Dear Shahrukh- why are you selling a Fairness Cream ?!
And that too 'India's Number One Fairness Cream'. Mind you the advert outside the suburban rail station had such a big picture of you and those very words in Font Size 150 that I could not even spot what brand it was representing !
Now understandably, in a country obsessed with the colour of skin, the one cosmetic that probably out-sells all is the ubiquitous fairness cream. Till very recently these creams were mainly targeted at young women. Guaranteed to make you super-fair in 3 weeks and help you grab a husband instantly. It has never ceased to amaze me how deep-rooted the desire for 'fair women' who would generate 'fair offspring' is. I think recently someone realised that ... err.... maybe you need both the woman and the man to be light-skinned to be (somewhat) guaranteed that they will generate light-skinned offspring !
Heading back a couple of centuries, it appears we were a civilisation of brown to dark-brown folk. And then came the invasions from Central Asia and West Asia and slowly the shades started mixing. I'm sure the climate and environment too had a role to play. Closer in time, we had about 400 years of British/European rule, which left both physical evidence and mental desire for a lighter skin colour. You could argue that it is the exotic that catches people's fantasy. And when 8 out of 10 women in ancient India were dark-skinned, one suspects it was the lighter-skinned ones who stood out and got married in the higher strata of society. Thus continued the fascination for fair skin and the premium of being wed to one having such colour.
But now we live in Modern India. You know, the India which is zooming ahead, showing the world how to stay out of debt, how to use its brain power to feed a billion people. But sadly it is still not the India that wants to look in the mirror and say- I am brown and proud of it and no amount of fairness cream can make me a cotton-white. Not that most Indians aspire to be really 'white' white- just nice creamy white, the type that still makes you stand out in 90% of brown India.
So it will take many more years, if ever, for this deep-rooted yearning for fair skin to go. It may cost several young women their lives yet. It is (still) common for the not-that-'beautiful' women to be severely harassed by their in-laws, and for their parents to pay more dowry to wed them off. And if you thought this was a problem of literacy - you are in for a surprise. It is the wealthy and the educated who are more picky than ever !
The first I noticed a 'fairness cream' for men was when John Abraham was advertising one for a famous brand. The only satisfying thing about that was that finally men too were being subjected to the same pressure, so at least at some level the gender inequality gap was converging! The irony was that this former-model-turned-movie star is himself dating a dusky (and much-admired) beauty.
What is more ironical is to see such fairness creams being sold abroad in Indian stores in the predominantly 'white Caucasian' societies. When I first spotted a few on a shelf in Tooting Broadway in London I just could not believe my eyes. I mean the lack of sun in the UK is itself a natural 'fairness' tonic (nature's de-tanner you could say). And how 'fair' did these folk want to become in a society where you would always still be Asian by colour. Also what's the point of this cream in a society where the majority of women would give anything for a decent tan! Apart from going the Whacko-Jacko way, there is no way to really change appearances too drastically. And look what that did to him- both mentally and physically!! (God rest his soul).
As for me, fortunately I have not had much occasion as an adult, to dwell too long on my skin colour in a serious way. My dear friend Ruchira once advised me- "Darling you must call yourself honey-coloured because it sounds more glamorous". Ha, ha I still value this tip. Personally I think I'm more chai-coloured. And contrary to popular belief I feel many of us are not really coffee-coloured, although that sounds somewhat more fashionable than being chai-coloured. But then again, have you seen the varieties of chais and coffees available these days? I guess I could be anything I want to be now :D
So dear Shahrukh, it makes complete business sense for you, and the cream-maker to be exploiting this weakness of Indian society. A weakness based on centuries of invasion, some friendly mingling and a fair bit of subjugation and rule by those who were a little, or a lot lighter in their skin colour than the natives. But as an influential social icon you have a bit more responsibility on your shoulders. Perhaps the message you need to propagate is "Look beyond the colour of someone's skin"? At least that's the direction the rest of the world is taking now.......
Now understandably, in a country obsessed with the colour of skin, the one cosmetic that probably out-sells all is the ubiquitous fairness cream. Till very recently these creams were mainly targeted at young women. Guaranteed to make you super-fair in 3 weeks and help you grab a husband instantly. It has never ceased to amaze me how deep-rooted the desire for 'fair women' who would generate 'fair offspring' is. I think recently someone realised that ... err.... maybe you need both the woman and the man to be light-skinned to be (somewhat) guaranteed that they will generate light-skinned offspring !
Heading back a couple of centuries, it appears we were a civilisation of brown to dark-brown folk. And then came the invasions from Central Asia and West Asia and slowly the shades started mixing. I'm sure the climate and environment too had a role to play. Closer in time, we had about 400 years of British/European rule, which left both physical evidence and mental desire for a lighter skin colour. You could argue that it is the exotic that catches people's fantasy. And when 8 out of 10 women in ancient India were dark-skinned, one suspects it was the lighter-skinned ones who stood out and got married in the higher strata of society. Thus continued the fascination for fair skin and the premium of being wed to one having such colour.
But now we live in Modern India. You know, the India which is zooming ahead, showing the world how to stay out of debt, how to use its brain power to feed a billion people. But sadly it is still not the India that wants to look in the mirror and say- I am brown and proud of it and no amount of fairness cream can make me a cotton-white. Not that most Indians aspire to be really 'white' white- just nice creamy white, the type that still makes you stand out in 90% of brown India.
So it will take many more years, if ever, for this deep-rooted yearning for fair skin to go. It may cost several young women their lives yet. It is (still) common for the not-that-'beautiful' women to be severely harassed by their in-laws, and for their parents to pay more dowry to wed them off. And if you thought this was a problem of literacy - you are in for a surprise. It is the wealthy and the educated who are more picky than ever !
The first I noticed a 'fairness cream' for men was when John Abraham was advertising one for a famous brand. The only satisfying thing about that was that finally men too were being subjected to the same pressure, so at least at some level the gender inequality gap was converging! The irony was that this former-model-turned-movie star is himself dating a dusky (and much-admired) beauty.
What is more ironical is to see such fairness creams being sold abroad in Indian stores in the predominantly 'white Caucasian' societies. When I first spotted a few on a shelf in Tooting Broadway in London I just could not believe my eyes. I mean the lack of sun in the UK is itself a natural 'fairness' tonic (nature's de-tanner you could say). And how 'fair' did these folk want to become in a society where you would always still be Asian by colour. Also what's the point of this cream in a society where the majority of women would give anything for a decent tan! Apart from going the Whacko-Jacko way, there is no way to really change appearances too drastically. And look what that did to him- both mentally and physically!! (God rest his soul).
As for me, fortunately I have not had much occasion as an adult, to dwell too long on my skin colour in a serious way. My dear friend Ruchira once advised me- "Darling you must call yourself honey-coloured because it sounds more glamorous". Ha, ha I still value this tip. Personally I think I'm more chai-coloured. And contrary to popular belief I feel many of us are not really coffee-coloured, although that sounds somewhat more fashionable than being chai-coloured. But then again, have you seen the varieties of chais and coffees available these days? I guess I could be anything I want to be now :D
So dear Shahrukh, it makes complete business sense for you, and the cream-maker to be exploiting this weakness of Indian society. A weakness based on centuries of invasion, some friendly mingling and a fair bit of subjugation and rule by those who were a little, or a lot lighter in their skin colour than the natives. But as an influential social icon you have a bit more responsibility on your shoulders. Perhaps the message you need to propagate is "Look beyond the colour of someone's skin"? At least that's the direction the rest of the world is taking now.......
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