‘Black in a white vessel’: skin as a geography of health and un/safety for children and young persons with albinism in Malawi

Progress in geography calls for a deeper engagement with skin as a site of inquiry. This study explored skin through the experiences of a rare group – children and young persons with albinism in Malawi. Albinism is a rare genetic condition that affects skin, hair, and eyes causing a lighter phenotypical appearance. This study’s findings contribute to the growing body of literature on everyday experiences of persons with albinism by shedding light on how skin shapes attitudes, beliefs, un/safety, and participation in both urban and rural settings in Malawi. Arts-based methods were applied, specifically poetic inquiry and participatory drawing, with 48 children and young persons with albinism aged 3–23 years. Skin emerged as an overlapping locus between safety, health, and social issues affecting day-to-day lives. Additionally, location, gender, and socioeconomic inequalities emerged as key intersectional factors compounding experiences of unsafety and limiting access to services. Furthermore, findings provided evidence of mechanisms of othering through derogatory labels and language attached to albinism at community level. This mechanism was sustained in the backdrop of superstitions and racial capitalism which misrepresented children and young persons with albinism as commodities. Regardless, children and young people demonstrated agency and resilience by rejecting stigmatic words and practices.