FORMER eThekwini Municipality speaker, Logie Naidoo who has embraced his dark skin colour, is saddened that some patrons of Club 386, were recently ridiculed on social media for their skin tone and looks.
Naidoo, who is also a stand-up comedian, said it was disheartening that prejudice stemming from colourism was still prevalent.
"I have always joked about the issue of colour, so people know I am not affected by it. Today, I make jokes about these issues, and when I take ownership of the issue of my darkness, I am not affected by any comments as such. Communities must see people for their humanity rather than their skin colour," said Naidoo.
"When comedian Muthu Murugan said that I was born at midnight, I joked back that he was born at 12:05."
Naidoo said his wife was light skinned and they were often referred to as puri patha.
"I was never offended because I was comfortable in my skin and took it in my stride."
"To me, colourism is a prejudice to which people with dark skin experience greater discrimination than people from the same ethnicity with lighter skin. In a society where we have evolved in our thinking, we still see people commenting on the complexion of others, such as brides, other people's children and partners.
"Society is still caught up with issues related to the complexion of people to the extent where some parents resort to whitening children's faces."
He said, for children who are picked on in school for their dark skin tone, it is both humiliating and traumatising.
“In my case, from my teenage years, I had the consciousness to deal with the matter. My circle of friends were progressive, so I did not incur discrimination. I was the one shouting ‘black is beautiful’, which was a popular slogan in the '70s.
"In the era of black consciousness in South Africa, people were made aware, politically speaking, about race and discrimination. The South African struggle against racism and discrimination helped increase people's awareness of the issue of race and skin colour. But we find in all communities people practise these backward tendencies."
Naidoo said colourism had contributed to low self-esteem, low self-confidence, self-hatred, excessive skin bleaching, poorer physical and mental health outcomes, and other various economic, educational disadvantages.
Bryoni Govender, Miss SA runner up who represented the country in the Miss Universe 2023 pageant, has spoken about her issues with colourism.
She referred to her skin tone as her superpower and said she was proud to use the platform as a way to bring representation of people with darker skin.
“As a young child with a deep skin tone, I thought only fair was considered beautiful.
“This wrongful narrative was entrenched in my mind because I would rarely see women who looked like me on television. As I grew up, I learnt that many fair skinned are striving to be darker and dark skinned are striving to be lighter.
“In the end, none of us are perfect because perfection is something that can never be attained. Instead we should all strive to be excellent and the best way we can do that is by being our true authentic self, which was my mission when entering Miss SA 2023.
“The shade of your skin tone should never stop you from chasing your goals. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and beauty is more than skin deep.”
Shanice Moonsamy and Saroj Naidoo have also been ridiculed for their skin colour.
Moonsamy, who grew up in Chatsworth, said she was bullied as a child because of her skin tone.
"Remarks from family members hurt my feelings. My siblings were fair and were treated better than me. I felt as if there was something wrong with me. I began to shy away from being in the limelight. As I got older, the comments became harsher and family members called me 'blackie' or 'blacks'. Even when I did well in school, I felt I was not praised as much for being bright because I was dark."
Saroj Naidoo, a pensioner from Phoenix, said: "Decades ago, a dark skinned girl was not considered to be an ideal bride-to-be and this led to issues in families. I experienced this when I married a light skinned man. His family remarked about our skin colours and I began to feel like I was less deserving of being loved by his family due to this.
"The comments and jokes affected me and I became depressed. My husband noticed this and supported me and as a result, I was able to break away from feeling less, and started to love the skin I am in."
Meshantan Naidoo, a radio presenter and comedian, said the psychological impact of colourism was the damage to one's core belief.
“Core belief is built during childhood and is largely based on interactions and messages about our self-worth. Due to this wounded core belief, emotional distress and symptoms like depression, hopelessness, loss of motivation, and a lack of interest in activities may occur," he said.
"People who are fair in complexion are generally and stereotypically considered more aesthetically pleasing than a dark skinned person and that's unfair (pardon the pun). Dark skinned people are mocked and ridiculed. I have seen this at family gatherings where terms like 'blackie' are used. When will it stop?
"Mainstream media and ‘the woke society’ are doing a phenomenal job in changing the narrative. I'm certain that in 20 to 30 years, ridiculing someone because of their skin tone will be non-existent. Some parents are raising their children to be mindful, accepting, and to look beyond physical appearance or personal preferences."
Naidoo said social pressure led to some people spending thousands of rand to undergo skin whitening treatments like glutathione.
"There is nothing wrong with undergoing these treatments to feel comfortable in your body. If that treatment enables you to feel comfortable in your skin then by all means go for it and own it.
"In a few of my stand-up comedy routines or posts on my social media accounts, I have used glutathione as content. But just because a comedian or content creator said something about a particular topic for comedic relief, doesn't necessarily mean this is our stance. The hidden meaning in our content is always overlooked.
“At times, I used Logie Naidoo as content. I can only do that because Logie is quite comfortable being the way he is. He owns his skin colour and finds humour in it. He even responds in the comment section that further adds to the joke. That's what acceptance and being comfortable with who you are and what you like, is.
"It's sad that people don't feel comfortable with their dark complexion because we have been programmed to think that dark isn't beautiful... Beauty goes beyond the skin... The quality of your character, personality, your heart and your actions are what matters. We are all made in the image of God and that's what makes each of us 100% beautiful."