A refreshed conversation. [Whiter: Asian American Women on Skin Color and Colorism edited by Nikki Khanna]

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

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.

It's interesting reading about colorism and dark-skinnedness in other communities from women who would not be considered dark in my own. The experiences of the various essay authors in Whiter are written by women who've had distinct encounters with racism and colorism, each defined by their individual Asian background and further compounded by the context of the United States. And while yes, for the most part these are not those at the bottom of the social hierarchy dealing with the worst kinds, some of the authors admittedly hold privilege in their communities, colorism touches all, everyone's experiences are valid. But still, not equal.

And that's important to take note of. The ability to look up faces and contextualize the described experience and match it to a face is one that's important but also risky. At once I could try to create a false self-justification or apply judgment on the lived experiences of others. If they described themselves as having dark skin I could judge for myself how the appropriateness of that description. And that's what the book is about, what others consider dark and how that consideration shapes interactions. A collection of essays, edited by Nikki Khanna, Whiter: Asian American Women on Colorism is a conversation on colorism and its disparate effects for women in the Asian American community

I wish I could be as neutral as possible and only think about the writing of entries and the book as an overall experience. But I can't because I didn't experience the book in such a shallow sense. Colorism is not an abstract topic. As a black woman, colorism (and racism at large because they go hand in hand) is a system that has negative implications for and against me. Colorism is a imposed on my interactions and my place in society. For that reason reading about its role in the Asian American community appealed to me. Colorism, predicated on anti-blackness, has severe implications for my community and people who look like me, but that doesn't mean it isn't as insidious in other communities. Elsewhere it just rears its ugly face in other ways.

The past decade or so has seen a lot of terms associated with oft-disparaged "social justice" make their way into the would-be collective American psyche with increasing vigor, bringing previously unspoken topics to the forefront of respective sociocultural conversations. To varying degrees many have come to accept the realities of ongoing oppression that their family, friends and neighbors experiences overtly and subtly, whether as blatant discrimination or a lifetime of microaggressions. My own expectations and my own self-formed absolutes on the realities of racism were challenged. Sometimes uncomfortably. And while I'm not sure that any of those tensions were resolved, this was definitively a book I needed to read. It's a book I'm sure many need to read. A book that sheds light on the experiences of socially reinforced and systemic prejudices experienced by groups of people, Whiter should be considered for those looking to read a multifaceted take on race relations in America.

In terms of rating I can only go with my gut. While on paper there's not much against this book, my experience reading the book will govern my appraisal. Reading through the essays I cheered for authors' personal triumphs of self-love and realization, cringe and shook my head as they recounted years of insidious indoctrination, and hoped as they acknowledged their shortcomings and ongoing processes of change. Giving 4 stars feels most appropriate, though I don't doubt a re-read in a different context or stage of life might see a higher score. Conversely it could see a lower one.

Whiter was published March 2020.