Whiter: Asian American Women on Skin Color and Colorism

Heartfelt personal accounts from Asian American women on their experiences with skin color bias, from being labeled "too dark" to becoming empowered to challenge beauty standards "I have a vivid memory of standing in my grandmother's kitchen, where, by the table, she closely watched me as I played. When I finally looked up to ask why she was staring, her expression changed from that of intent observer to one of guilt and shame. ... 'My anak (dear child), ' she began, 'you are so beautiful. It is a shame that you are so dark. No Filipino man will ever want to marry you.'"--"Shade of Brown," Noelle Marie Falcis How does skin color impact the lives of Asian American women? In Whiter, thirty Asian American women provide first-hand accounts of their experiences with colorism in this collection of powerful, accessible, and brutally honest essays, edited by Nikki Khanna. Featuring contributors of many ages, nationalities, and professions, this compelling collection covers a wide range of topics, including light-skin privilege, aspirational whiteness, and anti-blackness. From skin-whitening creams to cosmetic surgery, Whiter amplifies the diverse voices of Asian American women who continue to bravely challenge the power of skin color in their own lives

Cover -- WHITER -- Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- CONTENTS -- Introduction -- PART I. COLORISM BEFINED -- 1. Wheatish -- 2. Too Dark -- 3. Sang Duc -- 4. You're So White, You're So Pretty -- 5. You Have Such a Nice Tan! -- 6. Brown Arms -- 7. Hopes for My Daughter -- PART II. PRIVILEGE -- 8. Blessed with Beautiful Skin -- 9. Shai Hei -- 10. Whiteness Is Slippery -- 11. Regular Inmates -- 12. Magnetic Repulsion -- PART III. ASPIRATIONAL WHITENESS -- 13. Digital Whiteness -- 14. Mrs. Santos's Whitening Cream -- 15. Shade of Brown -- PART IV. ANTI-BLACKNESS -- 16. Creation Stories -- 17. What It Means to Be Brown -- 18. The Perpetual Outsider -- PART V. BELONGING AND IDENTITY -- 19. What Are You? -- 20. Born Filipina, Somewhere in Between -- 21. Invisible to My Own People -- 22. Nobody Deserves to Feel like a Foreigner -- 23. Tired -- PART VI. SKIN-REDEFINED -- 24. The Very Best of You -- 25. Reprogramming -- 26. Cartographies of Myself -- 27. The Sun Is Calling My Name -- 28. Abominable Honhyeol -- 29. Dear Future Child -- 30. Teeth -- Notes -- Bibliography -- About the Editor -- About the Contributors -- Index.

Part 1. Colorism defined -- Wheatish / Rhea Goveas, Indian American -- Too dark / Miho Iwata, Japanese (Permanent U.S. Resident) -- Sang duc ho / Catherine Ma, Chinese American -- You're so white, you're so pretty / Sambath Meas, Khmer American -- You have such a nice tan! / Ethel Nicdao, Filipina American -- Brown arms / Tanzila Ahmed, Bangladeshi American -- Hopes for my daughter / Bhoomi K. Thakore, Indian American -- Part 2. Privilege -- Blessed with beautiful skin / Rhea Manglani, Indian American -- Shai hei / Rosalie Chan, Chinese/Filipina American -- Whiteness is slippery / Julia Mizutani, Multiracial Japanese/White American -- Regular inmates / Sonal Nalkur, Indo-Canadian (currently resides in the U.S.) -- Magnetic repulsion / Brittany Ota-Malloy, Multiracial Japanese/Black American -- Part 3. Aspirational whiteness -- Digital whiteness / Noor Hasan, Pakistani American -- Mrs. santos' whitening cream / Agatha Roa, Pacific Islander American -- Shade of brown / Noelle Marie Falcis, Filipina America -- Part 4. Anti-blackness -- Creation stories / Sairah Husain, Pakistani American -- What it means to be brown / Wendy Thompson Taiwo, multiracial Chinese/Black American -- The perpetual outsider / Marimas Hosan Mostiller, Cham American -- Part 5. Belonging and identity -- What are you? / Anne Mai Yee Jansen, Multiracial Chinese/White American -- Born Filipina, somewhere in between / Kim D. Chanbonpin, Filipina American -- Invisible to my own people / Kamna Shastri, Indian American -- Nobody deserves to feel like a foreigner in their own culture / Erika Lee, Taiwanese/Chinese American -- Tired / Cindy Luu, Vietnamese American -- Part 6. Skin redefined -- The very best of you / Joanne L. Rondilla, Filipina American -- Reprogramming / Daniela Pila, Filipina American -- Cartographies of myself / Lillian Lu, Chinese American -- The sun is calling my name / Rowena Mangohig, Filipina American -- Abominable honhyeol / Julia R. DeCook, Multiracial Korean/White American -- Dear future child / Kathy Tran-Peters, Vietnamese American -- Teeth / Betty Ming Liu, Chinese American.