Shikha Gianchandani- Shikha Gianchandani
3 Desi Women that are Smashing Colorism
If you’re a true Pardesi stan, you’ll know that this week we launched our #LetsTalkColorism campaign. On the other hand if you’re new here, my name is Shikha and I’m the deputy coordinator and trending editor for Pardesi. I'm here bring you content straight from the Desi diaspora. To continue with that theme of out comapaign I’m going to talking about 3 Kickass women (of, course they’re Desi) that are smashing colorism.
(Note: Stay to the end if you like this content and would like to part of the campaign!)
1. Linnygd
First, up we have Linasha, better known as @linnygd, who’s a social and political activist. You may have seen her flawless photoshoots or her wearing glittery eye-shadow to match her bindi, whilst talking about important issues such as colorism, fetishization, and more. I wanted to specifically feature Linasha because she’s made it a point to empower dark-skinned women, reps Sri Lanka and openly calls out brands/institutions that overlook dark-skinned representation in the South Asian community. Check out her makeup looks, and you'll end stay for the conversations!
2. Saumiya
Saumiya Thayaparan is another Sri Lankan Goddess, that needs to be on your radar! I first found Saumiya when I was reconciling with my TikTok addiction. From that one video, you could immediately make out that she’s the representation that we all needed to see, especially in the fashion industry. As a South Asian at some point in your life, you were probably taunted by some petty Aunty with comments like “your dress is too short” or “don’t wear that color it doesn’t match your skin tone.” Show that aunty Saumiya’s Instagram, the iconic companies she’s worked with, and I’m sure she won’t make any more comments.
3. Deepica
Deepica Mutiyala is the Founder and CEO of a company called Live Tinted. Deepica first went viral because she sparked a color-correcting revolution by making a YouTube video on “how to cover dark under-eye circles” with lipstick. This ignited her passion for makeup and she founded Live Tinted - a brand which explores diverse beauty for every shade in between. In 2018, Live Tinted was known as a brand that focuses on inclusive, diverse beauty, but it has evolved into a platform that encouragsd discussion on beauty and culture which drives product development.
As Deepica says, Your skin tone is a representation of your roots. Wear it proud.
Whether it through makeup, fashion, business, or just social activism - we need to come to terms with the notion that colorism is an important issue not just for the Black community, but for us South Asians too. Even just humanizing the topic with stories and uplifting our dark-skinned brothers and sisters online brings us one step closer to dealing with the issue.
We’re extending our campaign for another week, and we'd love for you to be a part of it. Reach out to us on our socials linked below and #letsalkcolorism.
If you enjoyed #Trending, here some links below to keep up-to-date with Pardesi: