In “A Genomewide Association Study of Skin Pigmentation in a South Asian Population,” researchers looked at the genetic factors influencing skin color, or skin pigmentation, among Punjabis, Gujaratis, Bangladeshis and Sri Lankans. The study uses genetics to examine the many different shades of brown South Asians. 
     It reinforced the idea that environmental factors as well as genetics strongly influence skin color.  (When humans lived in Africa, everybody had dark skin. But as people migrated away from the equator, where the sun’s rays are the strongest, skin color lightened to help the body absorb ultraviolet light, which people need to synthesize vital Vitamin D.)  

     What was groundbreaking about the skin pigmentation research, published in 2007, was that it identified a new gene affecting skin pigmentation. Just a few genes, 10 or less, control skin pigmentation.
     But, for our purposes in this forum, I wondered: What if there was a way to manipulate the genes of embryos to ensure that a child has light skin?
     Would you do that? Is it too repulsive a consideration? 
     Around the world, skin color still matters. A South Asian woman, who has a darker complexion, recently told me that her husband-to-be in what was supposed to be an arranged marriage was disappointed when he met her because he had wanted a lighter-skinned bride. (She wound up not marrying him.)  In China, light skin often is preferred because it suggests that a person is of a certain socioeconomic class, and doesn’t have to labor in the fields under the harsh sun. In Brazil, a country where plastic surgery reigns, light skin is highly prized. I could go on and on, right? 
     Consider this: During the presidential election, a lot of African-American women spoke openly about how happy they were that Michelle Obama is a “brown-skinned” black woman. Their hope was that, as First Lady, she would continue to raise the profile of brown skin and beauty. She’d be the face of, ‘Brown is beautiful.’ 
     Many of these discussions came last summer as cosmetics giant L’Oreal was in the throes of a controversy over whether singer Beyonce’s skin had been made to appear lighter in hair color ads.
    One last thing: Growing up, I remember my aunts talking about family members in the South who intentionally married lighter-skinned people in hopes that their children would have fairer skin.
     Skin color was and remains a touchy subject, yes? Yes. 
     Back to my original question: What if there was a way to manipulate the genes of embryos to ensure that a child has light skin? 
     To be clear, this is not possible to do right now. But the technology may soon be available---especially since we now can look at the genetic makeup of an embryo and determine whether it has a disease like Cystic Fibrosis, Huntington’s and Tay-Sachs.
     This would be tougher to do with skin pigmentation but, let’s say it was possible. Should it be done?
 Does skin color still matter that much?