Selling (In)Equality: Exploring the Relationship Between Colourism and Marketing Practices in South-East Asia

Abstract

When considering the roles colourism and marketing practices play in the prevalent culture of skin-whitening in South-East Asia, it can be ascertained that a connection between the two concepts exists. While extensive research has been conducted on colourism, this is often limited to the African American experience and, thus, little has been done in the context of SouthEast Asia. Moreover, colourism and marketing have not been explored in conjunction with one another. Therefore, this study investigates the relationship between colourism and marketing, as well as the dynamics and implications of such a relationship. A qualitative mixed-methods approach was implemented: first, a narrative literature review was conducted to create a holistic understanding of the key topics and, second, semi-structured interviews were performed to compare published research to a case study. Results obtained from this approach suggested that marketing perpetuates colourism using skin-tone stereotypes and by encouraging fair-skin beauty ideals already present in society. Additionally, results highlighted that education and raising awareness on the existence of colourist ideals could be key in instigating change within society.