Looking at the anti-racism protests happening across the
globe, I have a question for everyone out there, do we, as a society, really
accept dark skinned people? As a citizen of India, my answer is NO. Each one of
us has, at some point in time, made statements like 'You look tanned' or 'Her
features are good but she is dark skinned'. For centuries, the prejudice
against dark skin has been omnipresent in the society and has been engrained in
the mind-sets of people.
Unilever unveiled Fair and Lovely which further added to the
obsession with fair skin fir ages conditioning narratives on how fair skin was
what is truly desirable. According to their website, Fair and Lovely is 'one of
the most trusted brands for young women in India'. In 2019, the industry had a
total revenue of around Rs 3,000 crore, according to the Indian Fairness Cream
and Bleach Market Overview (2018 - 2023). Market Revenues were expected to
reach Rs 5000 Crore by 2023.
These skin whitening products have been reinforcing the
belief that fair skin is something to aspire for and that having dark skin is
an undesirable trait. Advertisements of skin brightening products are telling
us that if someone isn't fair skinned, that person is bound to have a loveless
and unsuccessful life. Shahrukh Khan, an actor as well as a role model for many
of us, while doing an ad for a whitening cream, was seen to be telling the boy
to bleach his skin in order to find love. The irony is that Bollywood actors
who endorse these whitening products are the ones posting about 'Black Lives
Matter' on social media. From Akshay Kumar singing, 'White white face dikha
dilwa beating fast' in Tashan to 'Kala chasma chachda hain gore mukhde par' in
Baar Baar Dekho, countless popular Bollywood songs glorify fair skin. Bollywood
films often feature songs that celebrate fair skinned people and look down upon
the dark skinned ones.
For instance, in the 1990s film 'Suhaag', the male
protagonist lusts after fair skinned women who wear dark sunglasses. Under
representation and faulty depiction of dark skinned people in Bollywood movies
has never been uncommon. Bollywood has tried to embrace Brown characters in
several films, by using makeup to darken the skin of the actors, especially
when they play the role of an individual who hails from a disadvantaged section
of the society. For instance, In the popular movie, Udta Punjab, Alia Bhatt
darkens her complexion with makeup to play the role of a migrant Bihari
labourer. In Gully Boy, Ranveer Singh darkens his face to play the role of a
boy living in the slums. This is the usual scenario in the so called big budget
movies of Bollywood. The popular 2019 film 'Bala' was about a woman who faced
discrimination because of her dark complexion. The role was essayed by Bhumi
Pednekar who had visibly darkened her natural skin tone using makeup. It is
heartbreaking to see that dark skinned people have been and continue to be subjected to taunts and discrimination
throughout their lives- and plain ignorance during to conditioning serves as a
large factor for it. Seeing that characters that look(or are supposed to look
like them) are being represented on the silver screen by a person who has no
idea about their life experiences, further breaks their spirit. This
subsequently influences the thought process of many people, who are battling
their insecurities every single day.
Fairness is also viewed as a significantly desirable trait in
matrimonial ads. If we look at these ads, most of them attach a lot of significance
to Fairness. These ads say a lot about the nature of our society. According to
these ads, everyone wants a fair skinned partner to get married to. Indian
obsession with fair skin can be traced back to the Ancient and the Medieval
period. The caste system, the seeds of which were sowed in the Rig Veda,
divides the entire society into four castes or 'Varnas' and surprisingly, the
literal meaning of Varna is colour or complexion. This implies that the caste
system provides a racist basis to the system of social stratification which now
drives the Indian society. The Rig Veda even talks about 'Dasam Varnam Adharam'
which literally means that black skin is impious. The upper castes like the
Brahmins and Kshatriyas were fair skinned and held immense power whereas the
lower castes such as the Shudras were often referred to as the Black Varna.
They were required to perform physical tasks under the sun because of which
they were dark skinned.
The Indian subcontinent has been ruled by various invaders,
settlers and traders. In the 16th century, the subcontinent was invaded and
subsequently governed by the Mughals. All of these foreign 'visitors' were fair
skinned and thus claimed to be superior. The British colonisers were notorious
for imposing their archaic victorian ideas upon the Indian people. There were
white towns and black towns, a segregation made on the basis of skin colour.
Fair skinned Indians were given special privileges whereas the dark skinned
ones were discriminated against. Thus, skin colour was seen as an indicator of
one's class. If an individual had fair skin, he/she was considered superior.
The obsession with fair skin is detrimental to our self
esteem and mental health. It perpetuates discrimination at various levels.
According to a study, In Rajasthan and Haryana, families do not take their dark
skinned daughters to social events and public gatherings. Grooms either reject
dark skinned girls or demand outrageous dowry. It is not just about the 'fair
is the best' mentality. Skin lightening procedures can also lead to serious
skin and health conditions such as permanent skin bleeding, skin cancer,
thinning of the skin, uneven colour loss and intense acne.
Colourism is deeply rooted in our Indian culture. However,
campaigns like 'India's Got Colour' and celebrities like Nandita Das promoting
ideas such as 'Dark is Beautiful', are a few positive changes. Unilever has
changed the name of the product from 'Fair and Lovely' to 'Glow and Lovely'.
But we still have a long way to go before India is finally in a position to end
its obsession with fair skin.
Unlearning something is way more difficult than learning
something new. We need to unlearn the toxic ideas of colourism, that have been
socially institutionalised, as well as the promotion of falsehood that we are
conditioned to believe in.
By- Ekanki Kasnia
Edited by- Shreya Chaudhry
Good work!
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