Suhana Khan Shows Trolls Who’s Boss & Calls To End Colorism
Suhana Khan may be the daughter of the king of Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan, but that does not make her the princess who is fawned over by everyone. In a recent post on her Instagram, she shared screenshots of several offensive comments she had received about her appearance in a strongly-worded post in which she called for ending colorism.
20-year-old Khan revealed in her post that she has been disparaged for the way she looks ever since she was 12. As the screenshots show, the distasteful comments dismiss her as too dark to be considered beautiful. “She’s really ugly as well as dark,” reads one; in another, Suhana Khan is called a “kaali chudail” or black witch, and “kaali billi” or black cat in a third.
The comments are from “full-grown men and women” – all of them Indian, as Suhana Khan points out, which means they share the same skin tone.
“There’s a lot going on right now and this is one of the issues we need to fix!! this isn’t just about me, it’s about every young girl/boy who has grown up feeling inferior for absolutely no reason. Here are just a few of the comments made about my appearance. I’ve been told I’m ugly because of my skin tone, by full-grown men and women, since I was 12 years old. Other than the fact that these are actual adults, what’s sad is that we are all Indian, which automatically makes us brown – yes we come in different shades but no matter how much you try to distance yourself from the melanin, you just can’t. Hating on your own people just means that you are painfully insecure. I’m sorry if social media, Indian matchmaking or even your own families have convinced you, that if you’re not 5″7 and fair you’re not beautiful. I hope it helps to know that I’m 5″3 and brown and I am extremely happy about it and you should be too.”
Colorism is still a big issue in India and in the South Asian community. It is ingrained in most of our minds and our inherent belief that ‘fair is lovely’ reflects on our every action. Many have said that the colonization of India led to people becoming more discriminating towards the dark skin, which raises the question – shouldn’t it have been the other way round?
Bollywood has always been the harbinger of the fair skin superiority complex that often leaves so many people are left questioning their worth based on their skin color. Seems like Suhana Khan is now bearing the brunt of centuries of discrimination.
