INDIA'S OBSESSION WITH FAIR SKIN!

Few articles here about this, it's something I kind of knew about it anyway, it's part of Asian culture.

Freida Pinto talks of the Indian obsession with fair complexion!

 

Updated on Tuesday, August 02, 2011, 13:46

Tags: Freida Pinto,  Indian complexion,  Interview

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Spicezee Bureau 

London: India’s muse to Hollywood, actress Freida Pinto recently spoke of India’s obsession with fair skin at an interview with a popular British Daily. She spoke of the struggles faced by dark skinned women in Indian modeling industry and Bollywood.
At college in her mid-teens, Pinto had realised that theatre and literature were her "calling". To earn some money, she began modeling. The well-mannered, inquisitive youngster found it easy working with photographers, but it was far from satisfying. Nor was the advertising work which followed.

Said the ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ star, "There were some very silly, stupid auditions that I had to go for. Like, there`s this girl who walks into college and nobody`s paying any attention to her because she is not using this particular cream – some kind of moisturiser or fairness cream, which I`m completely against.

Then she`d put on the cream and all the boys would turn to her. And, I was like, `Arrgh, this is so bloody cheesy!` If I ever got shortlisted for any of those parts I`d feel this sudden burden: `Oh my God, if I do this, they`ll pay me and I`ll earn my pocket money – but then it`s gonna be history.` Some of my ads are now on YouTube and it`s just so embarrassing.”

She despairs at the popularity of the "fairness creams" in Southeast Asia –from bleaching potions to lighten the skin. She said, "It`s completely wrong medically – and culturally, of course, because it`s giving people the wrong idea. My friend who`s a doctor told me that she`d have parents come in with kids who were three years old, saying, `Do something – I want my baby to be fair.`

"It`s just this thing that people [in India] are so fascinated by white skin. There`s a lot of people there who are naturally really pale. But the whole idea that you have to be fair – without naming actors, but there are actors who admit it – the fairer you are, the easier it is."

Pinto has come a long way in her career and she is an example to have succeeded in her career without changing her looks much. She is a power woman who believes in individualistic style.

Frieda, who was last seen in the ‘Rise of the Apes’ said, “I feel like this whole idea of wanting something that you don`t really have is also very American in a way. They love tanning! Why the hell are you tanning that much? Then in my country people want a fairer skin tone! It`s just crazy.

"So when I was that Indian export that went to America and people were wanting that natural tan – which I don`t really have to go through tanning [to acquire] – they were excited to include something in their culture, into their film industry, that was not really there already. Or not properly or appropriately represented. So I just feel that this was a change.” 

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The Indian obsession with 'fair' skin

IANS, Oct 1, 2009, 12.00am IST

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(Unfair game: The Indian obsession with skin colour (Pic Courtesy: Star Plus))

"Looking for a slim, homely and fair girl for our son" - that is usually how most matrimonial ads read, the stress being on the word "fair". Many say it is proof of our obsession with a person's skin colour.

Twenty-five-year-old Anuradha Nigam (name changed) had to pay the price for being dusky when her boyfriend's mother rejected her because she was "not fair".

"I felt dejected! It was a terrible feeling that skin colour was given preference over my feelings for the person whom I was in love with. Unfortunately, he too succumbed to the pressure from his family and we parted ways. It is ironic but true," said Nigam.

"Though he chose to marry a fair-skinned girl, he regretted it later when they realised there was no compatibility between them," she said.

Samir Parikh, consultant psychiatrist at Max Healthcare in New Delhi, says, "Perception of what is desirable and not desirable in a prospective bride is to a large extent based upon the information that we receive and form our opinions on. As a result, a number of biases can creep into our way of thinking and the way we look at situations and think about the way things are."

Anup Dhir, senior cosmetic surgeon at New Delhi's Apollo Hospital, says obsession with fair skin has something to do with the British colonial era.

"Indians are usually obsessed with fair skin as they acquired this legacy from the British era. As our rulers were fair skinned, we also run after fair complexion," Dhir said.

According to experts, a fair skinned person is considered attractive regardless of whether that person has a symmetrical face or a healthy figure.

"People are generally obsessed with a thing which they adore but do not have," Dhir added.

Markets too are loaded with fairness creams that promise to turn your complexion fair.

Psychiatrist Sanjay Chugh agrees and says the craze for fair skin has been aggressively marketed.

"Over the years many Indians have been programmed to equate fair skin with beauty, success and happiness. This craze for white skin has been aggressively marketed. In advertisements, it is always shown that in order to be successful, liked and approved by others, one needs to have fair skin," Chugh told IANS.

"Unfortunately, people are only concerned about surface level beauty and pay little attention to a person's character, intelligence and other essential personality traits that make people complete as individuals," he added.

Dhir says he receives queries from around five to eight women every week who want to become "fair".

Is it really possible to become fair?

"Well, all these fairness creams normally have sunscreens that protect your skin from harsh ultraviolet rays. But they can't make you fair just like that. Even what we promise is that with chemical peels skin can become fairer and even toned to the extent of non sun-exposed skin," Dhir said.

"But one can't achieve impossible results like becoming fair like foreigners," he added.

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Fair Skin obsession in India

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Do you have a complex about your complexion? Do you yearn to be fair and handsome? Are you fair, and believe that you can own the world? Can your ivory hued skin lead you on to instant success? Our national obsession with fair skin is perhaps a hangover of white colonial dominance. Men no longer want to be ‘tall, dark and handsome!’ With Fair and Handsome creams in the market they want to be fair too. Here are some stereotypes that come with fair skin: Fair skin is associated with purity, high class and aristocracy. Fair color has been reduced to a ladder to success and happiness. Is the media the villain? Advertisements exploiting old prejudices against dark color and sending wrong messages to the public are beamed out every single day. Even while dusky skinned girls like Bipasha Basu are making their mark in public, a fair color- fascinated media continues to linger on shots of the fairer lot. Advertisements insensitively make fun of dark skin and encourage narrow-minded discrimination. In movies the comic roles are often played by dark-skinned actors (who perhaps having been rejected as heroes for lack of a fair skin have turned to comedy). This further reinforces the stereotype of dark being synonymous with the lower classes and less successful people. Quite often, the media disregards good features, flawless skin and a confident face, which are of greater importance than skin color.  Health hazards of fairness cosmetics Discoloration and skin irritation are caused by constant use. Cosmetics and fairness treatments used by beauty salons and clinics are not always safe.  A recent study has made the FDA ban skin-lightening creams and bleaching creams because the main ingredient ‘hydroquinone’ carries the risk of cancer(Source: U.S. government Federal Register). There are other health hazards like mercury toxicity (Source: SKIN DEEP: Dying to be white, CNN) In spite of it all, men too are stepping into the so far woman-dominated terrain. Fair skin cannot replace good character and intelligence ever. By the way, dark skin, since it possesses more melanin makes it less susceptible to disease unlike fair skin. So, think twice before you reach out for that fairness cream. Eat healthy, drink lots of water and sleep well. That’s all that is required to be happy and successful. Not a fair skin obsession! Do you think it isn’t just Indians who are guilty of an obsession with fair skin? Is this a global problem? Are we associating historical economic status with skin color? Do you thinkthe media should play a bigger role in changing this perception?

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Sources:

http://www.window2india.com/cms/admin/article.jsp?aid=680

http://zeenews.india.com/entertainment/celebrity/freida-pinto-talks-of-the-indian-obsession-with-fair-complexion_93457.htm

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-10-01/beauty/28105867_1_skin-colour-fair-skin-obsession