How Taslim Burkowicz's experiences with colourism inspired her novel The Desirable Sister

Sibling rivalry is at the centre of Taslim Burkowicz's second novel The Desirable Sister — and the source of the friction is skin tone.

The novel's two sisters, Gia and Serena Pirji, are perceived very differently. This sets in motion a lifelong conflict between the two as they navigate a racist world that judges them on skin colour.

Taslim Burkowicz stopped by The Next Chapter to talk about how she wrote The Desirable Sister.

Experiences with colourism

"I feel like I could relate to both Gia and Serena. My personal experiences inspired the story. In some circles, people perceive me as passing and being lighter skinned. In others, people see me as being darker. I took both of those experiences and divided them to create the two characters in the novel.

My personal experiences inspired the story. In some circles, people perceive me as passing and being lighter skinned. In others, people see me as being darker.- Taslim Burkowicz

"The lighter skinned sister is constantly favoured over her darker younger sister. She's favoured more within the family and society at large. This creates a tension within the relationship.

"It creates an opportunity for betrayals and jealousy to take place. And although they start off being close, as the years go by the differences in skin colour cause the gap between them to grow."

Flawed beauty standards

"I wanted to show that the perceptions of colourism are entrenched in our present culture. Serena goes to a department store and sees that all of the posters in the store feature lighter skinned women. The lipsticks and skin lightening products in the store are geared toward a fairer beauty.

I wanted to show that the perceptions of colourism are really entrenched in our present culture.- Taslim Burkowicz

"I wanted to show that it wasn't just the Indo-Canadian community that perpetuated this idea that white equals beauty — but the larger community as a whole.

"I didn't necessarily write the book hoping that there would be a solution to this. I wanted us as women to celebrate the idea that many skin colours can be beautiful — and to not always look to whiteness as being the standard of beauty."

Taslim Burkowicz's comments have been edited for length and clarity.