own thoughts more and questioning why things were the way they were. Things like: Why does my skin shade affect how people see me? Why do I believe that if I was white or lighter skinned, people would like me more? Why aren’t there people of my race and skin shade being represented out there in the media? Why does white-washing still occur in Western AND Eastern media? Now, years later, I am at the point where I am starting to believe that I am blessed to be this way. I am unique and different. Yes, people with my complexion or of my race, are seriously underrepresented in the media but just because I’m not like the women in the magazines or the movies, it does not mean I’m not beautiful. Just because my body, nose, eyes or hair isn’t like theirs doesn’t mean I am less beautiful. I am proud of my ancestral roots and the genes I’ve gained from them to make me look this way. I love my dark definitive features that you don’t see in the media often. And finally, I am starting to learn to accept and love myself.“ -@sazoosvia: @unfairandlovely_‪#‎unfairandlovely‬ ‪#‎reclaimthebindi‬ -- source link

More pics about