Meet Riya Agrawal, an influencer with vitiligo who champions skin positivity
On World Vitiligo Day, know about Riya Agrawal, a social media influencer with vitiligo who is trying to break the stigma around the skin condition.
Social media may be full of fillers and filters, but the glow of some influencers stem from their unfiltered stories. Riya Agrawal, a Raipur girl in her 20s, is using her social media presence to spotlight vitiligo, a condition she wears on her sleeve as a badge of honour. On World Vitiligo Day, let us tell you how she worked her way from being bullied for her skin to becoming a voice of change and promoting skin positivity.
Riya was all of 3 years old when the physical marks of vitiligo started to show on her body. It was nothing new in her family. For the unversed, vitiligo is an autoimmune skin condition that causes skin to lose its colour or pigment. According to the National Health Services, it happens due to a lack of pigment called melanin in the skin.
Even while Riya felt "normal" about her condition, the stigma around vitiligo only hit her when she went to college.
“It never came as a shock to me or my family because both my parents have it too... I expected people to be mature, more understanding, and educated but I was picked on for having vitiligo. Some comments were hurtful and that was the time that it hit me that there is a lack of awareness to an extent where people are okay making such comments at a mature age,” Riya Agrawal once told Health Shots in an interview.
The comments fueled her desire to address the lack of vitiligo awareness. From writing poems and articles in school magazines to addressing her challenges through her Instagram presence, Riya Agrawal says her journey has been nothing short of amazing.
The love and support of loved ones helped her beat the odds.
"Vitiligo, for me, was not very different because I have been raised to believe that it is perfectly normal. My parents have always supported me. As for my friends, they have never made me feel left out or something is wrong or something is different,” added Riya.
On World Vitiligo Day 2024, Riya had also released a 3-part short film titled “Thick Skin” on Instagram to mark . The film asserted the message that every person has to find self confidence to embrace themselves the way they are.
Riya too believes: “Self-acceptance is the beginning and the end of feeling truly empowered for everybody.”
On the changing beauty standards, she comments: “Societal pressure and stereotypes take generations to change but our generation is evolving and embracing the change. I am also trying to make that shift from that preconceived notion of beauty. The perception of beauty has evolved. We are seeing posts or content pieces that talk about issues that were not talked about earlier. People are breaking stereotypes and going beyond boundaries to showcase insecurities and own them."
Also read: Logina Salah makes history at Miss Universe 2024 as first contestant with vitiligo
Riya also applauds the growing number of body positivity influencers globally.
“I hope to see more such representation in the future. I am not sure if brands are jumping on the inclusivity bandwagon just for the sake of it, but I hope all the brands showing inclusivity are doing it because they mean it and not because it’s the new ‘cool’."
