Women’s Disempowerment and Preferences for Skin Lightening Products That Reinforce Colorism: Experimental Evidence From India

Abstract

Global racism and colorism, the preference for fairer skin even within ethnic and racial groups, leads millions of women of African, Asian, and Latin descent to use products with chemical ingredients intended to lighten skin color. Drawing from literatures on the impact of chronic and situational disempowerment on behavioral risk-taking to enhance status, we hypothesized that activating feelings of disempowerment would increase women of color’s interest in stronger and riskier products meant to lighten skin tone quickly and effectively. In two experiments (Experiment 1: N = 253 women and 264 men; Experiment 2: replication study, N = 318 women) with distinct samples of Indian participants, we found that being in a state of psychological disempowerment (vs. empowerment) increased Indian women’s preference for stronger and riskier skin lightening products but not for milder products. Indian men’s interest in both types of products was unaffected by the same psychological disempowerment prime. Based on these findings, we recommend increased consideration among teaching faculty, research scholars, and clinicians on how feeling disempowered can lead women of color to take risks to lighten their skin as well as other issues of intersectionality and with respect to colorism. We also encourage the adoption of policies aimed at empowering women of color and minimizing access to harmful skin lightening products.

Dark side of skin‐lightening products: Social responsibility of advertisers

“…These findings prove that women feel greater cultural associations that are linked with fair skin (Chen and Francis-Tan 2021). In the Indian caste system, dark skin is associated with disempowered caste (lower caste) (Adbi et al 2021). Women tend to remove disempowerment associated with dark skin so that they can improve their social status and well-being (Banerjee et al 2013).…”

“…Past scholars have opined that the superiority of fair skin lies in the Indian caste system, reinforcing the notion that higher caste individuals are fairer and lower caste individuals are darker (Shankar and Subish 2016). The inability of dark-skinned men and women to capitalise on these benefits leads to insecurities compelling them to buy skin-lightening products (Adbi et al 2021;Uzogara et al 2014). Past scholars have suggested that individuals' buying of skin-lightening creams is motivated by intrinsic factors like overcoming the feeling of low esteem and lack of confidence (Shroff et al 2018) and extrinsic factors like social pressure to look fair and higher salaried jobs and higher social status associated with fair skin (Nash et al 2006;Ajitha and Sivakumar 2017).…”

“…Past literature has also suggested that skin-lightening products, despite having profound negative effects on the skin, are available without a doctor's prescription in India, enhancing the long-term risks of using them (Adbi et al 2021;Pollock et al 2021;Shroff et al 2018). Despite the efforts to create awareness on the use of harmful chemicals in skin-lightening products by leading health organisations, there is a steady increase in their demand (Liu 2018).…”

The Effects of Skin Tone on the Perception of Discrimination in Young African American Women

“…There is a strong preference for light skin tones in today's society which can be seen in media, such as advertisements and social media throughout the world (Dixon & Telles, 2017). Various studies (e.g., Adbi et al, 2021;strmic-pawl et al, 2021;Thomas et al, 2011;Vijaya, 2019;Wallace et al, 2011) have been conducted to analyze the societal beauty standards and the impact of those standards in several countries and nations (e.g., Japan, United States, India, several Middle Eastern countries, Jamaica, and several African countries).…”

“…This is an important issue that is global; every nationality is negatively impacted by the effects of colorism (Howard, 2011;Quiros & Dawson, 2013;strmic-pawl et al, 2021). This is seen in social media and excessive skin bleaching (Adbi et al, 2021;Duke & Berry, 2011;strmicpawl et al, 2021;Vijaya, 2019). Our work investigates the experiences that young African American women report (i.e., perceived discrimination in various spheres of life, including health care settings) as a function of their actual and perceived skin tone.…”