If we live in a world in which Priyanka Chopra almost didn’t win the Miss India title because she was deemed to be ‘too dark’, what kind of message is this sending out not only to South Asian women, but to all non-Caucasian women?

For many it is shocking to discover that the talented and stunning Priyanka was considered ‘too dark’ by a juror during the Feminina Miss India pageant. Seriously, a judge felt that her skin wasn’t white enough to represent the nation of India, which just so happens to be filled with plenty of brown-skinned folks.

But mention this story to a female with a South Asian background or a woman of colour, and this isn’t shocking – it’s merely another incident of an impossible beauty standard that many of us have battled our whole lives.

When I heard about this, I did not register much surprise, but more a sense of disappointment that even now, someone as beautiful as Priyanka would be singled out for something that is beyond her control.

Historically, the spectrum of brown or black that your skin registers on is an issue that impacts many women of colour.

Even if we as individuals lovingly embrace our melanin levels, there is a strong guarantee that others in our own community will always categorise us as being simply light-skinned or dark-skinned. This very categorisation is dangerous and problematic because the general vibe is that the lighter you are, the more attractive you are.

Light-skin privilege is a very real concept, something that many women of colour will recognise.

You are either light-skinned and given an array of strange compliments such as ‘oh, you’re pretty light for an Asian/black girl’ or singled out with little nuggets such as, ‘I mean you are pretty, even though you’re a bit dark’, and quite often these will be bestowed upon us by our own family members.

If people within our own communities are promoting such ideas – as also evident in Priyanka’s case – then what chance do we as women of colour have when it comes to embracing our own beauty?

Neelam Gill has spoken out about her own struggles with colourism (Picture: Stephane Cardinale – Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)

For example, it speaks volumes that model Neelam Gill has spoken out that her darker skin tone made her believe that she wasn’t beautiful.

For many Indians, thanks to the stain of empire and colonisation, Eurocentric ideals of beauty, and therefore whiteness, are considered aesthetically pleasing, and to deviate from such a standard lowers your perceived attractiveness.

Despite the British leaving India over 70 years ago, these beauty ideals have persisted, and can be seen in Bollywood, with the majority of actresses possessing lighter skin, and also in the popularity of Unilever Hindustan’s skin-lightening Fair & Lovely products.

The ironic reality is that women of colour are not supposed to be white; we are genetically supposed to have darker skin, yet this weird and strange obsession with lighter skin has still carried on across oceans and generations.

Change in society comes in the form of visual representations. That is why the need to have darker actresses in Bollywood is vital when it comes to boosting the self-esteem of many South Asian females, especially during their impressionable teenager years.

That is why Vogue India’s decision to pop Kendall Jenner on the cover for a special anniversary edition rather than a model with a South Asian background was damaging.

Yes, a leading fashion publication whose responsibility should be to promote realistic Indian beauty decided to use a white model on the cover, whose only real contribution to Indian culture is appropriating a few bindis here and there for Coachella. Guess all of the darker skinned models must have been busy right?

In my own life, the spectrum of my brownness has long been an issue.

From fiercely instructing the poor woman on a makeup counter that I needed a foundation shade to make me appear lighter in my early 20s, to avoiding family members after a beach holiday because I know I would be teased for my tan, to even taking it as a compliment when guys on dates have commented on my lighter skin complexion for an Asian female.

But as I’ve grown older and become more comfortable within myself, I’ve learned to let go of this impossible standard.

I’m not ashamed to admit that I too felt the pressure to make myself appear lighter than I am, because it was a way of thinking that was ingrained into me growing up. But, if someone like Priyanka can be deemed ‘too dark’ and still go on to win Miss World, then having a darker skin tone is obviously not such a bad thing after all.

Hearing things like this should no longer be damaging, it shouldn’t make women of colour avoid the sun, or religiously exfoliate to get a few shades lighter. Instead it should highlight the impossible beauty standards that our communities have set in stone.

It’s time we move on from this and embrace the different skin shades that make us so unique and beautiful.