Tonight SBS served up an interesting episode of 'Insight-the beauty race'. The focus on the show was on people who have changed the look of themselves and in the usual vein of shows with anything to do with race those participants who were deemed to be trying to look european were criticised and those who did it to 'fit in' were critical of their racial heritage as the reason they were bullied by causasian Australians.

I was so frustrated watching this show unfold as the bias of the host and many speakers focused on being proud of being Asian or Black and that it is important to teach their children to be proud of their race also. There was criticism of those asians that had had eye surgery for 'wanting to look white', which is preposterous to me as you can not make an asian into a caucasian. Just as a caucasian kid getting her ears pinned back doesn't make her less caucasian.

For me someone making their skin lighter shouldn't be counselled on 'black pride' just as no one would think to counsel the millions of caucasians down at the beach each weekend tanning on their need for 'white pride'.

I don't think for a second someone changing their hair colour, skin colour or facial features means that they are in denial of their race or that it is by any means a bad or wrong thing.

After all in a world of extreme racial hatred and ethnic intolerance isn't it a good thing that we want to look more like an average of us all?