773149

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SGOXXX10.1177/2158244018773149SAGE OpenNagar

Article

SAGE Open

The Unfair Selection: A Study on Skin-

April-June 2018: 1­–8
© The Author(s) 2018
DOI: 10.1177/2158244018773149
https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244018773149

Color Bias in Arranged Indian Marriages journals.sagepub.com/home/sgo

Itisha Nagar1

Abstract
Underlying the growing popularity of skin-lightening or fairness cosmetics in India is one of the most baseless biases experienced
and practiced. Yet, the overriding importance of skin-color especially in context of marriage has been largely unaddressed.
This exploratory study examined the influence of skin-color on preference for potential marriage partner. A 2 × 2 (gender ×
skin-color) between-group experimental design was used. Mothers (N = 108) of individuals of marriageable age group were
presented with an option of five marital profiles containing education and work information only. The participants were
shown profiles of either males or females depending on whether they had a son or a daughter. Once a profile was chosen, the
participant was either shown a photograph of highly attractive fair girl/boy or a highly attractive dark girl/boy. The light-skinned
and dark-skinned photograph was of the same person, except their skin tones were manipulated with the use of computer
software. Participants were asked to rate how strongly would they recommend the girl/boy as potential bride/groom for their
children. As expected, fair-skinned highly attractive people received higher ratings than dark-skinned highly attractive people.
However, contrary to our expectations, ratings received for dark-skinned woman were not significantly lower than the ratings
received for dark-skinned man. This study shows that the color of skin has the potential to even overpower traits such as
general competency and physical attractiveness in both men and women.

Keywords
women’s studies, sex and gender, social sciences, gender psychology, sociology of race and ethnicity, cultural studies, colorism

Introduction now men’s) problems. Consequently, skin-lightening is the key

The fairness cosmetics industry is a huge business in India,
worth almost US$180 million, and growing at a rate of 10% to
15% annually (Shevde, 2008). A typical advertisement for a
fairness cream in India begins with portrayal of the (many)
problems of a dark-skinned person. Majority of skin-lightening
cosmetics target women. They are likely to portray a dark-
skinned woman as an underconfident and insecure person who
is unable to secure success in life until someone suggests the
use of a fairness cream (Sylvia, 2014). The advertisement then
shows her radical transformation; not only does she become
several shades lighter, but her entire personality undergoes a
drastic change. She emerges as a successful woman, confident,
and self-assured because of her “whiteness.” The advertise-
ment ends with her clinching a desirable marriage proposal; the
camera zooms in on her “fair” and happy face. The implied
message is “fair is lovely and dark is ugly.” An industry that
began selling fairness creams exclusively for women now
offers whiteness to Indian men too. Fair & Lovely cream has
found its counterpart in Fair & Handsome cream for men.
Today, the market offers fairness creams, face washes, and
makeup for both genders. Most advertisements carry an
implicit message that darkness is the root of all women’s (and
to our success in all spheres of life. One can find means to
lighten each and every part of the body. The latest addition to
the list is whitening creams for one’s private areas. Cosmetics
industry sells fairness along with promises of popularity, suc-
cess, and happiness to many.
Underlying the growing popularity of skin-lightening or
fairness cosmetics in India is one of the most baseless biases
experienced and practiced. Colorism or skin-color stratifica-
tion is a process that privileges light-skinned people over
dark in areas such as income, education, housing, and the
marriage market (Hunter, 2007). In context of race, studies
have found that light-skinned people are financially better
off, more educated, live in better neighborhoods, and marry
higher status people than darker-skinned people (Murguia &
Telles, 1996; Rondilla & Spickard, 2007). Elevated rates of
blood pressure are also well documented in Blacks (see
1
University of Delhi, New Delhi, India
Corresponding Author:
Itisha Nagar, Assistant Professor, Kamala Nehru College, University of
Delhi, August Kranti Marg, New Delhi, New Delhi 110049, India.
Email: dr.itishanagar@gmail.com

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2 SAGE Open
Brondolo, Rieppi, Kelly, & Gerin, 2003, for a review).
Although studies examining colorism have restricted their
research to African American individuals, there is growing
evidence for an overwhelming preference for fair skin over
dark-skin in Asian countries. “Whiteness” or having white
skin is considered an important element in constructing
female beauty in Asian cultures (Baumann, 2008; Krishen,
LaTour, & Alishah, 2014; Li, Min, Belk, Kimura, & Bahl,
2008). According to Glenn (2008), skin-lightening products
are common across many Asian cultures. In India, a woman
with dark complexion is likely to be considered unattractive
from the point of view of cultural constructions of beauty
ideals (Arif, 2004; Parameswaran, 2015). A focused group
discussion with Indian women found that obsession with
fairness and the related attributes of beauty, attractiveness,
and marital success continues to prevail (Karan, 2008). This
is not surprising as fair skin has a colonial connotation of
power and superiority (Shankar, Giri, & Palaian, 2006).
Badruddoja (2005) also reports that for many Hindu-Indian
women, attractiveness and beauty are linked to their color of
skin. Nagar and colleagues (2017) found that exposure to fair
and attractive media images led to activation of appearance-
related schemas in young Indian women. Swami, Furnham,
and Joshi (2008) also found that women with lighter skin-
color were rated to be more attractive, healthy, and fertile.
Furthermore, fairer skin-color is related to better prospects of
finding a mate in arranged marriage context (Badruddoja,
2005; Jha & Adelman, 2009).
While Black scholars in the Unites States have thoroughly
examined the link between racism and colorism, there is pau-
city of information tracing the historical roots of skin-color
discrimination in India (Parameswaran & Cardoza, 2009a).
Internalization of superiority of fair/white skin has been
related to the combined influences of colonialism, caste sys-
tem, and globalization. Many South-Asian countries like
India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and so on were ruled by
the British for around 200 years; “white” race was the ruler
and the “dark” native were the ruled. This led to internaliza-
tion of superiority and power of the “white” skin and inferi-
ority and powerlessness of the “dark skin” (Speight, 2007).
Internalized racism reveals itself in a variety of situations
from work environment to social situations where people of
color reject or denigrate those with dark-skin. The caste sys-
tem in India is likely to have given impetus to the notion of
superiority of fair skin-color brought by colonial rule
(Parameswaran & Cardoza, 2009b; Shankar & Subish,
2016). Higher castes have been perceived to be “fairer” and
superior while lower castes have been perceived to be
“darker” and inferior. Today, in postcolonial world, global-
ization has led to increased spread and acceptance of Western
beauty ideals in Asian and African cultures (Hunter, 2011;
Peltzer, Pengpid, & James, 2016). An increasing number of
young Indian women are routinely exposed to Indian and
Western media, which overwhelmingly portray Western
beauty ideals. Rampant capitalism has made whiteness an
international beauty ideal and market commodity (Goon &
Craven, 2003). Skin-color remains a predominant criterion
along which many individuals are evaluated in our society,
especially in context of mate selection (Haq, 2013). Overall,
combined influences of the caste system, colonialism, and
globalization have made fair/light skin-color a social capital
that enables upward social mobility in India (Parameswaran
& Cardoza, 2009b).
As opposed to the individualistic Western society,
where mate selection is the prerogative of the individual
in question, in collectivistic cultures, arranged marriages
refer to selection of mate accomplished by family rather
than the individual (Chang & Myers, 1997; Gupta, 1976).
While “romantic love” is likely to be criteria and legiti-
mate basis for marriage in individualistic cultures, collec-
tivistic cultures often use a number of criteria including
subsistence skills, family, alliances, economic arrange-
ments between families, and health (Udry, 1974).
Matrimonial advertisements are found to request corre-
spondence for arranged marriages based on age, religion,
caste, regional ancestry, education, professional qualifica-
tions, income, and skin tone (Gist, 1953; Haq, 2013). As is
the case in other cultures, compared with women, men
place more importance on physical attractiveness and
women place more importance than men do on the earning
capacity of a potential mate (Wiederman & Allgeier,
1992). In a study, content analysis of matrimonial adver-
tisements in India affirms the same, that is, social exchange
of men’s financial stability for women’s physical attrac-
tiveness is common (Ramasubramanian & Jain, 2009).
Deeply embedded cultural norms prescribe light/fair as an
essential feature of women’s beauty in India and other
Asian countries (Gist, 1953; Goon & Craven, 2003;
Leong, 2006; Parameswaran & Cardoza, 2009b). Even in
context of marriage, a preference for fair-colored women
is omnipresent across matrimonial advertisements in
newspapers and websites (Pandey, 2004; Ramasubramanian
& Jain, 2009). “Looking for a slim, homely, and ‘fair’ girl
for our son” is a common feature in matrimonial
advertisements.
Although dark-skin is perceived to be disadvantageous
for both men and women, studies have reported that Black
women seem to suffer from “double jeopardy” (Beal, 2008).
That is, women are likely to be at a more disadvantageous
position than men where color of skin is concerned. In con-
text of work settings, dark-skinned women receive more
rejections than equally qualified dark-skinned men (Berdahl
& Moore, 2006; Harrison & Thomas, 2009). In context of
matrimony, although dark-skin color proves to be disadvan-
tageous for both men and women, women are likely to be
discriminated more than men (Gist, 1953). Researchers have
found that in looking for mates in arranged marriages, men
were more likely than women to state a preference for skin-
color (Jha & Adelman, 2009; Ramasubramanian & Jain,
2009). Utley and Darity (2016) reported that prospective
Nagar 3
Table 1.  Demographic Characteristics of Participants Exposed to Fair and Dark Conditions.
Fair (N = 55)
  M SD
Age of mothers (in years) 50.04 8.26
Age of children (in years) 27.00 3.13
Educational qualifications 1.73 0.71
SES 2.51 0.66
Note. Coding for educational qualifications: 1 = graduation, 2 = post-graduation, 3 = higher studies; SES: 1 = lower middle, 2 = middle, 3 = upper middle,
4 = upper class. SES = socioeconomic status.
brides are likely to describe themselves in terms of color of
skin (fair) than prospective grooms.
South-Asian immigrants in the West are also found to
desire lighter skin and have lower body satisfaction compared
with their White counterparts (Sahay & Piran, 1997). Grewal
(2008) found that non-White immigrants in West experience
feelings of discrimination based on their skin-color.
Experience of rejection or discrimination on the basis of color
of skin is likely to have implications for socio/psychological
well-being of individuals, specifically body image, self-
esteem, and dissatisfaction with self and others. Okazawa-
Ray, Robinson, and Ward (1987) found a significant positive
correlation between self-esteem and liking of own skin-color;
greater liking for skin-color was associated with higher score
on self-esteem measure for African American adolescents.
Dark-skinned women may suffer from low self-esteem as
they have to cope up with a number of negative messages
from the larger society, such as the perception that “fair is
lovely and dark is ugly” (Jain, 2005). Studies on women have
replicated the findings and suggest dark-skin-color is related
to greater negative ratings of overall appearance and facial
satisfaction (Bond & Cash, 1992) as well as symptoms of
depression and poor self-esteem among African American
adolescents (Williams, 2006).
Present Study
This unfair importance of “fairness” in determining life out-
comes widely studied for the Black culture (Johnson, 2002)
remains an unaddressed discourse in India. Although experi-
ence of bias and discrimination is a normalized everyday
experience in lives of many Indian men and women, empiri-
cal research is scarce. The primary purpose of the study was
to examine the presence of preference of fair skin over dark-
skin color in context of matrimony. As parents play an impor-
tant role in mate selection in arranged marriages in India, the
participants of the present study were women with children
of marriageable age. It was hypothesized as follows:
Hypothesis 1: Photograph of dark-skinned individual
will receive lower ratings than equally attractive and qual-
ified fair-skinned individual.
Dark (N = 53)
M SD t p
51.28 6.18 0.89 .378
26.21 3.54 1.24 .108
1.58 0.69 0.62 .550
2.43 0.61 1.06 .292
Hypothesis 2: Photograph of dark-skinned woman will
receive lower ratings than dark-skinned men.
Method
Participants
Urban mothers (N = 108) of individuals of marriageable age
group (24-30 years) from New Delhi and NCR were selected
for the present study. The demographic details of the partici-
pants have been provided in Table 1. As can be seen, the two
treatment conditions (fair and dark) were matched on the fol-
lowing self-reported variables: age of mothers, education,
and socioeconomic status (SES).
Procedure
A 2 × 2 (gender × skin-color) between-group experimental
design was used. The participants were presented with an
option of five marital profiles containing education and work
information. The participants were shown profile of either
males or females depending on whether they had a son or a
daughter. Once a profile was chosen, photograph of highly
attractive fair girl/boy was shown or highly attractive dark
girl/boy was shown. The light-skinned and dark-skinned
photograph was of the same person, except their skin tones
were manipulated with the use of computer software.
Participants were asked (a) to rate the competency of the pro-
file selected by them on a rating scale of 1 to 7 (highly incom-
petent to highly competent) and (b) to rate how strongly they
would recommend the girl/boy as potential bride/groom for
their children on a rating scale of 1 to 7 (strongly NOT rec-
ommend to strongly recommend). Informed consent was
taken from the participants and confidentiality was ensured
to all. At the end of the study, all participants were debriefed
regarding the true nature of the study.
A pilot study was conducted previously for the profiles
and photographs used in the study proper. First, for the pho-
tographs, 12 passport size photographs, each of males and
females judged to be physically attractive, were selected. Ten
mothers of children of marriageable age were asked to rate
the perceived attractiveness of the photographs using a
7-point Likert-type rating scale ranging from very
4 SAGE Open

Table 2.  Competency Ratings for Profile Selected by Participants. Table 3 presents the descriptive statistics for ANOVA for
the dependent variable recommendation ratings. It was
Gender Skin-color n M SD t p
expected that fair-skin photograph would receive significantly
Male Fair 29 5.79 1.92 1.00 .160 higher ratings for recommendation (i.e., recommendation for
Dark 28 5.79 1.77 suitability as life partners for their sons/daughters) relative to
Fair 26 6.38 0.57 dark skin-color photograph (Hypothesis 1). Figure 1 presents
Female Dark 25 6.36 0.08 0.17 .432 recommendation ratings for fair and dark-skin color
Note. Gender of the photograph shown.
photographs.
Consistent with our hypothesis, the ANOVA results (Table
4) for recommendation yielded a significant main effect of
Table 3.  Descriptive Statistics for ANOVA for the Dependent skin-color with a large effect size, F(1, 104) = 32.21, p = .000,
Variable Recommendation Ratings. η2 = .236. There was no gender effect; that is, there was no
Gender Skin-color n M SD
significant difference in the ratings given to the two photo-
graphs. It was also expected that the photograph of dark-
Male Fair 29 5.48 1.056 skinned woman would receive lower ratings than the
Dark 28 4.11 1.571 photograph of man with dark-colored skin (Hypothesis 2).
Fair 26 5.88 1.711 Contrary to our hypothesis, skin-color by time was not signifi-
Female Dark 25 4.44 1.609 cant, F(1, 108) = 0.019, p = .890, η2 = .00, implying that the
Note. Gender of the photograph shown. pattern of ratings did not differ according to whether the par-
ticipants were males or females. That is, dark photograph of
the highly attractive and competent woman did not receive
unattractive (1) to very attractive (7). Top-rated photograph significantly lower ratings than the photograph of a highly
for attractiveness was selected for both the genders to control attractive and competent dark man.
for the variable physical attractiveness. The male and female
photographs were then turned highly fair and highly dark to
assess their suitability for the two skin-color experimental
Discussion
conditions. This was done with the help of computer soft- This exploratory study sought to shed light on skin-color bias
ware. The photographs were rated by the same sample for the in context of arranged Indian marriages. Results of the study
perceived skin-color from very dark (1) to very fair (7). This indicate that there appears to be a skin-color preference with
prerating was done to ensure that the highly attractive photo- regard to making decisions about the suitability of an indi-
graphs selected were also perceived as highly fair/dark. vidual as a potential partner. Given that the study was manip-
The same pilot sample (mothers) as the one used for the ulated in such a way that the influence of the two other
selection of photographs also independently rated the com- important variables, namely, attractiveness and competency,
petency levels of eight profiles for males and females. They was controlled in a manner to minimize their influence, the
rated the profiles for adequacy of the educational qualifica- significant mean differences in ratings can only be attributed
tions, work experience, and overall competency of the appli- to the skin-color variation. Individuals perceived as highly
cant. Apart from these, three HR professionals also rated the competent but dark-skinned were rated lower than their
profiles for their competency. Pilot study results found that highly competent light-skinned counterparts. The findings of
the profiles received high ratings for competency by mothers the study establish the presence of colorism in context of
and HR professionals. This was done to ensure that the pro- matrimony. Sadly, these findings are not terribly shocking
files used in the primary study were perceived as highly but are in fact in line with our expectations.
competent. White and black are not dichotomous categories of skin-
color in India. To the West, Indians are brown skinned.
However, Indians find their skin-color to be a unique dimen-
Results sion of social comparison, a scale on which they can rate
A 2 (gender) × 2 (skin-color) between-group ANOVA was themselves as relatively fairer/darker than others. Malhotra
computed to assess the likelihood for recommendation of the (2004) called this as a “whiteness spectrum,” defined as a
girl/boy as potential bride/groom for their children. social ladder with “pure” whiteness on the top exercising
Competency ratings for profile selected by participants have control and superiority over those lower on the spectrum.
been presented in Table 2. As can be seen, the profiles Thus, skin-color is related to social hierarchy in India; fair
received high ratings for competency from the participants in skin is often considered to be a mark of higher social stand-
all conditions. There were no significant differences between ing. However, it is important to note that historically and cul-
the competency ratings attributed to the selected profile turally, dark not white skin was considered to be ideal and
between the fair and dark treatment conditions. This was true desirable in India. Some notable examples are the popularity
for both the genders. of God Krishna (literally black) and Draupadi (also called
Nagar 5
Figure 1.  Mean recommendation ratings for fair and dark-skin color photographs.
Table 4.  Time × Group Factorial Analysis for Recommendation
Ratings.
Source df F p η2
Gender 1 2.19 .142 .021
Skin-color 1 32.21 .000*** .236
Gender × Skin-Color 1 0.019 .890 .000
***p < .001.
Krishnaa), a character from the epic Mahabharata. Krishna is
worshipped in many parts of India whereas Draupadi was
considered to be one of the most desirable women in the
world.
The transformation of ideal skin-color from dark to fair
can be traced to the influence of caste system, British impe-
rialism, and global hegemony of whiteness. The caste system
also called varna (literally color) accounts for the perceived
superiority of fair skin over dark. Owing to the association of
fairer skin with upper caste and darker skin with lower castes,
skin-color came to signify the social position of an individual
in our society. In addition, the racist construction of “dark
native” by the British seems to have become a part of our
unconscious and is often projected as strong dislike for the
“dark other” (Parameswaran & Cardoza, 2009b). Moreover,
the global hegemony of whiteness has also led to internaliza-
tion of the values of the White privileged class in non-Whites.
A qualitative study by Bakhshi and Baker (2011) found that
Indian men and women living in the United Kingdom report
that relative to men, women were more likely to face pres-
sures and criticisms related to their appearance. Traditional
Indian beliefs about feminine beauty including fair skin and
slimness were perceived to be promoted by media and
maternal influence and linked to finding a suitable partner in
arranged Indian marriage. Women in particular indicated
how fair skin-color was associated with beauty and found
that that internalization of Indian body ideals (including fair
skin and slimness) was linked to finding a suitable life part-
ner for women, and this pressure was largely perceived to be
influenced by maternal encouragement and the media.
Whiteness is communicated through mass advertising, mov-
ies, TV shows, Internet images, magazines, and celebrity
culture (Baumann, 2008). For instance, even though MTV
aimed to “Indianise” its programming after it was introduced
in 1994, Cullity (2002) found that the channel promoted
many Western values, notably the beauty ideals of “white-
ness” and “thinness.” The fairness cosmetics industry is
guilty of cashing in on the life-long internalization of white-
ideal and rejection of the dark-other. In addition, it is also
responsible for the construction of the concept of skin-color
as modifiable. The advertisements of skin-lightening cos-
metics perpetuate the belief that fair-skin, a mark of higher
social standing in India, is indeed attainable. In most cases,
they promise to protect against the harmful and darkening
ultraviolet (UV) rays of the sun and reduce the melanin
secretion, thus leading to the emergence of fairer skin and
more “beautiful” skin. Thus, merging of new technologies
with old colonial and caste ideologies has created a context
in which “whiteness” can be sold and bought (Ashikari,
2005; Hunter, 2007).
Turning to our second hypothesis, even though we found
that fair skin was preferred over dark skin, we did not find
evidence for “double jeopardy,” that is, dark-skinned woman
was not found to be in a more disadvantaged position than
dark-skinned man. This is a surprising finding as studies have
found that women are judged more harshly for darker color of
6 SAGE Open
skin than are men (Harrison & Thomas, 2009; Jha & Adelman,
2009; Utley & Darity, 2016). The concept of “double jeop-
ardy” has been criticized as overly simplistic as it does not
take into account several and simultaneous oppressions that
women of color face (King, 1988). For instance, personal
lives of Indian women are impacted by a number of factors
including caste, class, ethnicity, religion, and skin-color (Haq,
2013). Women’s lives are not a simple algorithm where color-
ism and gender are additive in their impact. The complex
lived experiences of Indian women can be better understood
through the concept of intersectionality. Intersectionality is
defined as “the interaction between gender, race, and other
categories of difference in individual lives, social practices,
institutional arrangements, and cultural ideologies and the
outcomes of these interactions in terms of power” (Davis,
2008, p. 68). The present study aimed to examine the possible
(disadvantageous) effect of gender and skin-color on prefer-
ence in context of arranged marriages while controlling for
the effect of perceived attractiveness and competencies. We
presented participants with profiles of women judged to be
highly competent with respect to their educational qualifica-
tions, work experience, and overall competency. The partici-
pants believed that the woman’s photograph that they were
viewing was a highly competent lawyer/doctor/engineer.
Also, the photograph selected received highest ratings for
attractiveness in our pilot study. It is possible that while gen-
der and skin-color may create disadvantage conditions for a
woman, perceived attractiveness and competency are likely
to work in their favor. In support, a study by Thompson and
Keith (2001) found that the impact for skin-color was weaker
for women from higher social class; physical attractiveness
and SES moderate the relationship between skin tone and
self-esteem. Literature is scarce on whether the perception of
physical attractiveness and competency is likely to reduce
skin-color biases. The popularity of some dark-skin colored
Bollywood actresses like Bipasha Basu, Kajol, Deepika
Padukone, and so on suggests that masses are likely to accept
a dark-skinned woman if she is perceived as highly attractive.
Therefore, highly attractive woman with superior educational
and professional qualifications may not suffer from “double
jeopardy.” The interactive oppressions that characterize the
lives of Indian women form a case for “multiple jeopardy”
(King, 1988). Future studies can examine the interactional
effects of skin-color, gender, attractiveness, and competen-
cies in selection of mates in arranged marriages.
Overall, the present study is an exploratory research and
the findings of the study must be examined in light of the
following limitations. First, we conducted this study on
urban middle/upper-middle-class mothers. High professional
competency and educational qualifications in a woman may
offset the potential skin-color bias. It would be interesting to
replicate this study in societies where educational and pro-
fessional competency of women matter considerably lesser
in context of arranged marriages. Second, the setting of the
study was north India (Delhi NCR) where people generally
have fairer skin compared with south India, thereby limiting
the generalizability of the findings. Third, the participants of
the study were mothers who generally play an important role
in selection of bride/groom in arranged marriages. It would
be interesting to see if their children also exhibit the same
bias as they do. Third, perception of one’s own skin-color
can also play an important role since. However, it was diffi-
cult to gather this information from the participants without
revealing the purpose of the study. Future researches should
also focus on investigating the possible mediating effects of
varying levels of competency and attractiveness on skin-
color bias across a diverse sample of participants.
Although there is plenty of work on colorism in the United
States, there is very little work on skin-color discrimination
in India. Marginalization of the dark skin is a phenomenon
rampant in our society, but scholars have failed to acknowl-
edge and address this. While content analyses of matrimonial
advertisements have indicated a general preference for fair
skin, empirical evidence is scarce. The findings of the explor-
atory study suggest that skin-color may play an important
role in mate selection in arranged Indian marriages.
Recognizing this bias is the first step toward making amends.
Acknowledgments
The author thanks his students Deepanky Gupta, Kamna Sarin,
Nandita Sharma, Punyaapriya, Shikha Soni, Snigdha Sikri, Sonali
Kadyan, Sukanya Chakraborty, and Tenzin Wangmo for assis-
tance with data collection and valuable insights in writing this
article. He would also like to show his gratitude to all the partici-
pants of the study.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect
to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, author-
ship, and/or publication of this article.
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Author Biography
Itisha Nagar is an assistant professor of psychology at University
of Delhi, India. Her areas of interest include gender psychology,
feminism, and clinical psychology.