Colorism, Feminism & Owning Your Voice
05/09/25 • 47 min
What happens when a young South Asian woman decides to challenge colorism, feminism, and mental health stigma head-on? In this powerful episode of Brown Queen Diaries, we sit down with Devni Vihara, the lawyer-turned-activist whose voice is reshaping conversations about beauty standards and gender equality in our community.
Devni's journey spans three countries - Born in England, raised in Sri Lanka, and finding her independence in Melbourne, she brings a unique cross-cultural perspective to her advocacy work. Her pivot from biomedicine to social justice wasn't just a career change—it was an awakening. "I realized I had a passion for social justice. I really cared about these things, but I didn't have the language to articulate it," she reveals, explaining how university studies gave her the vocabulary to name the injustices she'd witnessed throughout her life.
The conversation takes a deeply personal turn when Devni shares her childhood struggles with colorism: "I used to stand in front of the mirror as a child and be like, 'Where else am I pretty? Because my skin is too dark.'" Her raw honesty about battling beauty standards that elevate fair skin while belittling darker tones reflects experiences shared by countless South Asian women. Today, she celebrates her complexion and advocates for representation that embraces our diversity.
"We're all silently suffering and silently navigating these things, and if we just talked about it, we would feel less alone," she shares, challenging the silence that often surrounds mental health in South Asian communities.
Whether she's defining feminism in accessible terms, breaking down the difference between tokenistic representation and genuine inclusion, or teaching us Gen Z slang, Devni brings warmth, wisdom, and wit to difficult conversations. Her parting message resonates deeply: "You have a calling for a reason... Speak your truth, but be powerful, because we have so much power. We don't need to be empowered—it's there, we just need to do it."
Listen now to this inspiring conversation that will leave you questioning beauty standards, understanding feminism more clearly, and feeling empowered to embrace your authentic self.
Brown Queen Diaries by Priyanka Nomula
Brown Queen Diaries by Priyanka Nomula
Directed by Sandeep Raj
Presented by Aussie Talkies
https://www.instagram.com/thebrownqueendiaries/
https://www.facebook.com/thebrownqueendiaries
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPjW_Zw62eWa4QcQNJW3yHw76rlkqGr72&si=zUrI5wzOPV-k1gjE
What happens when a young South Asian woman decides to challenge colorism, feminism, and mental health stigma head-on? In this powerful episode of Brown Queen Diaries, we sit down with Devni Vihara, the lawyer-turned-activist whose voice is reshaping conversations about beauty standards and gender equality in our community.
Devni's journey spans three countries - Born in England, raised in Sri Lanka, and finding her independence in Melbourne, she brings a unique cross-cultural perspective to her advocacy work. Her pivot from biomedicine to social justice wasn't just a career change—it was an awakening. "I realized I had a passion for social justice. I really cared about these things, but I didn't have the language to articulate it," she reveals, explaining how university studies gave her the vocabulary to name the injustices she'd witnessed throughout her life.
The conversation takes a deeply personal turn when Devni shares her childhood struggles with colorism: "I used to stand in front of the mirror as a child and be like, 'Where else am I pretty? Because my skin is too dark.'" Her raw honesty about battling beauty standards that elevate fair skin while belittling darker tones reflects experiences shared by countless South Asian women. Today, she celebrates her complexion and advocates for representation that embraces our diversity.
"We're all silently suffering and silently navigating these things, and if we just talked about it, we would feel less alone," she shares, challenging the silence that often surrounds mental health in South Asian communities.
Whether she's defining feminism in accessible terms, breaking down the difference between tokenistic representation and genuine inclusion, or teaching us Gen Z slang, Devni brings warmth, wisdom, and wit to difficult conversations. Her parting message resonates deeply: "You have a calling for a reason... Speak your truth, but be powerful, because we have so much power. We don't need to be empowered—it's there, we just need to do it."
Listen now to this inspiring conversation that will leave you questioning beauty standards, understanding feminism more clearly, and feeling empowered to embrace your authentic self.
Brown Queen Diaries by Priyanka Nomula
Brown Queen Diaries by Priyanka Nomula
Directed by Sandeep Raj
Presented by Aussie Talkies
https://www.instagram.com/thebrownqueendiaries/
https://www.facebook.com/thebrownqueendiaries
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPjW_Zw62eWa4QcQNJW3yHw76rlkqGr72&si=zUrI5wzOPV-k1gjE
Previous Episode
Episode 8: Dance, Influence, and Empowerment
Concept & Host: Priyanka Nomula
Designed & Directed: Sandeep Raj
Presented by: Aussie Talkies
Guest: Manisha Dagore
Manisha’s journey from a caring nurse to a vibrant dance influencer encapsulates the blend of passion, resilience, and creativity. Her evolution highlights the power of dance as a transformative form of self-expression and connection, providing insights into overcoming challenges while embracing individuality.
Here are some of the topics we covered:
• Manisha shares her diverse background and early influences in dance
• The impact of COVID-19 influenced her decision to start creating content
• Building a community through dance workshops empowers women
• Navigating the challenges of negative feedback and social media scrutiny
• Overcoming an injury and the emotional journey of recovery
• Advice for aspiring content creators on finding their niche and maintaining consistency
Brown Queen Diaries by Priyanka Nomula
Directed by Sandeep Raj
Presented by Aussie Talkies
https://www.instagram.com/thebrownqueendiaries/
https://www.facebook.com/thebrownqueendiaries
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPjW_Zw62eWa4QcQNJW3yHw76rlkqGr72&si=zUrI5wzOPV-k1gjE
Next Episode
From Corporate to Startup Success
What does it really take to leave a successful corporate career and build your own business as a woman? Sangeeta, founder of Jumpstart Studios, doesn't sugar-coat the answer. Coming from three generations of entrepreneurs, she first climbed to senior leadership at ANZ Bank before realising something fundamental was missing in her career.
The entrepreneurial path wasn't straight for Sangeeta. After starting businesses in travel and food experiences (both interrupted by COVID), she discovered her true calling: helping other women make the leap from employment to entrepreneurship. Her clarity about why women struggle in both corporate and startup worlds is refreshing. "The current business world was not built by women, was not built for women," she explains, highlighting how existing structures fail to accommodate the multiple identities women carry simultaneously.
This understanding led her to create Press Play Ventures, a program that's already helped over 120 women founders. Unlike traditional approaches, Press Play recognises women's realities and provides flexible pathways into entrepreneurship without forcing them to choose between their various roles. The statistics speak to the need: women receive less than 5% of startup funding globally, and in Victoria, only about 1,000 women founders existed before her program began.
What makes Sangeeta's methodology particularly valuable is her practical approach to testing business ideas. Rather than starting with heavy investment, she teaches "pretotyping" – a concept from Google's former head of engineering that involves testing market interest before building anything. "Don't build first. Market first, sell it first, get some money and then deliver the product," she advises, saving founders countless resources on unvalidated ideas.
The success stories emerging from her program show the impact of this approach - her most important insight is that success looks different for everyone, and recognising when an idea isn't viable can be just as valuable as pushing forward.
Want to learn more? Sangeeta's award-winning book "Start Right" distills these lessons into practical exercises, or join her next Press Play cohort opening applications in April with up to 85% scholarships available.
Brown Queen Diaries by Priyanka Nomula
Directed by Sandeep Raj
Presented by Aussie Talkies
https://www.instagram.com/thebrownqueendiaries/
https://www.facebook.com/thebrownqueendiaries
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPjW_Zw62eWa4QcQNJW3yHw76rlkqGr72&si=zUrI5wzOPV-k1gjE
Brown Queen Diaries - Colorism, Feminism & Owning Your Voice
Transcript
Hello everyone , welcome to Brown Queen Diaries , season 2 . This is a platform where we celebrate fearless South Asian women who are breaking barriers , redefining success , carving their paths to make an impact . Today we have a guest who is a lawyer , content creator and a strong advocate for feminism , gender equality and colorism . So let's welcome Devani Vihara .
Speaker 1If you like this episode you’ll love
Episode Comments
Generate a badge
Get a badge for your website that links back to this episode
<a href="https://goodpods.com/podcasts/brown-queen-diaries-593680/colorism-feminism-and-owning-your-voice-90972891"> <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/goodpods-images-bucket/badges/generic-badge-1.svg" alt="listen to colorism, feminism & owning your voice on goodpods" style="width: 225px" /> </a>
Copy