I followed that image with another, this time much darker. I definitely didn't find the ebony skin complexion making me any less attractive than what I am with my natural brown skin. In India, the notion of beauty and success is often stereotyped with fair skin. We are among the very few countries who obnoxiously advertise skin lightening creams and our top film stars endorse the products. In a nation of majority brown skinned populace, more than 90% of Bollywood actors account for fair skinned models and they’re further whitened when featured in our fashion magazine covers. A Google search on any popular fashion magazine's Indian edition cover will reveal how fair skinned celebrities are predominantly showcased as #goals in our subcontinent. Our TV commercials are obsessed with fair skin models. Matrimonial ads (arranged marriages) in newspapers & internet are well-known for demanding fair skinned bride/groom. Indian fairness cream advertisements have gone on record to portray women even getting rejected in job interviews for having dusky complexion.
In contrary to what fairness cream ads propagates, I don't find anything unfair with myself in my natural brown skin or photoshopped to darker skin. Fairness cream commercials are spewing venomous ideologies to cash in on the age old social construct that dark skin is inferior to white skin. The regressive ideology equating superiority with skin colour has roots in India's caste system. People from lower caste had darker complexion than those of upper caste individuals. Further, it may have to do with the fact that we were predominantly ruled by light-skinned foreigners throughout the course of history that fairness is unfairly associated with superiority. The entire nation is living in a colonial hangover, idolizing the white skin.
In response to fairness cream advertisements' depiction of gradations showing a dark individual turning lighter, I have darkened my skin only to arrive at a conclusion that my skin tone is barely going to change how attractive or unattractive I am. My skin tone isn't going to alter my personality. I am happy with my brown skin. After seeing these visuals, I am convinced that I'll be just eqully happy if I was born darker. Black, beige, tan or white isn't going to decide if a dress is beautiful or not. It's merely the color of the dress. I won't let a film star or a cricketer otherwise convince me that the skin colour is going to decide if a person is beautiful or not.
I have come across counter statements arguing that skin tone is an individual's choice. Statements claiming that if white skinned people in West have the freedom to get an artificial tan, then we Indians are entitled to use fairness creams to lighten our skin too. Of course, it's up to an individual. Black or white, it's our choice. Fake tan or fairness creams, it's our choice. Wealthy Caucasians travel to exotic beaches & sit under the sun to get a tan. It's healthy. Exposure to sun synthesizes Vitamin D in body. Moving away from pale skin decreases the chance of getting skin cancer & other skin ailments. The poorer caucasians who can't afford to travel get a fake tan. It's their choice to be healthy or even ape the wealthy crowd who can afford to travel. Pale skin in West often implies that the person hasn't seen sun. It's from this social construct that a tan is regarded as sexy by many in West. In India, our 'choice' to whiten the brown skin arises from the social stigma of white skin supremacy. Our history tags dark skin with lower caste (poor working class who weren't entitled to education). Our matrimonial ads particularly look for bride/groom with fair skin. Majority of our pop cultural icons are fair skinned. There's a popular notion that fair skin is prettier in India. Who taught you that fair skin is prettier? There's a social pressure to have fair skin in India. A person can be discriminated in India for not having fair skin. We choose a hairstyle or a fashion since we look up to it. A cultural icon or a socio-political ideology influenced us to choose that particular style.The choice to get a tan doesn't arise from social pressure in West. However, the choice to whiten the brown skin arises from social compulsions and vulnerability to discrimination in India. People are using skin whitening creams to escape the blatant racism instead of fighting it.
FOOTNOTES: Edited vs Original
