Culture | September 29, 2006 | 5 comments

Not Fair, Still Lovely

geetamalik5
Certainly, there are bigger, more pressing issues in the world today: the crisis in Sudan, nuclear weapons in Pakistan, George W. Bush in general. The issue I’ve chosen to cover, however, is important and meaningful in a more subtle, insidious way.

Ever since I was little, I’d noticed the sale of a skin-lightening cream called “Fair and Lovely” in my local Indian grocery store. I saw ads for it in the Bollywood magazines my mom bought; I saw ads for it on television every time we visited relatives in India. Now, it’s more than just “Fair and Lovely.” L’oreal has a line called “White Perfect” skin lotion, and Lux Beauty has also joined the marketing machine with their line of “White Glow” soaps.

This issue is meaningful because it speaks to generations of self-hate and prejudice within the South Asian community. It’s 2006, and women are still using skin-lightening creams to bleach their skin to a standard of “whiteness” that will make them acceptable to their peers and potential mates. Girls my own age, born and raised in America like myself, are submitting to these racist standards of beauty without questioning them.

I hope to effect positive change with this documentary by asking these questions. When I interviewed my friends and peers, most of them hadn’t thought too deeply about why South Asians revere white skin, and yet, most of them had personal experience with this prejudice. I hope the positive change will be self-awareness instead of self-hate.
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5 comments // Not Fair, Still Lovely // Video

  • donkeyfly69
  • kodada
    • 0
      kodada  

    • While this issue of skin color does exist in other cultures, watching this piece is alarming because it lends itself to the idea that an entire society has been permeated with self hate.

      I see this as the influence of the west and it's historical propensity for invading nations populated by brown people for any number of purposes, and then inflicting their ideas of class, status, religion, education, art and beauty. While I understand India has a long history with regard to it's tribal and caste systems, but it's the connection to and influence from Europe that seems to come to the surface with this idea that fairer skin is more beautiful.

      Learn to love the skin you're in. You can use all the skin lightening creams you want but you are not EVER getting a new skin, the best you can hope for is to ultimately damage your body's largest organ.

      Stop buying into the idea that the lighter you are, the more beautiful. Own your beauty inside and out and don't let anyone tell you that who and what you are or look like is anything less than a reflection of the beauty that created you.

      When we can fully embrace the beauty in ourselves, think of how that leaves us open to embrace the beauty in others.

    • 3 years ago
  • anaStasiaIRE
    • 0
      anaStasiaIRE  

    • It is true of other cultures that lighter skin is a sign of good breeding, class and beauty. In long past times, soft, white skin protected by kid gloves, bonnets and thick socks around the ankles showed a well-bred Englishwoman. In Africa, it is a sign of wealth as you haven't ever had to work long hours in the hot sun for a living. In Africa, I never got the feeling that it was done due to any form of self-hate. It is a mark of class differentiation in other societies.In India where class is very clearly de-lineated and people can often feel inferior because of the outward signs indicating their class, such as how dark they are...I can see it as a terrible problem hindering women's empowerment.

    • 3 years ago
  • ssjasper2003
    • 0
      ssjasper2003  

    • I never really got the whole becoming fair thing. Whenever I visit india I always get told that im more "fair" because I live in america. Also when my grandmother came here & we chatted with my cousins with a webcam(sent pics also)they said she was more fair by being here. Its a bit annoying since I have cousins who are "light skinned/fair" even though they live in india.

    • 4 years ago
  • russell_wetanson
    • 0
      russell_wetanson  

    • So interesting. I think this issue also is prevalent among other cultures as well. It's good to examine this, even when there are more "serious" issues confronting the world. GL.

      When you have a few minutes, please let me know what you think of my recent pods, "We have issues" and "Retiring in Exhile."

    • 5 years ago
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