We can talk about that without demonizing an entire culture OR hand waving the very real pain and damage these attitudes cause both domestically (for people living in that culture) and internationally when you’re on an international stage. Something being normalized and being right are different things. But people are just hand waving the harm with “bUt iTs jUsT hArMlesS” Talking to friends of Korean heritage who are hyper aware that they stick out because they’re “took dark” when they go visit relatives back in Korea and how hurtful it is. Seeing people saying “having tan skin is more desirable in the west” on its face when I’ve lived in America my entire life and dealt with colorism here my entire life is doing my head in. I try to minimize my engagement with these discussions because they’re so cruel, with no nuance or empathy most of the time. This is often used to dismissed darker skinned fans when they are hurt by artists’ colorist comments. Especially when literal groups of people are used as insults against darker Korean people, such as “looking like an African” “Looking like a SEA asian”. It is really really really difficult for me to believe that Korean colorism is only directed inward and never affects the perceptions of foreigners. Sure Korean colorism is routed in classism, but I find it hard to believe that their preference for white people (even from clearly poor countries) over darker skinned people from elsewhere has no connection to their continued preference for white skin. I also don’t understand why people can’t admit that the origins of something may be one thing but the outcome be different. In the West tans are meant for white people, those are desired, black people and darker-skinned latinos are not.

These countries prefer a tan on white people. While a golden glow may be appreciated in your country, I highly doubt that your paleness keeps you from procuring employment, is used to judge your promiscuity, and on and on. This false equivalency between a preference for tanning and colorism is so old.

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