It’s interesting how the color dichotomy plays out differently in different places. In the U.S. there is a history of African-Americans “passing” for white in order to avoid the stigma, the discrimination, everything that automatically comes with darker skin and certain features in the country.

At the same time, where African-Americans are cast for television roles, or to model for certain products, the ones chosen are often those who more closely conform to the European aesthetic – who are “just black enough”, but amenable to white consumption.

So it’s fascinating to see how that sort of thing can play out in reverse in Ms. Betterridge’s case, for her to be rejected on account of being “too white”. It seems that people of color cannot win in any case – either they don’t look white enough, which of course means they’re not beautiful enough, or they don’t look black enough to fulfill white people’s expectations for how they should look.