Indians and their obsession with fairness. Or is it there in all South Asian countries or say so called third world nations?
I can't speak for everyone but since India is the country of my birth, I can speak about the attitudes there. It's very much there. After all the growing up, traveling and living out of India( which is good since it broadens one's horizons), I realized many truths including this.
Maybe it developed because of racism which existed and still does in various parts of the world. In some places it's blatant while in other areas it's subtle.
After all the reading and gathering knowledge, I now like a few others feel it was because of the colonial attitude of other races being dominated by superior white skin for years. It kind of seeped into the culture- if one is fairer one is better.
Or is it the children fairy tales about fair maidens that encouraged this attitude? Lines such as 'Mirror mirror mirror of the wall. Tell me who's the fairest of them all'?
I guess those were of European origin and hence so. In today's world fair maiden would mean a beautiful, pretty or sexy lady, whichever one prefers.
After learning and then working in the entertainment world I kind of saw the change in attitudes amongst the elite, the aware and the educated from the nineties thanks to the international pageants, the success of the runway models and globalization starting from the nineties.
It was nice to see the transition from the nineties onwards. Of course I did get a little chiding from my mother and some relatives for being not fair enough as a kid but I though people kind of left that attitude from the mid 90s as I was growing up. When I was little, Sushmita Sen became Miss Universe. Her brown skin didn't make her look less attractive( in fact in her younger days, she looked much better than she does now) but some folks did say she's not beautiful enough to be considered the most beautiful in the universe. Well people forgot to understand or didn't know to understand that the title just honours a deserving candidate and doesn't really talk about 'most beautiful'( that's a very subjective thing and takes into account many things- beauty of face, body, attitude, personality, intelligence, goodness of heart and so on)
Aishwarya Rai, (now Bachchan, she has also been accused of trying to look white), Miss World of that time still has issues from people dealing with her 'most beautiful' title...Well, people, it's just a title and is not to be taken so seriously. Well, Ash is not that fair but I think regardless of her complexion she would have looked beautiful thanks to such beautiful features, aura and personality.
Well delving on the attitude towards brown skin, it's still very much there, not only amongst the illiterate but some so called educated people as well.
And I saw it so much present among the uneducated or unwise in M'bai. I didn't think so much into it as I didn't take it so seriously then but when I delved into it quite a bit, I saw it so much present...I wish I had the time to think about the attitude a lot and then try to help a few like that break out of that nonsensical mould.
Gosh, how can being fairer make one supposedly good. without features, without a nice toned body? Whey were they always trying to be fair with packs, creams and the works? I agree that fair skin hides flaws better but still...
No wonder people say ignorance kills.It's a big vice. And a society can't advance without education, knowledge and wisdom. Period
With the internet and the social media around, it's good to know about the feelings of the ones with the knowledge. Yesteryear's' actresses like Rekha, Sridevi got flak from one reader and blogger for whitening themselves. She wrote:"Wish these beauties of ours would show the world that TAN too is beautiful."
Well actresses like them and Zeenat Aman from the 70s had no choice(& must have whitened themselves quite a bit) as people then have more fixation about fair skin.
But in recent times too Bipasha, Shilpa Shetty and even Ash have got criticism for whitened appearances.
In fact a few years back, a photographer told me how brown, not fair or too dark is a good color for pictures as it can make the looks vary a lot. I personally experienced that in my portfolio shots, portraits and professional pictures.
In fact in early 2009, Aishwarya supposedly backed out of the fairness campaign of a top class international brand amidst controversy. Well, some said she left so that a younger Sonam Kapoor could endorse it, so no one will no what the truth really was.
Ranbir Kapoor, now an Indian youth icon in India reportedly said no towards endorsing a fairness product.
It was reported that to a colour-crazy generation of youngsters, who are busy spending their parents' money on fairness products just because their idea of 'good-looking' is closer to a Russian ballerina with a painted face, he wanted to send a very clear message and that such products only make racist stereotypes that already exist in our society. It's another matter that many of his contemporaries make such ads all the time.
Well, If only lovers of fair skin had their way, we would have missed out on the charm and the fab physiques of bootylicious( song made famous by Beyonc& destiny's child) babes such as Tyra, Halle, Beyonce and the hottie from the worldwide super hit 'Avaatar'- Zoe Saladana who worked her way up in Hollywood...
.And the original 'colored' ( no offenses but that's the 'sorry' word that had to be used) supermodel- Naomi Campbell. Okay, some say color prejudices still exist, but still they made it to the top and have earned name, fame, glamor and the big bucks
And J Lo and Salma Hayek who facilitated the entry and acceptance of more bootylicious olive skinned women like them in the entertainment industry- Eva Longoria, Eva Mendes, Kim Kardashian.
And how can one forget hip mover and shaker Shakira...Her moves, her lovely music- this diminutive Colombian powerhouse is pure class... Her fame has crossed boundaries.
And we would have really missed the charms of Jordana Brewster and Jessica Alba it it was only about fair skin.
Both super hot with great bods and nice tans...
Well, Jess looks cool in her Indian avatar as well.
And Jordana's wonderful facial features and bone structure is seen in this black and white pic too.
I must admit my personal favorites are Halle, Salma, Jordana and Jessica. So sorry, I might sound a little partial here...
Also the favorite Victoria's Secret Angels of many-Gisele, Adriana, Alessandra et al with their long torso, toned abs and fabulous exotic complexions make the shows look so good.
I am not a bit fan of lingerie and all but this fashion show stands out and is extremely classy.
After reportedly dating Sandra Bullock, Penelope Cruz and Patricia Arquette, Texas born actor Matthew McConaughey has a family with Brazilian supermodel Camila Alves.
As for India, the ones before them were very conscious but American of Indian descent, model/ TV personality Padma Lakhmi and ex Miss India, Madhu Sapre et al changed a lot for darker skinned Indian women.
It's nice to see Frieda Pinto doing well and Koena after all the negative publicity just two/ three years back, Monikonkona Dutta( who's half north eastern Indian like me) trying to make a mark on the international modeling circuit.
And recently found out know from some bloggers that Freida got terrible racist jibes from her own Indian people who couldn't digest the international acceptance initially of a non conventional dusky looker( comfortably overlooked her sense of style & the fact that she can morph well into various characters-they are not just white- from around the world). Thankfully things seem to have gotten better if not the best. Ignorance will always have to be fought against quite a bit.
Brown skinned Shilpa Shetty, Bips, Pranks, Deepika and their kind have been accepted by the Indian audience.
By the way, this fair skin obsession is one of the many backward ways of the uneducated class or small minded people from countries such as India. Mostly I see the elite, the aware, the ones using social media in a healthy way are against it. Thank God, the world has changed a bit and is better in a few ways.In fact many Indians living abroad have commented on this entertainment site and ridiculed how some Indians think, "fair or white is beautiful." " Being wannabe fair is cool.Not so where we live", many made clear."
I liked this comment from an intelligent poster on the subject of color bias. So much so that I'm putting it here...
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A milky white and 'Plain-Jane- features' type of face might appeal to you only... A lot of people in India will never be conned by the color game. They know a good face when they see it."Funny but hits the mark.
Comparisons are ridiculous. Beauty is subjective and as Shakespeare and others said-"lies in the eyes of the beholder."
In fact as I always repeat- to each his own. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions but it's not good to force it upon others. Of course it's another matter than some people's opinions about beauty as well are wise, just and unbiased while the others do it because they are envious, jealous, silly, ignorant, negative haters.
Personally I'm really thankful that I never had any such fixation and always appreciated( and even so now) various kinds of beauties- Oriental, Afro, Caucasian, South Asian, Latin or mixed descent. And I love women with inner beauty.
I love Natalie Portman and want her to win the Oscar tonight.But it's not so because she's ' oh so fair.' Well, she doesn't look all that white since she's Israeli-American.
But because she's always been a wonderful actress, a classy woman and dresser who did an amazing job with 'Black Swan'- perfected the ballerina act and handled a complicated character. A performance of a lifetime. Her first one as a kid in 'Leon' was great too.
( In this pic, Natalie wears another classic favorite of mine, Audrey Hepburn's outfit from the wonderful Breakfast at Tiffany's)
On another note, I have to say here that smaller framed women like Audrey Hepburn before, and now Jessica Alba, Jordana Brewster and Natalie Portman( regardless of skin color), Indian actress Amrita look much younger than they actually are. I'm one of them and it's also my personal experience speaking here.It's quite an asset where the entertainment world and even the normal world is youth obsessed.
Also I shall get to see various beauties including lovely looking hostess Anne Hathaway being part of the Oscars. Yes, pretty Penelope Cruz, Scarlet Johanessen, Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman et al.
And even Indian actress Aishwarya who I hear is making an appearance with her actor hubby. Well, it's wonderful to see so many different types of beauties around...So three cheers to that!
I shall get back with my little report tomorrow. Hasta la vista.
Grace Kelly will always remain a classy beauty who many love to talk about with a great personalities. Being a movie fan, I loved her movies with Hitchcock and of course High Noon. She was classy to the core...
