Teressa Plammoottil on Beauty Standards, Culture, and Creating Your Own Village

MESSAGE ME HERE!In this episode of Our True Colors, Dr. Shawna Gann and Season 6 cohost Marcel DeJonghe sit down with Teressa Plammoottil, a first generation Indian American whose story explores identity, racial ambiguity, religion, family dynamics, and the complicated search for community. Raised in a traditional South Indian Catholic household and shaped by both life in India and the United States, Teressa reflects on the experience of living between cultures while constantly navigating how others perceive her.Together, they unpack everything from language and representation to beauty standards, colorism, mixed identity assumptions, and the emotional impact of exclusion within one’s own community. Teressa also shares how leaving home as a teenager transformed her understanding of family, belonging, and resilience, ultimately shaping the compassionate and culturally aware person she is today.As a discrimination complaint investigator for the State of California and commissioner on the City of Elk Grove’s Diversity and Inclusion Commission, Teressa brings both lived experience and professional insight to this deeply honest conversation about identity, empathy, and connection.In this episode, you’ll hear: Why racial ambiguity often creates both curiosity and exclusion  The impact of colorism and Eurocentric beauty standards in South Asian communities  How language can create a sense of home and belonging  What it means to build chosen family after feeling disconnected from your own community  The difference between cultural appreciation and cultural appropriation Dr. Shawna Gann also shares reflections from her ongoing research into mixed identity experiences and belonging. Her upcoming book Mixed Signals: The Multiracial Case for Civility and Belonging at Work releases in early Fall. Visit the website to sign up for updates, book news, and upcoming conversations.Connect with Teressa Plammoottil on Instagram @terenovahListen, subscribe, and share your thoughts with us. We’d love to hear how this conversation resonated with your own experiences of identity and belonging.If this is your first time with OTC, check out  EPISODE 1: START HERE for more background on the show. Don't forget to follow us on Instagram!Our True Colors is powered by The Culture Crucible. Go to THE HUB to learn more!Consider joining the Critical Mixed Race Studies Association!