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“…my parents would have been devastated I'm sure for, you know, devastated
that, you know, their child's got something like that but even more so thinking,
how are we going to marry her off…” (BB)
Related to stigmatization were cultural beliefs about cause, although this was mentioned
infrequently and not by all, and was again commented upon as being related to generation. The
lack of awareness was seen as problematic:
“… older generation aren't educated enough to understand…that it's no fault of
the individual, why it happens” (BB)
“Lack of awareness is a major issue”. (EE)
1b. Loss of ethnic identity
Most participants commented upon the increased visibility of the condition for darker skinned
individuals, and heightened visibility per se was seen as problematic:
“It, it turns your skin white, white and obviously it affects the darker skin more…”
(BB)
“…definitely they feel embarrassed to go out, particularly if they are dark, then
white patches they look worse for dark skin...” (FF)
As well as pigment loss being part of the condition, depigmentation is also used as a treatment
in order to give the skin a unified colour. The prospect of total loss of pigment through either
disease or treatment was perceived in a range of ways. It was seen by some as positive as it
resulted in the vitiligo becoming less visible:
“Even though my dad has this it’s a different situation for him as he’s all white so
he looks normal, where as I am patchy”. (CC)
“…I am quite happy I had the [depigmentation treatment]…since I became all
white it didn’t affect me…” (FF)
Such participants continued to largely describe themselves as accepted by their peers or
community:
“…this young man he said if you don’t mind are you Italian, I said no I'm Indian
and then so many places when first time they see me they always think I am
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