Although most Tunisian people are non-white, the whiteness of skin has always been a major beauty criterion. As a little girl, I remember asking myself why don’t we consider the facial features of the majority as beauty norms, instead of praising other characteristics that only a minority had. I was introduced to this white supremacist culture at a very young age.

The kids who had coloured eyes and light-coloured straight hair were “privileged” since kindergarten. The teacher would be nicer to them, would never yell at them, and would even take their side during fights with other kids. This “privileged” kid in particular would also get praised for his looks by the teacher, who would also be very gentle with him. I remember the other kids, including myself, were wondering about the reasons that made this kid have such special treatment. As insignificant as it may seem, this small experience introduced me to the concept of privilege.

As I grew up, I used to hear many (if not most) people around me would say when describing a beautiful woman, that she has green/blue eyes and blonde straight hair. When comparing women's beauty, the whiter one is generally considered the prettiest. When people argue, they insult each other using physical flaws including skin colour. For example, “zarga” (“blue” in the Tunisian dialect) is an insult addressed to women with darker skin colour and is often aimed as a mean joke. When choosing wives for their single sons, mothers would pick women who meet these standards. If the son chooses to be with a woman of colour, his family and especially his mother, would strongly disapprove of his choice. Many unions ended because of the family’s pressure. Those who were stubborn enough to be with the one they love, will find themselves cut off from family contact. 

Even when families give their blessing to a son’s marriage with a darker woman, the bride may suffer her mother-in-law’s severe treatment (emotional and sometimes physical abuse), since she is considered inferior because of her colour. This issue was tackled by a popular Tunisian series “Maktoub” (meaning fate in the Tunisian dialect), where two lovers, Yosr and Mehdi, weren’t allowed to get married by Mehdi’s mother, Jamila. The latter couldn’t accept that a black woman (Yosr) enters their financially and socially privileged family, because she would sully their image. Jamila would often tell her three sons (Mehdi among them) how she would find them “white beautiful wives like pistachio” worthy of them. Thus, “whiter” women are seen as sources of pride for families, whereas women of colour are seen as sources of shame. In a society where appearances are most important, having the family’s image associated with one whose skin colour meets the beauty standards is important for many people who want to find their place in this society.

This is the case for many women who would change some of their physical features to fit in society. They would do so by dying their hair blonde, always straightening their hair, or wearing coloured contact lenses in order to look like white women. In the past, during marriage preparations, brides stay locked at home in rooms with no windows for a month, to avoid sun exposure. They also apply face masks of honey and oil, to whiten their skin before the ceremony. These traditional practices are proof that this white supremacist culture isn’t new. Hence, we can link it with the French colonization which made the locals’ internalize it. The colonizer is more powerful and “sophisticated,” so most people would try to be and to look like them. Although these practices are ancient, many Tunisian women now do so in a modern way by using creams, foundations, and blushes to make their skin colour appear lighter. Some young Tunisian women won’t even go to the beach during the summer so as not to tan.

This perception of beauty has been spread by the Tunisian entertainment industry through TV shows where the vast majority of actors and actresses are white. During national beauty contests, white women always win the Miss Tunisia title. Tunisian women of colour aren’t actually even present in these contests, where southern states are almost always represented by women with lighter skin, hence Tunisian girls growing up with the idea that whiteness is the one and only beauty standard. That was my case. During my first teenage years, I craved acceptance and recognition from society. However, I didn’t meet the beauty standards that were set. So I began to hate my black curly hair and dark eyes. I wished I was whiter, with coloured eyes and straight blonde hair. I wanted to be among the beautiful popular girls in school. I wanted to get the boys’ attention and admiration. I didn’t realize it back then, but I think that the most important thing for me was self-acceptance. I needed to be able to look at myself in the mirror and see a beautiful girl. A girl who is beautiful not because she meets some standards, but because she is herself. It took me many years to make peace with myself and to be conscious that I was pressured to look “white.”