Recently, multinational consumer products giant, Unilever decided to rename ‘Fair and Lovely’ to ‘Glow and Lovely’ in the wake of global protests against racial discrimination and even longer protests in Indian markets. While it is not the only commodity in India that delivers the ideal of fairness, it is the most identifiable cultural icon of the fair skin trope that plagues India.
The fairness industry runs by capitalizing on the insecurity of dark-skinned people and sells the notion that fair skin equals greater acceptability and success. It clearly works because the industry managed to rake in a profit of over Rs 3,500 crore annually (nearly $450 million).
India has been vexed by colorism, a prejudice towards individuals with darker skin tones, for a long time. It is partially the result of colonial discrimination, which has been aggravated by ethnicity and geographical variations, castism along with inputs from Bollywood, the nation's biggest film industry, which has long celebrated lighter-skinned characters through multiple ventures like songs referring to or praising a woman as 'gori' or fair-skinned like that in Chittiyaan Kalaiyaan (Roy, 2015), Goriya Re Goriya (Aaina, 1993), Gore Rang Pe Na Ghumaan Kar (Roti, 1974), and many more. Along with these songs, multiple fairness creams were endorsed by leading bollywood actors like Shah Rukh Khan ( Fair and Handsome), Aishwarya Rai (Loreal White Perfect), Deepika Padukone (Neutrogena Fine Fairness) leading to the intensification of India’s obsession with fair skin. However, India is a complex and diversified society, and hence the derivatives that play a role in this practice are also diversified. In this country, it’s a problematic practice and is shockingly embraced by both the oppressor and the victim.
My naive 8-year-old self believed my grandmother, who was also a religious consumer of 'Fair and Lovely' at the time, that drinking tea would make my skin darker. Even though I didn’t understand the apparent superiority associated with fair skin, I readily accepted it and didn’t drink tea for the longest time. Years later, after reading and educating myself and my grandmother about colorism and the racism that follows, the notion has been successfully eradicated from my household. But that conversation with my grandmother wasn’t an easy one and definitely took a lot of courage. This conversation led me to wonder how often we actually have a conversation about color in India.
A simple conversation may not magically put an end to the inherited prejudice that plagues our society, but it is an important first step just like banning products and advertisements. Although ‘fairness cream’ has now become an uncool terminology to use, similar products are masked by terms like ‘brightening’ and ‘spot-reducing’ creams. This is a step in the right direction but is failing to change much because even today as soon as we step outside our houses and many times even inside the four walls of our own house, we are exposed to a culture that devalues dark-skinned people.
I haven’t been at the receiving end of this discrimination too often and yet I have been traumatized by multiple episodes of it. When I moved to the southern states of India to study at an international school, even with a diverse and accepting community of beautiful people, I couldn’t help notice the racist humor present in the atmosphere. This humor, although targeted towards themselves, was self-deprecating and quite concerning in nature. Even when they believed it was harmless, I couldn’t help notice how prevalent the concept of colorism was, even in the most educated communities.
In India, it does not seem viable to think in terms of extralegal solutions to the race problem. It is through the law that norms can be enforced but because of the commonality of discrimination, it demands a collective effort along with a strong and supporting legislature, which is far from the reality in our space. Of course, steps are taken in the right direction like banning advertisements and renaming products but the concept is so deep-rooted amongst all of us that as a community we have a lot to unlearn and learn differently, all over again. Like charity begins at home, our fight against colorism should also start from ourselves.
In order to combat this stigma, we need to listen and educate ourselves. Pay attention to the voices of people who experience it on a daily basis and identify our privileges and any existing biases. In addition to this, raising awareness is equally important. Sharing the resources within the community can help educate many who are probably not even aware of a problem in the first place. Raising awareness could be as easy as setting the right example for your younger sibling.
We are the youth of the nation and hence in order to overcome these deep-rooted problems, we need to challenge everyday colorism and discrimination. Often, it is in the form of jokes, stereotypes or insensitive comments and questions. Alert them to the fact that what they do is biased or discriminatory, and remind them that everybody has the right to live with dignity. Encourage them to learn more about the historical context of inequality and discrimination, and share resources that are beneficial to everyone.
Last but not the least, ensure that the institutes you are members of like school or universities are against discrimination. Find out whether your school or university has a policy on non-discrimination, safe ways to report incidents, support services, and programmes or initiatives to promote tolerance, diversity and inclusion. If not, work with other students and school/university management to start a discussion and identify ways in which your place of learning can become a safer and more empowering environment for all students.
The critical message to be taken from this article is that combatting discrimination is not the perfect effort of a single person, instead its the imperfect effort of thousands of us. Its upto us to make conscious efforts because at the end of the day, discrimination is only as strong as its proponents and practitioners!
Works Cited:
Jones, Lora. “Unilever Renames Fair & Lovely Skin Cream after Backlash.” BBC News, BBC, 25 June 2020, www.bbc.com/news/business-53178088.
Verma, Anurag. “Why Are So Many Hindi Songs Written On Fair-Skinned Women And So Few On Darker Skin?” HuffPost India, HuffPost India, 15 Mar. 2017, www.huffingtonpost.in/2017/03/06/why-are-so-many-hindi-songs-written-on-fair-skinned-women-and-so_a_21874069/.
Voices of Youth Like167 Comments, et al. “Five Actions You Can Take against Racism and Discrimination.” Voices of Youth, 5 June 2020, www.voicesofyouth.org/blog/five-actions-you-can-take-against-racism-and-discrimination.
WW, FashionNetwork.com. “India's Multibillion-Dollar Skin Lightening Industry under Fire as Indians Seek Whiter Shade of Pale.” FashionNetwork.com, ww.fashionnetwork.com/news/India-s-multibillion-dollar-skin-lightening-industry-under-fire-as-indians-seek-whiter-shade-of-pale,821354.html.
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