09/10/2025
FEATURE | 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐀𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐨𝐧.
The more we try to comply with the standards of the world, the more we belittle ourselves and hide who we really are. Society’s idea of beauty is too narrow, and colorism shows how unfair that can be.
𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐦 (noun): prejudice or discrimination, especially within a racial or ethnic group, favoring people with lighter skin over those with darker skin.
I was never insecure about my skin, not until others pointed out that a certain color didn’t suit me, not until a relative told me, "𝘔𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢 𝘬𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘰 𝘬𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘪 𝘬𝘢," and not until a friend suggested that I start using whitening products.
As I grew older, I began to wonder: 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡? It became a silent question I carried within me, as I learned that society often expects us to conform to the standards others set for us.
It’s a struggle, as we continue to assign meaning to the colors of our skin—the lighter, the better; the darker, the less attractive. We judge and get judged by this imaginary scale of beauty, a measure that decides whether we’re even worthy of being called beautiful. And in media, we don’t see dark skin as often as light skin—a hidden bias I have come to realize and now often notice.
And it’s a sad reality that this insecurity is passed down from generation to generation—an insecurity that flows from one child to another, stopping us from embracing the color we are born with, a color that represents both you and me. A color that should be praised for its uniqueness and complexity is now labeled an “insecurity,” simply because society has learned to consider embracing it as ugly.
I’ve learned to break free from that mindset. I will never be insecure about my skin—because I have learned to embrace what I have, rather than compare it with what I don’t. I am proud of what I have, and as I’ve come to realize, beauty isn’t limited—it’s diverse.
Comparison to others is easy, yet loving ourselves is difficult. What’s truly ugly is the perception that beauty must follow a set of rules, standards, and opinions, when in reality it should be diverse, unique, and free.
✍️| April Eli
🖼| Naz Cuatriz
