Skin as White as Snow

Written by Amelie Chin

Edited by Himeko Szeto

White. Pale. Fair. According to society, these are ideal traits our skin should have. From day one, it is likely that we’ve already been exposed to whitewashed media perpetuating the belief that white skin is the epitome of beauty. Throughout history, whitewashing has always been a major defining factor in our lives, leading to the discrimination against ethnic minorities, the damaged self-esteem of teenagers, and the endless pursuit of unattainable beauty standards.

The belief that ‘whiter is better’ is something that has been embedded in the mindsets of many since childhood. To all Asian readers: how many times have you been told that your skin is too dark? How many times have your relatives remarked that you are ‘too tan’? How many times have your parents suggested that you stay out of the sun? In the Asian community, white skin is seen as the Holy Grail, a successful roll of the genetic dice, capable of propelling one to a higher social class and status. From childhood, we’ve constantly been exposed to media perpetuating whitewashing - whether we are aware of it or not, the fairy tales we believed in, the stories we read, the movies we watched have all played a part in shaping the beauty standards we have today.

A perfect example of this is Disney fairy tales. Snow White. Sleeping Beauty. Cinderella. Ariel. Belle. What links all these iconic Disney princesses together? The fact that they are all white. These 5 white princesses were all a part of the original group of Disney princesses - other characters such as the Native American Pocahontas, Chinese Mulan and African American Tiana were merely introduced later on as an afterthought. In addition, Disney’s portrayal of darker-skinned, non-white characters have always been rather questionable, preying on common steoreotypes and racist generalisations to baselessly misrepresent them as the ‘bad guys’. The underrepresentation of non-white characters and the depiction of them as evil in Disney and other media has long been a major factor contributing to the rise of whitewashing and white supremacy. From a young age, children idolize these beautiful, flawless, white princesses, viewing them as the beauty standard. Disney has had an undeniably strong influence on society, inadvertently passing down Eurocentric beauty standards from generation to generation through seemingly innocent fairy tales.

All of this has created massive insecurities in teenagers struggling to accept their racial identity and skin tone. Pressured to conform to societal beauty standards, teenagers have been attempting to change their skin tone through a range of damaging methods. Skin bleaching is popular among the Asian and African community, where skin bleaching soaps and creams containing dangerous chemicals are a common sight among the shelves of cosmetic stores. Digital whitewashing of photos is also a phenomenon that has become a common practice in social media as well as in many industries including fashion, photography and K-pop.

However, there is still hope for whitewashing in media to change. In recent years, Disney has made an effort to include more racially diverse characters in their movies, displaying characters with a range of skin tones as seen in the movies Moana and Encanto. In 2022, Disney also created a live adaptation of ‘The Little Mermaid’ casting black actress Halle Bailey for the traditionally white role of Ariel. While this move has received backlash from the public, this is nonetheless a move in the right direction, increasing the representation of other skin tones in the media and creating a role model for black children to look up to. Our only hope is that someday, society will no longer idolize whiteness, allowing people of all colors to feel comfortable in their own skin.