Beauty / When Brown Turns White: Photoshoot Breaks The Stigma Of Vitiligo

When Brown Turns White: Photoshoot Breaks The Stigma Of Vitiligo

Beauty Apr 26, 2022

by Devika Goberdhan | Features Editor - Fashion

Michael Jackson had it. Supermodel Winnie Harlow does as well. Living with an auto-immune disease can be challenging. However, when you are physically turning white in front of the world, your friends, your family, and your community it’s not only physically exhausting but it can take a toll on one’s mental health as well. Thanks to a local creative team, a group of women with vitiligo decided to take matters into their own hands and use the power of photography to raise awareness and break the stigma.

According to the official governing body of the South Asian community, fondly referred to as, ‘The Aunties,’ vitiligo has been dubbed to be one of the most shameful things that could happen to a person.

While I’m making light of the severity of being diagnosed with vitiligo, there’s no denying that the shade of your skin is often a big deal within South Asian circles. The million-dollar skin bleaching industry is proof enough – I don’t believe it funded itself, my friends.

The truth of the matter is that, in the South Asian community, to be fair is to be lovely. Anything out of the ordinary is simply unacceptable.

But, what about when your skin didn’t get the memo from the ‘Auntie Brigade?’ What happens when that first patch of white skin appears, effectively ‘marring’ your skin? Do you run and lock yourself in the basement because life as you know it is over?

According to some brave young women who have taken it upon themselves to challenge the stigma and spread awareness about vitiligo, the answer is, and say it with your chest for the people in the back, NO!

What Is Vitiligo?

Before we go any further, let’s talk a little about vitiligo.

Vitiligo is a dermatological condition, which affects approximately “2% of those with Asian skin types,” notes BBC, with signs typically appearing before your late 20’s. Mayo Clinic explains that “vitiligo occurs when pigment-producing cells (melanocytes) die or stop producing melanin — the pigment that gives your skin, hair, and eyes color.” When this happens, individuals may notice that areas of their skin turn white, which is more noticeable for persons with darker complexions.

**Fearless Women With Vitiligo Raise Awareness With A Fab Photoshoot: Contrary to popular South Asian beliefs, vitiligo does not need to be ‘cured!’ Photo Credit:** www.instagram.com

At this time, Mayo Clinic highlights that vitiligo may be linked to an underlying “autoimmune condition, heredity, or A trigger event, such as stress, severe sunburn or skin trauma, such as contact with a chemical.”

In addition, there are different types of vitiligo that any person can experience, according to Mayo Clinic, including the following:

Universal: the entire body is impacted.
Generalized: many areas of the body have white patches.
Segmental: “tends to occur at a younger age, progress for a year or two, then stop.”
Localized: there many only be “one or only a few areas of your body” that patches appear on.
Acrofacial: typically, “…the affected skin is on the face and hands, and around body openings, such as the eyes, nose and ears.”

It’s important to understand that vitiligo is not something that you can catch from another person, nor is it life-threatening. However, seeking medical help may be beneficial in helping to pump the brakes on how quickly the patches appear or prevent more, altogether.

Breaking The Stigma About Vitiligo In The South Asian Community:

While some of the outlandish beliefs about what causes vitiligo continue to run rampant within the South Asian community, they are no longer shocking. According to BBC, it’s often believed that having vitiligo is “…caused by eating fish and drinking milk together, consuming too much alcohol or someone’s given you the evil eye.”

The shame associated with vitiligo is real and those who have it are often ‘othered’ and ostracized within the South Asian community. People will offer to pray for you, as you’ll surely need it, because who would possibly marry you now that your skin is neither fair nor lovely?

But it’s 2022 and a group of young South Asian women (all of whom have had their own struggles with vitiligo) have declared that enough is enough!

An awareness campaign was organized by makeup artist Lini David (@beautypursuit_mua), whose sister has vitiligo, and Amily Newman (@amilynewman), who has vitiligo, and shot by Shiromi Raveend (@shotbyshiro). The photoshoot included Valhanie David (@valhanie), Sajeetha Siva (thesaithasiva), Christina Abeynayake (@sudukelle), Amily Newman (@amilynewman), Gayathri Kathiresu (@gaya.ragu), and Theepika Uthayasandiran (@theepiccakes) sought to empower the models who have endured their individual struggles with vitiligo and illustrate that vitiligo does not define their worth or their beauty. This message is especially important within the South Asian community, where vitiligo is seen as something to be cured, rather than embraced as being beautiful.

Siva shared why she was excited to get involved with this project: “My diagnosis challenges society’s definition of beauty and that’s why it was important for me to get involved in this project. My journey with self-love and acceptance has been a long and complicated one, with so much more work to be put in. However, I am so proud of how far I have come. My 9-year-old self would never have thought that I would be doing a whole photoshoot to raise awareness on the very thing that has caused me so much insecurity. If I’m being honest, I truly only started to accept my vitiligo about two years ago when the lockdown took place. I was forced to sit with all these overwhelming feelings, I started to have vulnerable dialogues with the people I love about our traumas, insecurities, and toxic traits and we learned to be accountable for our feelings through consistent introspection. Unpacking these feelings led me to understand myself better, which resulted in practicing compassion towards myself and prioritizing emotional, psychological, spiritual growth and overall self-development.”

Abeynayake explained that “being part of this photoshoot was to stop stereotypes in the South Asian community and to build my own confidence in myself to wear light makeup. [She also wanted to spread]. In the past, girls hid, not showing society so they didn’t know, but now if we talk about it everyone will know. Be kind and forgiving, sometimes talking about it can help!”

In addition, Newman, one of the organizers, divulged that making this campaign come to life “…was so important. I wish I had this type of representation growing up, especially in south Asian attire like sarees. I dreaded going to any cultural events. Even though I loved wearing sarees and lenghas, I had to customize everything to ensure everything was covered and it was so stressful. I wanted this piece to showcase that vitiligo is common within our community and we are beautiful. We should be able to wear cultural attire or attend a function without stares, questions, or [receiving] unsolicited medical advice. My hope is that seeing representation like this will help educate people and have a higher level of awareness.”

What’s Next?

Thus far, the awareness campaign for vitiligo has generated a ton of attention and supportive calls for the South Asian community to banish their outdated views of beauty, particularly where vitiligo is concerned.

That said, if you or someone close to you is struggling with the stigmas associated with vitiligo, Siva’s words may inspire hope or offer solace: “Be patient with yourself and give yourself grace. Talk about it. Share your thoughts, feelings and emotions. Of course, I understand that everyone has their own timing in when and how they open up about their experiences but being surrounded by supportive friends and family makes the biggest difference.”

Main Image Photo Credit: www.instagram.com

Devika Goberdhan | Features Editor - Fashion

Author

Devika (@goberdhan.devika) is an MA graduate who specialized in Political Science at York University. Her passion and research throughout her graduate studies pushed her to learn about and unpack hot button issues. Thus, since starting at ANOKHI in 2016, she has written extensively about many challe...

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When Brown Turns White: Photoshoot Breaks The Stigma Of Vitiligo

by Devika Goberdhan | Features Editor - Fashion

Devika Goberdhan | Features Editor - Fashion

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