BeautyOpinion:should be

TikTok is one of the world's most widely used social media platforms, but it has failed to create an inclusive community.

According to a study by Laurus College, TikTok has over one billion active users and is the fastest-growing app in history.

Alongside its wide variety of content creators, audios, and its trademark “for you page,” where viewers get a constant stream of content catered to their interests, TikTok also sports a large assortment of filters to use when filming videos.

These range from filters that apply makeup to the subject’s face, have a green screen that allows the user to share photos and videos directly from their camera roll, and even interactive “this or that” ones. However, hidden amongst these thousands of options, are filters such as those titled “Maple 2” and “Soft White.”

Upon first glance, these are no different from the rest of the “beautifying” filters; they aim to make the user’s skin look “prettier.”

At a closer look, however, it is apparent that the method in which they do so is unacceptable. They lighten the user’s skin color, leaving users to question the accuracy of TikTok’s “commitment to diversity and inclusion.”

In addition, there’s an aspect to these filters that goes beyond ethics and is rooted in society from centuries ago.

According to the National Conference for Community and Justice, the beauty standard of today is fair skin, which, along with countless societal and economic issues, has psychological problems as well.

The idea that lighter skin is better looking than darker skin originated in the colonial period when western colonizers created a white supremacist ideology to justify slavery. As a result, whiteness became identified with everything civilized, virtuous, and beautiful.

This ideology has become a deeply rooted belief amongst colonized societies such as India and many African countries, which often associate light skin with a higher social standing. A recent study by the University of Cape Town shows that one in three women in South Africa bleach their skin, with most saying they use skin lighteners because they want "white skin."

According to Arizona University, this ideology is particularly damaging amongst young women, as they feel their physical appearance is constantly under scrutiny from society’s definition of beauty. Such thinking leads to insecurities, which can later develop into mental health issues. These societal pressures are only heightened by seemingly insignificant things such as filters on an app.

Not only is it mentally draining for anyone to constantly feel like theyhave to change themselves to be accepted by society, but it also shows how much work is still left to be done.

Removing filters such as those that lighten skin color is just the first step towards a truly inclusive world. They have no place in a progressive society with the end goal of acceptance and equality.