A Conversation with Linasha Kotalawala (@Linnygd)
On Colorism
I still get triggered when I hear about stories about colourism and then I have to think about, you know, the things that happen to me and still happen to me actually.
Growing up as someone who's the darker skinned really, really was tough, especially in my community. Because in my community, people who visibly were darker are instantly demonized. We were always portrayed as the villains in TV shows or the bad people or someone who's very, very poor. Usually this connotation of fairness is (that it's) beautiful, rich, whereas people who are dark were seen as like (the opposite). What's scary is that, (for) darker skinned individuals, a lot of the girls and boys have been pressured to try bleaching products on their skin. I'm very thankful that my family didn't, but I get so many messages from other South Asian girls and South Asian boys asking for help because the bleach has ruined their skin. I constantly get all these messages asking for help about bleaching products...
I feel so insecure about my skin. That's why I made my own platform, and that is why I wanted to make all these makeup and beauty videos to show that, "hey, we can look beautiful, we can look confident, we can look regal, we're allowed to feel these things." That is why it's so important, it's so, so important for people to realize that. I want other people to have — young South Asian girls to have — someone to look up (to) and realize and and say fuck you to like South Asian aunties who want them to bleach their skin.
If you have someone powerful in your life and confident in your life that you can look up to you, you won't feel pressured to look a certain way and (instead) accept the way that you look because you can't change these things. I always ask people, "like who made you hate yourself?" Like really think about it... like who are the people in your life that made you hate yourself so much?
It's time to cut them off, I mean if you can if you can. I've been rambling for a very long time, but one last thing... I am gonna wear red lipstick if I want to; I do not care if people think dark-skinned people can't wear red lipstick, because I'm going to, and I'm gonna show you that it looks good on!
