Kari Jensen, Associate Professor of Global Studies and Geography, published “Colorism in Bangladeshi Society” in Focus on Geography, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Geographical Society.
Colorism refers to discrimination based on skin color. Many Bangladeshi people in Bangladesh and in the diaspora consider light skin more attractive and desirable, resulting in the discrimination of dark-skinned people, particularly girls and women. Dr. Jensen’s article is based on semi-participant observation and in-depth, semi-structured, in-person interviews with middle-class women and men in Bangladesh and in the Bangladeshi diaspora in the US. She asked them to share their perceptions and experiences of colorism and beauty standards, and encouraged them to philosophize about possible causes of the colorism that is so entrenched in Bangladeshi culture and society, as well as possible ways out of such discriminatory perceptions and practices.