The desire of wanting light skin started during the British Colonial Rule. The British showed off their lighter skin to prove that they are more superior than anyone else. White skin was equivalent to intelligence, beauty, and wealth. Institutions were built for only lighter skinned individuals and dark skinned people were not allowed to enter these areas. The British also gave more employment opportunities to light skinned Indians and made more alliances with them. This made light skinned Indians feel the same superiority that Britain had. Even after the independence from Britain, the desire to have light skin exists because of this past history. People loved to feel different and unique from others. Along with the British influence, light skin often meant that one was from a high caste. Although caste is a sticky topic and we will not be going in depth into it, it is important to note that higher castes held the stereotype that they were wealthier, beautiful, and smart.
Almost every Indian has heard the name “Fair & Lovely”, now changed to “Glow & Lovely”. This brand has existed since 1975 and its products are in almost every Indian household. The brand claims to lighten one’s skin color drastically, however this is not true. Below is a photo from Youtuber superWOWstyle!’s channel where she used Fair & Lovely everyday for 20 days. From the day 1 photo to the day 20 photo, there is clearly no difference.
The product does not lighten anyone’s skin. Maybe it does temporarily, but it has no permanent effects. Using Fair & Lovely is the equivalent to using foundation many shades lighter than your actual skin tone. This product solely exists to make women believe that lighter skin is more appealing and beautiful. The Fair & Lovely website states that “women still don’t get equal opportunities and society continues to impose barriers for women, Fair & Lovely will give women the confidence to overcome their own hesitations”. This statement is saying that by using their product, a woman will be more confident. What does their product do? Lighten skin. Therefore, having light skin will give a woman confidence to do whatever she wants in life. This statement is absolutely disgusting in our opinion. Skin color should not affect anyone’s confidence. Moreover, this quote also questions darker skinned women into thinking “Wait? I can’t be confident and chase my dreams because of my skin color?” and then pressures them into using skin lightening products.
According to Feminism India, an article that appeared on The Drum stated that, in 1975, Hindustan Unilever launched a fairness cream called Fair & Lovely which currently holds a 50-70% share of the skin whitening market in India, a market that is valued at over $200m. Fair & Lovely recently entered the INR 2000 crore club, which emphasizes the fact that the fairness appeal cuts across regions and cultures in India.”
Fair & Lovely influences girls from a very young age that they should be lighter to be considered beautiful. TV commercial breaks are bombarded with Fair & Lovely ads. The products are the most advertised in grocery stores and are found in almost every single corner store and convenience store. Fair & Lovely products are stocked at eye level shelves, therefore, they are the first item customers see when shopping. With the product’s bright pink color, almost any girl will be interested in testing this product. Not only do these factors influence the younger population, but many Indian actors and actresses endorse Fair & Lovely, such as Pooja Hegde and Shah Rukh Khan.
Additionally, according to the New York Times, a 2017 study of 1,992 Indians found that more than half said they were influenced by TV advertisements to appear lighter-skinned.
(Shreya): I remember when I went to India when I was about 8 years old and I would always see the TV ads about Fair & Lovely featuring Yami Gautam. When my cousins would get ready for school, they would put on Fair & Lovely and powder every morning. I slowly began doing this too, just because my cousins did. As I grew older, I realized how sad it was that my cousins were so young back then and were already using Fair & Lovely. I looked back on older pictures and found a photo of me when I was about 8 and I had Fair & Lovely all over my face. I was shocked seeing the white tint on my face compared to the color on my arms.
You can clearly see the Fair & Lovely Product on my face.
Fair & Lovely has been required to change their name to Glow & Lovely and remove the terms “fair”, “whitening”, and “lightening” from the product. But, changing the name will not stop people from purchasing this product. It has been around for over 40 years and people will continue to buy it and consider it a product that makes them look fairer. This product has been around for so long that it will be very difficult to change people’s mindsets.
Although Fair & Lovely is more well known, there is also another skin lightening cream marketed towards men known as Fair & Handsome. According to The Business Standard, since its launch in 2005, Fair & Handsome has sold over Rs 200 crore. Regardless of what gender these products are advertised towards, the purpose of the product perpetuates colorism in India.
The idea that lighter skin is more beautiful than darker skin is rooted in the Indian caste system. However, beauty is subjective and according to Inuth, the Indian standards of beauty are very different from the American standards for beauty. For example, in India fairer skin, thicker eyebrows, dramatic eye makeup, and natural lips are the typical beauty standards. However, in America, tan and glowy skin, thin eyebrows, simple eye makeup, heavy contour, and overlined lips are preferred.
These Indian beauty standards affect the lives of many people. Unfortunately, colorism is so deeply rooted within Indian society that even affects the probability of getting a job and having a successful marriage. On a matchmaking website called Shaadi.com, there was a filter that sorted users based on their skin color. Recently this filter was taken down after a petition against the filter received over 1500 signatures. A New York Times article by Sameer Yasir and Jeffrey Gettleman stated that, in some families, daughters-in-law with darker skin are called derogatory names, sometimes branded with the same words used for thieves. Students with dark-toned skin are more frequently bullied in schools. Another example of skin color preference can be seen in the new Netflix reality show Indian Matchmaking. The show is about a matchmaker who pairs up potential couples for an arranged marriage. Both the men and women in the show prefer a fair/wheatish colored partner. Additionally, an instance took place in Oakland California on July 1st, 2020, where an Indian-American employee, working for CISCO, was harassed by two managers because he was from a lower Indian caste than them. Although the caste system is different from skin complexion, the ideas behind the different levels of the caste system come from colorism. An article by The Wire describes the incident in further details and also states that, “The civil rights group Equality Labs in a 2018 report cited in the lawsuit found that 67% of Dalits surveyed felt treated unfairly at their US workplaces.” To give further context, a Dalit is a lower level of the caste system and was previously known as “the untouchables” and the man who was harassed is also part of the Dalit caste. The article also states that, Dalits in India still struggle with access to education and jobs 65 years after India banned caste–based discrimination.
Colorism has always been an issue in India, but it is time to change that. We are the generation that is capable of change and we need to use our voices to speak up.
If you have been keeping up on our instagram stories you know that we have been setting up daily polls for our viewers to vote on their favorite Indian Movie. After a long two weeks of polling and voting, the winner has been chosen. The winner from the Bollywood Movie Battle is…. 3 Idiots!! If you would like to see the full breakdown of each round, head over to our instagram account and press the Bollywood Movie Battle highlight!
Here is a link to sign to ban Fair & Lovely in India: http://chng.it/k6JwFfR5hP
Come back next week for our next post on superstitions, traditional Indian food, clothing!