Rida Tharana, currently seen in The Traitors 2, recently opened up about the insecurities she felt growing up, saying that although she wasn’t bullied at school, repeated messages about her skin colour, appearance, money, and marriage shaped how she saw herself.Speaking to Filmygyaan, Tharana recalled growing up with a group of seven girls whom she described as beautiful and said they never made her feel unattractive. However, she often compared herself with them because they were fair-skinned, had long, straight hair, and came from affluent families.“I grew up with a group of seven beautiful girls. They were all pretty girls. They never made me feel that I was not pretty. But they were all fair and had straight, long hair. They all came from rich families,” she said.DISCLAIMER: This article is based on information from the public domain and/or the experts we spoke to.Tharana also recalled moments that made her conscious of her family’s financial circumstances. “I definitely felt bad that my mum used to pin up my bags if the zip got torn because we did not have a lot of money, and sometimes there used to be such small holes in my shoes,” she said. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Rida Tharana (@rida.tharanaa) She further shared that some of her deepest insecurities came not from direct bullying but from messages she heard about her complexion and her future marriage prospects.“Growing up, there was no bullying as such but there were insecurities that ‘tum kaali ho (you are dark-skinned), how will you find a boy? You’ll have to give more dowry.’ And I used to feel so bad that my father will have to give more money,” Rida said.She added that her insecurities extended beyond her skin colour. “There were a lot of insecurities growing up and it was always about my skin, my skin colour, that I am so thin, so dark, I come from here and there,” she said.Story continues below this adTharana also spoke about how beauty standards can be internalised simply through exposure to ads and images of conventionally attractive women. “School never bullied us but insecurities happen. You see an ad and their hair. Then you see a girl exactly like that and you’re like, that’s beauty standards,” Rida shared.Appearance-related insecurities during childhoodDr Rimpa Sarkar, psychologist, PhD, Sentier Wellness, Mumbai, explained that children do not necessarily have to experience direct bullying for appearance-related messages to affect their self-esteem.“A child does not need to be directly bullied for appearance-based messages to affect their self-esteem,” Sarkar said. She noted that when children repeatedly hear that skin colour, body type, hair or physical appearance can influence attractiveness or marriage prospects, they may begin associating their appearance with their overall worth.“These messages can become internalised and later influence body image, social confidence, and how they evaluate themselves,” she added.Story continues below this ad‘Social norms through observation’Dr Rimpa said such beliefs can be particularly difficult to recognise as harmful when they come from family members or communities through seemingly casual comments.She also pointed to the role of advertisements, films, peers and social media in shaping children’s understanding of beauty. “Children learn social norms largely through observation,” she said, explaining that repeatedly seeing a particular skin colour, body type, hair texture or facial feature presented as beautiful or desirable can establish it as a perceived standard.“The problem is not one advertisement or one image, but the cumulative effect of repeated exposure,” Dr Rimpa said.The expert also highlighted the role of peer comparison. Even when friends do not intentionally make a child feel inferior, being surrounded by peers who conform to socially preferred beauty standards can make differences in one’s own appearance more noticeable.Story continues below this adAlso Read | Parag Tyagi says he knew Shefali Jariwala was ‘the one’ at first sight: ‘Was wearing white T-shirt’“If socioeconomic differences are present as well, the child may begin comparing not only appearance but also clothing, possessions, lifestyle, and opportunities,” she said. Such comparisons can eventually create a feeling of being “less than”, even without direct rejection or bullying.Dr Rimpa said parents and schools have an important role to play in preventing children from internalising colourist beauty standards. She stressed that skin colour, body shape, hair texture and other physical characteristics should not be presented as indicators of beauty, worth or social value.“Parents should be particularly mindful of seemingly harmless comments about complexion, weight, marriage, or appearance because children absorb these messages very deeply,” she said.DISCLAIMER: This article is based on information from the public domain and/or the experts we spoke to.