The history of Mestizaje is rooted in oppression and colonization, but to be Mestiza also comes with privileges that cannot be ignored, and this is especially the case if you have light or fair skin.

“We see this with our own families when someone looking longingly at someone with white skin; they’re mestiza—mixed with either European blood or Chinese blood,” she tells the podcast hosts.

Celebrating natural beauty, creativity, and empowerment, Mestiza, the country’s leading all-natural skincare brand, hosted its much-anticipated ‘Mestizas in Bloomvinos’ event on March 9 ...

This doesn’t seem to apply to this country of Malays, though. Our idea of beauty has been fixed on the mestiza standard since the 16th century: that a woman has to have fair skin to be beautiful.