This article in last week’s TIME claimed that while white skinned people who go to earth’s ends to get tanner are not trying to change their ethnicity, Indians (or South Asians) on the other hand, who make extra efforts to get fair skinned are trying to be ‘white’. The article supports this claim through interviews and the fact that the upcoming actresses in Bollywood are all mix with at least one parent being European. Also it sites statistics that show that sales of cosmetics to make skin fairer has increased many folds and is considered to be the fastest growing areas.
I actually differ with the conclusion that south Asians who are trying to be fairer are trying to be non-Indian. Though its clear everywhere that we definitely have a bias against darker skin but that’s an insecurity that goes beyond the British colonial era or fairer Muslims who migrated centuries ago.
South Asians just prefer fairer skin (which they shouldn't), just like they prefer spicier food and colorful dresses. It has nothing to do with the desire to change their ethnicity to be white. On the contrary I often hear desis making very racist comments about the white skinned westerners.
^^ lolz i totally agree with u! i've seen people judge "goras" and then evaluate actors/models/brides/girls/boys on how WHITE they are...tsk tsk.
yeah i think u are right. it IS a preference. but i personally prefer golden skintones like that of egyptians..
as for bollywood, dusky actresses like bipasha and rani mukherjee are making a huge impact by not whitewashing their face.
it is as stupid as suggesting that women who go tanning desire to be black women.
desi's who desire lighter skin don't want to be white. in fact, the desi concept of "light-skin" is not white - it would be closer to "tan", by western standards. they simply want to be light-skinned desi's, not white people. white skin is like irish complexion....i've never met a desi in my life that would want white skin.
They lament goras but still admire them (similar to how many Pakis hate the West but wait in long queues to get to America / Londinistan / Canuckistan etc).
Tanned skin among gorays became a status thing sometime in the 1920's because it showed that money could afford a vacation to some tropical location. It was around that time that women began to remove their stockings and bathing suits as well as other clothes became more revealing. A tan is also an exotic look for a normally white skinned person. With celebrities like JLo and other Black and Hispanics being in the spotlight the definition of beauty has widened. I personally find an olive complexion much more appealing compared to the cold, pale face of Nicole Kidman. Do Desi's really want to be Nicole Kidman? Desi skin glows. There's so many products on the market for our skintone now, like makeup colors that didn't exist before. It's a shame that many of us are ashamed of our natural skin.
I was about to post this thread but then I found you to have posted it. However, I don't agree with your above comments. If we have a bias against darker skin due to historical reasons then why do white people favour brown skin. It's a fact that white people want to have tanned brown skin while brown people of Indian subcontinent want to look fair. This is due to the fundamental fact that what is rare becomes precious or beautiful. Gold and diamond have less availability and so they are precious. Very few people in Indian subcontinent have fair skin and so fair skin has become a sign of beauty and it has nothing to do with historical reasons. The same applies to white people.
Couple of years back I was traveling with an Irish Engineer who was in his late 50s. I had a discussion with him on this topic. He was telling me that few decades back brown people used to be looked at with great curiosity during his teens. But now Indians and Pakistanis are everywhere and people no more care about it.
In a warm country like India, dark skin is better since it protects against skin cancer while in a cold country white skin is more suitable because it helps in the synthesis of Vitamin D in a very efficient way. Dark skinned people in cold climate run the risk of Vitamin D deficiency if their diet is not nutritious enough. The passion to become brown has caused many Australians to get skin cancer.
Does "tan" mean "brown"? The conclusions of the article are mostly correct except that it is not only a desire for fairer skin but also the current political and cultural superiority of the White race that push people want for an association with the White race.
I dont' think its either bias or preferance. Its all about solace. These customers feel that having a white/ fair skin color would give them confidence and higher self-esteem. White people tan because they believe that pale skin is unappealing. For them tan or dark skin is very exotic that's why some of them go to beaches.
I don't think it's just south asians who may want to look lighter/fairer. I know some blacks that wish they weren't dark skinned for some reason. I think u shud love ur own skin colour wotever it is. I do think it's about preference. Wot many ppl don't understand is that some ppl who r indeed quite light (desis), try to maintain their colour. It's healthy to want to keep ur colour at it's natural tone. So if ur light skinned to begin with, then using a product that helps keep ur skin that way, is not a bad thing. Wot's wrong is when ppl who r darker use lightening products or wotever to get lighter. Same with goras who r trying to get tanned, how come some of u don't make fun of them for using a product/technique to change their natural colour. Going lighter OR darker (than ur natural-born shade) is the same thing as in, ur trying to change ur colour, now that's wrong. So we shudn't just look at those desis who r trying to be light skinned, it just comes down to wot u prefer...but in the end, ur own colour (light or dark) is wot is gona look best on u.
Peharps one more evil contributing to the desire to be lighter skinned is that prospect rishta's MIL to be mostly want a Gori Bahu....
:(
remember vital signs the pop group from pakistan. their first album had the song GORAY RANG KA ZAMANA and after much hue and cry from non gori girls they came out with the Song SANWALI SALONI.
SAnwali is not the same is tanned it pretty much means dark brown so i guess people still need to acknowledge the more common golden brown skin tone back home.
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