Priyanka Chopra, in my opinion, is the global face of empowered women. Her perseverance and confidence have made her what she’s today.

However, according to the actor, she too suffered from insecurities about her body as a teenager.

In an interview with the magazine, Allure, she revealed how she felt inferior due to her skin color.

Priyanka said, “[My skin] is as complicated as I am. When I was growing up, I didn’t see anyone on TV who looked like me. I adored Sarah Michelle Gellar. I wanted to be the Slayer! I’ve been working since I was 17, and initially [beauty] companies didn’t have colors that matched the Asian or Indian skin. I definitely have access to products that are specifically for my skin [now]. But it happened pretty recently, I think—about 10 years [ago]. Being Indian, we are one-fifth of the world’s population, so I guess the makeup companies cater to that.”

 “Everyone in America wants to get a tan, and everyone in Asia wants to get their skin lightened. I straddle both countries. Girls, there are told that they’re too dark or dusky and that lighter skin is better. Because I’m a darker tone, I had issues growing up as a teenager,” she added.

Mostly, it is the f-gender who is judged by their physical attributes and Priyanka urges the girls to shun these insecurities.

“Pressures exist, and it’s on us to make those pressures not seem important to girls. I’ve achieved what I’ve achieved, and skin color has nothing to do with it—in fact, it might have been an asset. I like the color of my skin very much. It’s so primitive that people are judged on the basis of the color of their skin. I mean, it’s skin. We all have it,” she reportedly told.

“I feel a sense of responsibility with young girls everywhere—they can achieve anything that they want to do. There are so many girls around the world that are told that they can’t live their lives or they can’t behave a certain way because they’re girls. You know, we have to fight the fight ourselves. We have to show girl-love to each other. We need to encourage other women instead of knocking each other down.”

Along with Priyanka Chopra, many other Indian women like YouTube sensation, Lilly Singh, and supermodel, Padma Lakshmi, also opened up about their struggle with their color to the magazine.

Lilly Singh talked about tackling the trolls she gets on her videos:

“The last time someone made me feel bad about my skin would be every single comment I get about my face makeup not matching my neck. It’s something I get on YouTube. Maybe if more foundation matched my skin tone, haters would slow their roll.”

While Padma Lakshmi was quoted saying, “My skin is a map of my life. Before high school, I lived in a white suburb of Los Angeles where there were so few Indians that they didn’t even know the ‘correct’ slurs. They called me the N-word or ‘Blackie.’ For a long time, I hated my skin color. Even in India, there’s a complicated history. My grandmother discouraged us from going in the sun; she didn’t want us to be dark. We were only allowed to play outside after 4:30. There was a cosmetics line called Fair & Lovely—that says it all.”  

“[And] when I started to work as a model, people would on occasion say things to me like, ‘You’re so pretty for being an Indian.’ I’ve gotten to a place where I have a much broader feeling that I’m beautiful because I’m accepted in the culture. I scar very badly. You can see every scrape, cut, and burn—mine don’t go away… but I’m very thankful for my skin. I’m very tactile. Cooking is as much about touch as it is about taste—I can feel if something is done just by touch. That sense of touch has shaped my sensuality,” she said.

These revelations are proof that in order to put an end to such nonsensical skin-standards set by the society, all of us will have to battle it on our level, first, and then collectively voice against such prejudice.

P.S. You can read the entire story, here.