Soni Sikand's Blog

In my book, Easy Virtue: Single in Delhi? the protagonist, Amrita, is fair-skinned. Someone says of her - Oh. she's not pretty, she's just fair - a statement I have often heard.

I wish we could see that there is beauty in every skin tone, irrespective of how much melanin it carries within. The day we Indians realise this will be the day fairness creams will go out of business.

One day my daughter said to me, "Mama, please! Get me Fair and Lovely! Hurry up! Chop chop!"

In response, I opened up a magazine which had a few dark skinned models, and showed her how beautiful they were. I pulled out images of women lounging on the beach and explained to her the concept of tanning. I used every tool at my disposal to build her self-esteem, and it worked. She was reassured, for the time being. But I wasn’t.

Advertisements are a reflection of society. Fairness creams are manufactured because there is a market for them. There is no market for bronzers in India. Had there been, we would have been flooded with ads showing us how, with one magic stroke of a bronzer, a young lady’s wishes can be fulfilled.

The fewer the people who buy into the spiel, the fewer such ads we will see. After all, does anyone really believe they can achieve success, love, or whatever it is they want, by making their skin a few shades lighter?

Didn’t Michael Jackson achieve his highest while dark skinned? As his skin colour faded, so did his success. And if Obama could become president without his best friend slipping him a tube of fairness cream, you can get that job on your own. Seriously. You got this.

“It’s unfair, this backlash against people who like fair skin,” says Sapna. “As if I should like tanned skin just because women in the West do. Why is it acceptable to like dark skin, but everyone has to lecture those that like fair skin?

That’s a good point. There are however strong distinctions:

- Although some (mostly westerners) view tanned skin as lovely, those with pale skin do not suffer from self-esteem issues.

- Matrimonial sites don’t list ‘being tanned’ as a requirement.

- Mothers don’t get stressed out if their girls are not tanned.

- Pregnant women don’t eat foods that purportedly help them deliver darker children.

In short, if there is a liking for darker skin in certain societies, those that have light skin are not ridiculed. This preference is not all-pervasive and as deep-rooted in the fabric of their society as the desire to be fair is in ours.

Nowhere is this bias more pronounced than in matrimonial ads.
“Why do you want a fair girl?” I hear a radio talk-show host ask someone who had listed ‘fair’ as a requirement from prospective brides in his matrimonial ad. “Are you fair?”
“No. I am dark. That is why I want a fair bride. So our children will be fair.“
“Er, that’s not guaranteed, you know,” the host explains.
“At least there’s a chance. If I marry a dark girl, there is no way this curse of darkness will be lifted from my family.”
‘Curse of darkness’.
That, Sapna, is the difference.

It is up to us to do our bit to end this bias so our girls grow up in a less prejudiced India.

Stop telling your daughters not to wear certain colours because they make them look dark. So what! Dark skin glows! It is more supple. It looks healthy. It can withstand sun damage better than pale skin. It wrinkles later.

It is beautiful!

So if you have a fairness cream lurking around in your bathroom cabinet, do the next generation a favour, and toss it in the bin.

Chop chop!