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nuhafariha 's review for:
Whiter: Asian American Women on Skin Color and Colorism
by Nikki Khanna
Thank you to NYU Press and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader's Copy.
Available now!
In Whiter, professor Nikki Khanna strives to illustrate colorism in the Asian American society, primarily through essays written by a diverse group of women from Filipina, Cambodian, Indian, Bangladeshi, Chinese, and Japanese cultures. One of the strengths of this book is that she is able to catch similar trends across all of these informal essays - that Asian American societies are inherently colorist, that lighter skin holds priviledges but can sometimes exclude you from being "authentic" and that there is a closeted antiblack sentiment in colorism. The narratives are fascinating as they are pulled from different parts of American society and different socioeconomic levels. As a first generation Bangladeshi immigrant who was often considered in between shades of brown and fat, I identified with many of these narratives. What resonated throughout the book is how often our notion of "race" in America is situation dependent and often defined by whiteness. For example, when I am with my American or Indian friends, I am considered "desi" but when I am with my Latinx friends, I am considered "Mexican" by white people. While the stories do have a positive note, "embrace your unique skin color", I wish there was more qualitative information. How much do the fashion industries make profiting off of white skin? Who owns these businesses? How is the marketing so prevalent? These are some questions that remain unanswered.
Available now!
In Whiter, professor Nikki Khanna strives to illustrate colorism in the Asian American society, primarily through essays written by a diverse group of women from Filipina, Cambodian, Indian, Bangladeshi, Chinese, and Japanese cultures. One of the strengths of this book is that she is able to catch similar trends across all of these informal essays - that Asian American societies are inherently colorist, that lighter skin holds priviledges but can sometimes exclude you from being "authentic" and that there is a closeted antiblack sentiment in colorism. The narratives are fascinating as they are pulled from different parts of American society and different socioeconomic levels. As a first generation Bangladeshi immigrant who was often considered in between shades of brown and fat, I identified with many of these narratives. What resonated throughout the book is how often our notion of "race" in America is situation dependent and often defined by whiteness. For example, when I am with my American or Indian friends, I am considered "desi" but when I am with my Latinx friends, I am considered "Mexican" by white people. While the stories do have a positive note, "embrace your unique skin color", I wish there was more qualitative information. How much do the fashion industries make profiting off of white skin? Who owns these businesses? How is the marketing so prevalent? These are some questions that remain unanswered.