The Truth Behind Why Indians Love 'Fair Skin'

Do you know that if you don’t have fair skin, you’re basically going to have a shitty love life, be underconfident, and be unsuccessful for the rest of your life?No, that’s not what I’m saying  That’s what we’ve been conditioned by our TV shows, movies, and ads for a long time. 

We have all seen and heard that only fairness is lovely, so what about those who aren’t?

Bollyood Songs Based on Fair Skin

“Ye kaali kaali aankhien, ye gore gore gaal.” 

“Tennu kala chashma jachda ae, jachda ae gore mukhde pe.” 

"Chura ke dil meraaa, goriyaa chali.”

These are just a few very popular Bollywood songs that promote nothing but racism. And we casually accept it and enjoy these numbers. 

Skin Lightening; Multimillion-Dollar Industries

Skin bleaching and skin lightening are multimillion-dollar industries. Do you know the Indian fairness industry is estimated to be worth over $450 million?

It all started in 1919. Jab market mein aayi India ki pehli fairness cream—Afghan Snow But, in 1975, a well-known Indian company came out with a fairness cream that changed the entire game 

If you closely look at the advertisements of these brands promoting fairness creams, you’ll observe that the one with the dark skin tone is always shown as underconfident, less likable and unsuccessful, but the moment he or she starts using the fairness cream, they instantly transform into someone who’s more desirable and successful.

In India, 7 out of 10 people use some or another fairness product. What the media and entertainment industries are portraying has a huge impact on common people. They are doing nothing but promoting unhealthy, unrealistic beauty standards and preys on the insecurities of individuals 

Matrimony & Skin Color

Now when we are talking about colorism, matrimony and skin color, they are like bffs  Kitne aise matrimony ads hum sabne dekhe hain jisme, they always want a fair bride or a fair groom.

This fairness obsession is not only restricted to women but in a study, it was found that 30% of women’s fairness cream customers were men Due to which, later in 2005,  India’s first men’s fairness cream was introduced

Bollywood Obession with Fair Skin 

Not only this, bollywood ka fair skin se obsession is next level. 

Typical indian movies and tv shows, mein bhi yahi, depict kiya jaata hai how difficult it is for a dark-skinned person to get married And often, kuch na kuch home remedies ke through unka color change krne ki practices bhi yhan bohot dekhne ko mili hain.  Because that’s what their entire life is all about: being fair and getting married to a nice groom.

Even the biggest Bollywood actors promoting such creams have made things worse. When you see your favorite actor endorsing a product, it instantly builds trust.

Gods & Unreal Depiction of Skin Colour 

Humari fair skin ki obsession ne bhagwaan tak ko nhi chhoda,Krishna, jinhe humari books mein hi dark btaya gya haii. JaHan sanskrit mein saaf likha hai; krishna means black or dark Aapne notice kia hoga ke television par ya even unki murti ko bhi black na dikha ke neela dikhaya jaata hai  Jis draupadi ko hum indian movies and TV serials mein fair dekhte hain, in real life, ved vyas ki likhi gyi mahabharat ke according, that’s not the case. Draupadi was a dusky, dark-skinned girl, but she was still one of the most beautiful women at that time. 

Historic Influence On Fair Skin Obession

Is fair skin ki obsession ke piche ka major reason hai humari history. Whiteness is often linked to power, and this isn’t new because the ones that reigned over India, from the Aryans to the British, were all light-skinned. Is 100+ years ki conditioning ki vajah se ye narrative bangya ke jo gore hote hain, wahi powerful hote hai? Many decades later, a lot has changed. We have even become the first country in the world to land on the uncharted territory of the moon’s south pole. 

Colorism, Classism and Casteism

But we are still not able to get over colorism!? Colorism, classism and casteism go hand in hand  Even in the movies, the ones who are upper caste are always fair and light-skinned, while the lower class or the poor ones are depicted as dusky or dark-skinned. However, iske piiche ka major reason hai that the labor class works all day in the sun while the upper class is always indoors.

2014 mein goverment ne aise sabhi ads ban krva diye jinme dark logo ko fair logo se inferior dikhaya jaata hai  But isse bhi kuch khas fark nahi pada, kynuki yeh companies kuch na kuch loopholes dhoondh hi leti hain 

Is issue ko root se khatam krne ke liye first step hai, to change our attitude and the way we look at things and stop using and promoting such products that promote nothing but racism. 

Drop your opinion in the comments. We would love to hear your thoughts on this serious issue.  Video pasand aayi ho to do, press the like button, and share it with your friends  Aaj ki video ke liye bas itna hi, I’ll meet you super soon in the next video 

Till then, keep smiling and keep slaying.