So I was thinking about colorism in (thai) BL and the few actors who are slightly darker skinned and noticed that they all play the „seme“/„top“ role as far as I could think of. Which i guess is not that surprising, after all it’s also quite typical that female actresses tend to be lighter skinned then men (I don’t actually know that for Thai cinema, but for other countries, I assume it’s similar). Anyway, it got me thinking of you know of any shipped couples where it’s otherwise?
Hum. Not of the top of my head, it's not something I pay very close attention too, I'm afraid. But it is pretty traditional that the uke be smaller and paler.
Here's what I came up with:
Thailand
JimmySea (although they keep putting Sea in foundation that too light for him and makes him look ill)
KinnPorsche, and the other couples in that show too, I think.
PhatTai in La Pluie.
BbombJin from Nitiman.
SoloGui (maybe?) in Oxygen.
My Stand In, I think. But I also think that's intentional to show class differences.
Secret Crush On You, I actually think Billy might be naturally paler than Babe too (The Sign).
Siew Sum Noi.
TharnType.
Yearbook.
Your Sky.
Lots of Sides
PitchBank in Golden Blood.
RamKing in My Engineer.
PureFolk in My Gear Your Gown (Pure is also shorter = v rare).
InnSun from My Dear Looser.
SanAei in Your My Sky.
RainPayu from Oh My Sunshine Night. (Again I think this is in part to highlight a class difference.)
Japan
(origin yaoi also practiced colorism)
Minato, I think, is a little darker skinned than Shin, but that's the only one I can come up with right now.
Japan will mix this up by having the seme be blond(er) quite a bit of the time (Candy Color Paradox, Vending Machine, Cherry Magic, Docchi, Dining Table, Perfect Propose, Poison, Takara & Amagi, Takumi).
Again this is often done to showcase a class or cultural difference or mixed blood. Rich boys NEVER go out in the sun. Colorism is often associated with classism where to be darker skinned meant (GASP) manual labor (GASP) outside. Also, considering women, if you could afford to keep your daughter inside all the time doing nothing but preparing to be chattel in a land grab or military alliance, that meant you had all the wealth. Pale = leisure and waste.
