Effekter av colorism pa vardagsliv och arbets- och anställningsmöjligheter för människor i Thailand: : Kvalitativ intervjustudie på thailandares upplevelser av colorism och light-skin privilege

Colorism defines the phenomenon of social hierarchy based on gradations of skin tones within and between groups. This has resulted in a preferential treatment towards light-hued individuals while dark-hued individuals are experiencing discrimination and disadvantage which is referred to as Light-skin privilege. The above continues to be a significant issue in today's society specifically in the Asian context and communities that are understudied in comparison to the African American communities. Therefore, this study aims to investigate colorism in Thailand, a southeast Asian country whose fascination with skin whitening is one of the strongest in the world. This paper examines how colorism represents itself in society by a qualitative interview study with Thais on their experiences regarding the whiteness standard and light-skin privilege. The analysis also investigates the potential limits on employment opportunities of darker-hued individuals compared to lighter-hued individuals to fill the research gap regarding colorism in respect to employment and work opportunities. The results show that light skin still is perceived as most desirable which can affect and lead to a derogatory treatment of darker hued Thai people especially in beauty related carriers. With the analysis of the Preference for Whiteness theory the treatment of dark hued people is a cause of classification structures and a history of discrimination on skin color perceptions.