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Algorithmic Colorism and the Digital Afterlife of Post- Colonial Beauty inIndia: Evidence from Kolkata

Anurag Paul *

1Department of Political Science, Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi, India .

Corresponding author Email: masterdannydark@gmail.com


Digital platforms in postcolonial India have become conduits of neocolonial power, perpetuating colorism and racial hierarchies through algorithmic design. Social media apps—dominated by U.S.-based tech giants—embed beauty filters and algorithmic preferences that glorify lighter skin, reinforcing biases rooted in colonial history. Framed as tools of individual empowerment, these technologies subtly enforce Eurocentric beauty standards, compelling users to conform to gain visibility and social capital. Wheatish and darker-skinned populations, historically marginalized by imperialist aesthetics, now self-regulate through digital self-presentation, internalizing these norms as a condition of participation in the platform economy. This paper interrogates how algorithmic systems, shaped by Western corporate interests, reproduce colonial-era colorism under the guise of neutrality. By analyzing platform infrastructures, user behaviors, and the psychological impact of filtered realities, we expose how digital spaces function as sites of aesthetic domination. Ultimately, this study calls for policy interventions and digital decolonization to dismantle the algorithmic oppression reshaping cultural identity and social norms in India.


Beauty Filters; Digital Colonialism; India; Selfie Culture; Social Media Aesthetics

Copy the following to cite this article:

Paul A. Algorithmic Colorism and the Digital Afterlife of Post- Colonial Beauty inIndia: Evidence from Kolkata. Current Research Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities. 2026 9(1).

Copy the following to cite this URL:

Paul A. Algorithmic Colorism and the Digital Afterlife of Post- Colonial Beauty inIndia: Evidence from Kolkata. Current Research Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities. 2026 9(1). Available here: https://bit.ly/4no6fwP


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