We also have colorism in mainstream Thai society, but I suppose operating on a slightly different angle. I really must emphasise my use of the word ‘mainstream’, because Thai society (with the pushing forward of the younger generation over the past several years) has been changing at lightning speed from the bottom up; and there are now major shifts in the assigning of values. But, let’s say since the post-Vietnam War era (and I’d say the privileging of fair skin would have been brought in from the west over the course of the 60s and 70s, although I’d need further confirmation from historical records), the darker skin tones had been assigned to provincial people and hard labourers, especially those who worked in the outdoors. And fairer skin was assigned to those who were considered more economically secure perhaps, who worked in office buildings, considering the offices were sheltered from the elements, and the people working in them were more protected and privileged; hence, the label ‘sao office’ (สาวออฟฟิศ) which means ‘office girl’.
That being said, beginning from the late 90s onwards, Thai film and television began casting leading men with darker skin tones, not too dark, but categorised as fairly dark; men only, not women. The fashionable word used to describe these leading men in film and television was ‘kem’ (เข้ม) which may be translated as ‘intense and concentrated’, almost in an erotically intense kind of way; the word almost has poetic associations (dark chocolate, or milk chocolate, maybe?), or that’s the way I see it. But this way of value-assignment goes to show that the darker skin (popular) preference doesn’t apply to women; that, perhaps, it wasn’t quite socially acceptable for women to be seen as ‘intense and concentrated’.
I’ve never considered myself to be part of these mainstream trends. And I breathe a sigh of great relief every time I see a young Thai person put forward their critical thinking skills on the social media platforms. (And, by the way, I’m a little dark myself.)
India also has a past with colonialism. And the obsession with light skin tones stem from there to some degree. The dynamics between lower class and upper class are also similar. As for now, the society is stuck between the age old beliefs and the new exoticism of their own skin tone. But I agree that with coming generations, the awareness and acceptance is at rise. So there is hope for better future.
We also have colorism in mainstream Thai society, but I suppose operating on a slightly different angle. I really must emphasise my use of the word ‘mainstream’, because Thai society (with the pushing forward of the younger generation over the past several years) has been changing at lightning speed from the bottom up; and there are now major shifts in the assigning of values. But, let’s say since the post-Vietnam War era (and I’d say the privileging of fair skin would have been brought in from the west over the course of the 60s and 70s, although I’d need further confirmation from historical records), the darker skin tones had been assigned to provincial people and hard labourers, especially those who worked in the outdoors. And fairer skin was assigned to those who were considered more economically secure perhaps, who worked in office buildings, considering the offices were sheltered from the elements, and the people working in them were more protected and privileged; hence, the label ‘sao office’ (สาวออฟฟิศ) which means ‘office girl’.
That being said, beginning from the late 90s onwards, Thai film and television began casting leading men with darker skin tones, not too dark, but categorised as fairly dark; men only, not women. The fashionable word used to describe these leading men in film and television was ‘kem’ (เข้ม) which may be translated as ‘intense and concentrated’, almost in an erotically intense kind of way; the word almost has poetic associations (dark chocolate, or milk chocolate, maybe?), or that’s the way I see it. But this way of value-assignment goes to show that the darker skin (popular) preference doesn’t apply to women; that, perhaps, it wasn’t quite socially acceptable for women to be seen as ‘intense and concentrated’.
I’ve never considered myself to be part of these mainstream trends. And I breathe a sigh of great relief every time I see a young Thai person put forward their critical thinking skills on the social media platforms. (And, by the way, I’m a little dark myself.)
India also has a past with colonialism. And the obsession with light skin tones stem from there to some degree. The dynamics between lower class and upper class are also similar. As for now, the society is stuck between the age old beliefs and the new exoticism of their own skin tone. But I agree that with coming generations, the awareness and acceptance is at rise. So there is hope for better future.