This is a cliched topic I know, but promoting dark complexion seemed such a refreshing break that I decided to give it a thought and write about it.
In India, I think it came from the Aryan invasion when the dark skinned Dravidians were defeated and driven off beyond the Vindhyas. From then the fair skinned Aryans thought they were a "superior race" and how else to distinguish from the natives other than skin color? "Non-Aryan" became a swear word and inter-racial marriage was not considered a good thing. We have a long history of racism and discriminating against dark skinned people, thousands of years older than the civil rights issues. Like humans still carry forward some remnants of evolution, we Indians have carried forward the skin color bias. In the marriage-market (it is sort of a market, where parents of brides and grooms try to "sell" their products), being a dark skinned girl is a curse. Fair boys definitely need matching fair brides and dark boys also need fair girls to compensate for their darkness. Then what happens to the dark girls? This is a riddle which is not yet been solved. In a society where the words fair and pretty are synonymous, it is no wonder that fairness creams are marketed really easily. What do the advertisements show? A girl who could not get married or a girl who was not sure if she'll make it to the Indian idol all used fairness creams to bleach their faces and look pale and finally reached their individual goals. No mention about their talents, no mention about hard work...just fairness!!! Is it what we really want to teach our girls?
Nandita Das' campaign just caught my eye. She is a very beautiful and bright lady who has a dark complexion. But like many other pretty ladies with sharp features, I think she wouldn't have looked this pretty if she was paler. She is insisting girls stay the way they are and stay beautiful. Nothing is prettier than the natural skin tone you are born with. Same goes for hair and eye color. They all compliment one another. How would an Asian girl look in blonde hair? Or an African girl with blue-green eyes? It somehow wouldn't match.
While all these stuff happen about fairness in India, here in the West it is all about tanning. People are getting skin cancer by exposing to the harmful UV rays but that doesn't stop them from tanning. Bronzers are available everywhere and when I went to buy a face powder, the lady at Macy's gave me one which would make me look a shade *darker* than what I was. Ironically, when we were growing up in India, I knew that while choosing foundation, you need to choose one that is a shade *lighter* than what you are. My skin tone is exactly in the "medium" range so the funny thing I get to see is here I am offered face products in the warm shades and in India they offer me products of the same brand in the cool shade!! LOL!!
The grass keeps on staying greener on the other side...that part is for sure. The only thing is when people try doing destructive things to look better be it pressure from the society or from fashion magazines, that is where we need to make it stop.
Girls, stay exactly as you are - fat, thin, dark, fair, tall, short, whatever... nothing matters. Just eat well, do healthy stuff, go out with friends, dress up (in anything you feel comfortable), hang out with boy friends, make a reach a target in life in work or school and sleep a lot. These would keep you healthy and happy. Well, after all there is nothing more beautiful than a bright smile :)
In India, I think it came from the Aryan invasion when the dark skinned Dravidians were defeated and driven off beyond the Vindhyas. From then the fair skinned Aryans thought they were a "superior race" and how else to distinguish from the natives other than skin color? "Non-Aryan" became a swear word and inter-racial marriage was not considered a good thing. We have a long history of racism and discriminating against dark skinned people, thousands of years older than the civil rights issues. Like humans still carry forward some remnants of evolution, we Indians have carried forward the skin color bias. In the marriage-market (it is sort of a market, where parents of brides and grooms try to "sell" their products), being a dark skinned girl is a curse. Fair boys definitely need matching fair brides and dark boys also need fair girls to compensate for their darkness. Then what happens to the dark girls? This is a riddle which is not yet been solved. In a society where the words fair and pretty are synonymous, it is no wonder that fairness creams are marketed really easily. What do the advertisements show? A girl who could not get married or a girl who was not sure if she'll make it to the Indian idol all used fairness creams to bleach their faces and look pale and finally reached their individual goals. No mention about their talents, no mention about hard work...just fairness!!! Is it what we really want to teach our girls?
Nandita Das' campaign just caught my eye. She is a very beautiful and bright lady who has a dark complexion. But like many other pretty ladies with sharp features, I think she wouldn't have looked this pretty if she was paler. She is insisting girls stay the way they are and stay beautiful. Nothing is prettier than the natural skin tone you are born with. Same goes for hair and eye color. They all compliment one another. How would an Asian girl look in blonde hair? Or an African girl with blue-green eyes? It somehow wouldn't match.
While all these stuff happen about fairness in India, here in the West it is all about tanning. People are getting skin cancer by exposing to the harmful UV rays but that doesn't stop them from tanning. Bronzers are available everywhere and when I went to buy a face powder, the lady at Macy's gave me one which would make me look a shade *darker* than what I was. Ironically, when we were growing up in India, I knew that while choosing foundation, you need to choose one that is a shade *lighter* than what you are. My skin tone is exactly in the "medium" range so the funny thing I get to see is here I am offered face products in the warm shades and in India they offer me products of the same brand in the cool shade!! LOL!!
The grass keeps on staying greener on the other side...that part is for sure. The only thing is when people try doing destructive things to look better be it pressure from the society or from fashion magazines, that is where we need to make it stop.
Girls, stay exactly as you are - fat, thin, dark, fair, tall, short, whatever... nothing matters. Just eat well, do healthy stuff, go out with friends, dress up (in anything you feel comfortable), hang out with boy friends, make a reach a target in life in work or school and sleep a lot. These would keep you healthy and happy. Well, after all there is nothing more beautiful than a bright smile :)
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