“Wanted fair and beautiful bride”- these unique matrimonial ads can be found nowhere but the Indian dailies. Why in India being beautiful is nearly always associated with being fair. What is it with Indians and fairness?Well there’s nothing new about the phenomenon, even the god’s seem to be lamenting about their darker skin tone-“Radha kyuon gori, main kyun hun kala”. Then what prompted me to write about this. Well it was this comment 
from my youngest cousin (I have 12 first cousins on my paternal side!). Now this girl is barely 8 years old, I was taking her to buy her some chocolates and it being June the sun in the northern plains is at its scorching best during the daytime. As soon as we leave the cool confines of home, pat comes the comment from missy –“Bhaiyya sham ko challenge, abhi main kali ho jaungi”
This cousin of mine has special affection for people who have a lighter tone to their skin color. Every time I have seen Katrina dancing to the tunes of “Kiss Me , Love Me” or “Welcome”, I’ve heard her remark “She looks so beautiful because she is so fair”.
That’s generation Z (or has the time come to move on to a new series, AA shall we say?) for you.
Indian’s obsession with fairness is not limited to a particular age or income group, religion, geographical region or educational background. My compeers at college feel the same way, and so does my maid. The phenomenon is equally spread across the lower, middle and the upper class. Be it Bengalis, Gujratis, Marathis, Tamilians, Kannadas or the Punjabis the thought is the same-“Fair is Lovely”.
And fairness is not only associated with the “fairer sex”. Even men are supposed to be fair. No wonder there has been a recent flood of “for men” fairness creams in the market. Now what happened to the good old adage - “Tall Dark and Handsome”?
What is with Indians and fairness? Was it the two centuries of servitude under the Imperial crown that imprinted us with belief that fair is superior? Fairness, in India today is associated necessarily with success, power, influence and superiority.
Another reason can be the flooding of the cosmetics market by the so called skin lightening products.
Fairness cream manufacturers have exploited, and reinforced, this preference for fair skin, portraying it as a necessary prerequisite for success, and promoted the use of their products as a means of achieving that ideal. Monetary gains have been made notwithstanding the negative impact these products have engendered in terms of social consciousness and strengthening of stereotypes. The fairness cream segment comprises 40 % of the total Indian cosmetics market amounting to $318 million.
And the market is steadily growing, with the new area of focus being men’s fairness creams.
However much we may like to deny it, the fair do enjoy advantage in certain industries- hospitality, showbiz, and aviation. Apartheid, at its subtle best, we may say.
Don’t think we’ll have to wait much longer before the darker ones start asking for reservation-another one of nation’s obsession.
from my youngest cousin (I have 12 first cousins on my paternal side!). Now this girl is barely 8 years old, I was taking her to buy her some chocolates and it being June the sun in the northern plains is at its scorching best during the daytime. As soon as we leave the cool confines of home, pat comes the comment from missy –“Bhaiyya sham ko challenge, abhi main kali ho jaungi”This cousin of mine has special affection for people who have a lighter tone to their skin color. Every time I have seen Katrina dancing to the tunes of “Kiss Me , Love Me” or “Welcome”, I’ve heard her remark “She looks so beautiful because she is so fair”.
That’s generation Z (or has the time come to move on to a new series, AA shall we say?) for you.
Indian’s obsession with fairness is not limited to a particular age or income group, religion, geographical region or educational background. My compeers at college feel the same way, and so does my maid. The phenomenon is equally spread across the lower, middle and the upper class. Be it Bengalis, Gujratis, Marathis, Tamilians, Kannadas or the Punjabis the thought is the same-“Fair is Lovely”.
And fairness is not only associated with the “fairer sex”. Even men are supposed to be fair. No wonder there has been a recent flood of “for men” fairness creams in the market. Now what happened to the good old adage - “Tall Dark and Handsome”?
What is with Indians and fairness? Was it the two centuries of servitude under the Imperial crown that imprinted us with belief that fair is superior? Fairness, in India today is associated necessarily with success, power, influence and superiority.
Another reason can be the flooding of the cosmetics market by the so called skin lightening products.
Fairness cream manufacturers have exploited, and reinforced, this preference for fair skin, portraying it as a necessary prerequisite for success, and promoted the use of their products as a means of achieving that ideal. Monetary gains have been made notwithstanding the negative impact these products have engendered in terms of social consciousness and strengthening of stereotypes. The fairness cream segment comprises 40 % of the total Indian cosmetics market amounting to $318 million.
And the market is steadily growing, with the new area of focus being men’s fairness creams.
However much we may like to deny it, the fair do enjoy advantage in certain industries- hospitality, showbiz, and aviation. Apartheid, at its subtle best, we may say.
Don’t think we’ll have to wait much longer before the darker ones start asking for reservation-another one of nation’s obsession.
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4 comments:
good article.....
welcome back :)
well don't be overly critical of our attitude. As you mentioned, there is a deep and convoluted historical path that has led us to the current state of affairs. But it will be wrong to say that things are not changing , they obviously are. This might take time; and with more liberalization( i am purposely not using the word 'modernization') of our thought, soon this will be immaterial.
Also , have you ever thought about the 'tanning' obsession Americans, or Caucasians have? the fairness obsession , is of course unwanted; but it might possibly be justified on the grounds of human-social nature.
i can understand..ma brother..
..the pain....
n ofcourse..the side effects of not being fair....
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