Sundar Gori Twacha - India and its unhealthy obsession with the fair skin

She scanned through the magazine
for girls who looked like her
with deeper hues,
flat nose, and thick hair.

The day she turned fifteen
she scrubbed herself with bleach
while screaming for God,
whispering over and over again
"the darker the skin,
the deeper the struggle"
releasing a sigh
that made her soul shake.”
― Ijeoma Umebinyuo

India and her obsession with the white/fair skin tone is not new. Being colonized for centuries, the post-colonial hangover hasn’t got any better. Walking through the lanes and streets of any big or small city, beauty parlours are adorned with the newspaper and magazine cut-outs of unbelievably beautiful fair-skinned Indian actors. These cutouts attract both men and women and make the beautician inside an unsung hero for the dark-skinned humans. Old household methods of making skin ‘fair’ have been in use since ages and sadly in 2020 are still being used. From scrubbing the paste of gram and curd to ‘brighten the skin’ to rubbing fruits on the face which guarantees a hundred per cent result, these techniques have become very common in our household. It is understood that the only way to be desirable is to be fair-skinned. Every week, the matrimonial ads in the Sunday newspaper seek fair and ‘very fair’ brides and grooms. So the point is the aspiring adults who aren’t fair, should be left behind? Or do they don’t deserve to get a partner? Well, the bullying they have faced for years must have made them familiar to constant rejections and lack of human warmth and support.

India is based on the agrarian economy. It accounts for nearly 60-70 per cent of the population involved in agriculture. Working in the unbearable sun constantly for months will darken one’s skin. So even if a child is born fair and decides to work in the fields, their skin will eventually turn of reddish-brown colour. This has resulted in this bias where people connect dark skin colour with labour, bondage, fieldwork and sun and look down upon people with this skin colour. While we know the importance of the farmers and the labours in building the country, sadly they are looked down because most of them are not educated and don’t have a lifestyle validated by the ‘civilised’.

The infamous white man’s burden which earlier meant that ‘it was the duty of the English to ‘civilize’ us Dark Indians’ was left behind after they went back. The elite Indians may have ended up associating themselves with the British because they were seen as superior and took the responsibility to ‘civilize’ the people who were lower in the hierarchy. 

An Indian woman working in a field 

The portrayal of the upper caste Hindus as fair and lower caste as dark throughout the history has made also made us think that the fair is always right and the dark is always wrong. The Dalits to date don’t get justice when they complaint against any one of the upper caste and one of the many reasons is the difference of skin colour which gives the fair-skinned illegitimate authority over the dark-skinned.

The racial discrimination faced by the people of the Deccan is a result of a very similar reason. The southern part of India is closer to the equator which means that it receives more sunlight as compared to the other part of the country.  This might be the reason for their dark skin. People of the north will be surprised to see a fair south India. Other is the infamous theory about the Aryans and the Dravidian. The former conquered the Dravidians and brought them down to the southern region of the subcontinent. The Dravidians are said to have dark skin and the Aryans are portrayed fair. This too brings up the concept of right and wrong.

Kaali showed having blue skin 

In the mythologies too, the good is shown having light skin whereas the demons and the Asurs have dark skin. Gods like Krishna and Kali have dark skin but as time passed, the black skin was converted into an obnoxious shade of blue in different paintings and even in later television series. Draupadi, the famous heroine of the epic Mahabharata was said to be a bewitching beauty. This made people think that she was ‘so fair’ that everyone desired her but in reality, she was dark-skinned. Here we sadly see beauty being synonymous to fairness. 

Krishna portrayed with 'blue' skin

In 1994, Aishwarya Rai won the title of Ms World. This was followed by a strange coincidence where Sushmita Sen backed the title of Ms Universe. The two consecutive winnings in the international level pageants in the same year resulted in the boom of the cosmetic industry in India. Women, especially the rich upper class invested in these beauty products and as time passed, every woman desired to own these products. These pageants both in India and abroad have certain criteria to be a part of them which is called ‘beauty standards’. If noticed carefully, the majority of these women are thin, fair, and tall and have sharp facial features. Other than pageants, the Hollywood and Bollywood too exerted a powerful influence on the audience. These pageants and entertainment industry, in general, were consumed by nearly everyone, especially women and this set a bar for qualifying to be called beautiful. Watching these women who are so-called perfect results in a lack of self-confidence and low self-esteem. This was the reason why the cosmetic industry was and is still thriving in India. Makeup was not seen as an art to enhance the facial feature but as something which can get you ten shades lighter. For the longest period of time, most of the brands were exclusive in their shade range as they made products for the lighter skin tone. Foundations, BB cream, concealer hardly had more than three to five shades. Having no other option and the constant inferiority, these products came to the rescue.

Ponds ad which talks about complexion

Indian fairness cream industry is worth around 450 million dollars and this one fairness cream called the ‘Fair and Lovely’ has more than fifty per cent share of the market. This fairness cream has been in business since 1975 claiming that it can lighter the consumer’s skin colour in seven days. The advertisement consists of a woman holding a scale with seven different shades which go from dark to fair. Called the beauty scale (which should be actually called a shade card), this ends up deciding the success of the person consuming the cream. The ad shows how before applying the product the consumer lacks self-confidence, doesn’t get their dream job and isn’t desirable and they don’t get ideal wedding match but after using it for seven days, their skin becomes six shades lighter and things turn upside down! Fair and Lovely and many other fairness creams are a fact of life in India. These creams are counter products and can be bought without any prescription. 

It is 2020 now and it is difficult to accept the fact that something known as a ‘fairness cream’ still exists which are endorsed by famous celebrities who influence millions of people in the country both young and adult. They speak of racism but the irony is they themselves set beauty standards which are unrealistic. In India and South Asia in general, the pale skin is considered to be a sign of aristocracy and class lineage but it is high time we end this discussion on fair and dark. Every skin colour is valid, should be respected and no one should be discriminated on its basis. The colour difference should unite us instead of dividing us. More awareness, representation and acceptance is required to end this colour difference.  

                   

                                         Daniel Marques writes –

“I may be a famous writer but when white people clinch to their wallet and stare at me with scorn I need to ask my skin why.”

*All the images used above are from Pinterest and I don't own any of them 

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