How a Viral TikTok Flex Became a Beauty Battleground
When an Indian American creator tried to uplift Brown girls, the video didn’t just touch a nerve — it exposed how fragile Western beauty standards are.
“Indian genetics are the worst,” begins a TikTok that has since racked up over 30 million views. No, this wasn’t a dig. Rather, it was Saumya Gopal’s clapback to all the haters who can’t appreciate Indian beauty. The 29-year-old creator from Dallas, Texas boasted about her “real nails,” “real brows,” “real lashes,” and “real hair.” All of them long, glossy, and luscious.
As the video spread, the conversation shifted. Besides the predictable “Indians are smelly” commentary, some saw Gopal’s video as inherently anti-Black. Gopal was quick to clarify her intent. “I wanted Indian girls to feel good about what they have,” she told The Juggernaut. But all of the hullabaloo begs a question: what exactly are Indian genetics and why has talking about them instigated an online firestorm?