From my earliest days, people often seemed puzzled by the differences in the skin tones of my twin sister and me. I inherited the darkest shade from our Ghanaian father, while my sister took after our Colombian mother, who was noticeably lighter than him; yet in every other feature we mirrored each other, right down to the small gap between our two front teeth.
My sister carries a caramel complexion, whereas mine sits about three shades deeper, more toward the hue of Hershey’s Kisses. At school, I endured taunts, and my sister would stand up for me, leaving us both in tears as I faced name-calling and bullying.
During those long walks home, we would clasp hands in solidarity, and our parents would remind us of our beauty and urge us never to let anyone demean it. As I grew older, I settled into my deeper skin tone and gradually learned to recognize my own beauty in the mirror. I stopped judging myself against my sister and her lighter complexion as though that were the standard of all that is good.
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As twins, we often do everything together. We live under the same roof, share a car, apply for the same positions, and even go on dates in parallel. It’s simply how twin life tends to unfold. So when we came across a modeling job posting on Instagram, we both leapt at the chance to apply. The ad proclaimed, “seeking all ages, sizes, and colors.” We were thrilled by the prospect and submitted our applications.
Last week, we were invited for a second interview with the modeling agency. We navigated the full process, and my sister ultimately received an offer while I did not. I noticed that a substantial number of darker-skinned women were being rejected or turned away, while I sat waiting for my turn to meet with the interviewers. I could not shake the feeling that the deck was stacked against women who looked like me.
Should I send an email citing my observation about what I suspect to be colorism or just move on to the next agency?
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