Tesco have released plasters in a diverse range of skin tones and honestly it’s about time

A brand new range of skin tone diverse plasters have dropped in Tesco supermarkets across the UK in order to better reflect the racial diversity of Britain.

Some people see it as political correctness gone mad, but for many people including me it is a product that’s long overdue.

For people of colour, the concept of nude is complicated because the standard idea of ‘flesh’ coloured items caters to white skin. I personally remember being a young child and asking my mum why certain shoes, tights or underwear were called nude even though they didn’t match my skin. It irked me, but then I realised that that is just a part of the unequal world we live in.

Even though it seems like a trivial issue on the surface, for marginalised communities, products that show you that you are recognised and seen in the world make a huge difference.

The UK is full of people like me whose skin tones don’t fit into the western concept of nude, so the new Tesco plasters are a welcome change.

I didn’t initially realise how much of an issue simple things like the colour of plasters were, and that’s saddening given that they certainly are a cause for concern. Star-Wars actor John Boyega has commented on the fact that when he works on film sets where he gets cut, makeup artists need to paint his plasters brown to match his skin tone.

I am glad that kids of colour growing up today will experience, certainly more than I have, the right of being seen and recognised in terms of commercial products available to them.

God bless Rihanna for Fenty Beauty – now people of colour don’t have to look powdery and ready to enter their casket – and praise be to Tesco for this little victory.

I hope that more supermarkets around the UK follow suit, because small steps and changes like this help move the world away from inequality and toward a place where all citizens are treated with the equal respect and understanding that they deserve.