The Priyanka Chopra Effect

I have always thought of myself as very westernized.

I was brought up in the Caribbean and grew with Sesame Street. I listened to Casey Kasem ‘America’s top 40’ every Saturday and watched Lynda Carter’s Wonder Woman every week.

Indian culture consisted of the 3-hour Indian movie on Sunday afternoon when parents would get a rest from their kids. It was always beautiful women dripping in gold, a mustached villain dressed in black being pursued by the ever-dashing Rishi Kapoor or Amitabh Bachchan.

I never quite identified with being Indian as presented in the movies. I did not wear saris, did not speak the language and never practiced the religion. My idea of Indian beauty was entrenched in saris and fairness of complexion.

So, this is where Priyanka Chopra comes in.

Here is someone who looked like me (I wish I looked like her!) wearing leather bomber jackets and holding down a lead role in a prime-time drama. Despite the initial the brown girl is the terrorist theme in the first season, Priyanka’s character was not defined by her race/heritage.

Why does this matter?

It was not a matter of just normalizing a brown woman as an amazing FBI agent with smarts and courage, but it changed how many brown women saw themselves.

Beauty was previously defined by Farrah Fawcett and Twiggy and here was Priyanka Chopra redefining beauty almost 50 years later. In 3 seasons, she changed my concept of beauty. Her confidence, makeup and clothing brought home a different look so appealing to many of us who don’t fit the blonde, thin body type. We were beautiful not in the 30 second Revlon ad way but as a real character portrayed in a leading role.

That is the Priyank Chopra effect…for many women we saw ourselves differently after Quantico. Especially women caught between two worlds i.e. defined by our race and the expectation of beauty based on that perception.

Priyanka Chopra is comfortable in a fitted dress or a sari. Her clothes and her color don’t define her. It is something we should all aspire to and be inspired by… to live without boundaries.