DARK IS BEAUTIFUL; Stay unfair, Stay beautiful !!

( IMAGE SOURCE- PIXABAY)

Many illustrations have made a stereotype that fair skin is a synonym of beautiful and this has enhanced the market of fairness creams. The present scenario has made us buy the creams for the girl ‘Fair and lovely’ making me wonder that can’t be girl be lovely without being fair. Also for men, there is ‘Fair and handsome’. Don’t you think that these fairness creams commercialization had silently joined hands with fair colored while it makes discrimination?
Also, examples such as a fair girl are denoted by word beautiful and a dark-colored girl is denoted by ugly which had been noticed in books of primary school’s children many times. Or we can hear all about fairy tales either it’s snow-white or goddess Sita. Also, goddess Gauri had set an example after being damned.

Social stigma;

• Fair skin is now had become an obsession. In Indian society more the darker you look, the lower your place in the social hierarchy.
• This obsession haunts the families who are concern about their girl’s marriage or you can say this makes the priority for the girl. As darker the girl looks the chances of rejection are more or the parents have to pay in the name of dowry. I don’t know why this even exists as our certificate, talent or work didn’t define us or our confidence. Why should we be judged by our skin tone?
• This starts from birth when our relatives or so-called aunties start comparing our sibling with us.
• Darker tone people are not called by their name instead of it we have the names for them like Kalia, kallu, kauwa, madrasa, etc. But friends it should not be taken seriously as we have the names too for fair-skinned people like angrez, bhura, bandariya and so on.

Facts of cosmetics;

• Most of the skin-lightening creams targeted the skin’s ability to produce melanin which will result in fair skin. They contain soy, licorice or arbutin, and sometimes combine with hydroquinone which is a medical lightening agent. It is a potentially carcinogenic ingredient.
• But not all the creams contain this because it is banned. On the other hand, I would like to say that it is used illegally.
• All these treatments like laser treatments or peeling have a dangerous effect on our skin as it leaves fresher skin which is exposed to radiation and pollutants.
• People who are addicted to fairness creams tend to be more careful in their work field and avoid being under the sun even for a shorter span as they will get tanned and would further get dark.
• We use suncream to protect us from U.V radiation and the moment we stop using the cream our skin gets irritated and develop rashes. So one has to start using it again. So this is a vicious cycle. Also, fairness creams are addictive too said by many dermatologists.

Why dark is beautiful;

There are a lot of examples;

• Our gods are dark. Ironically Lord Krishna being called Shyam and yet be handsome and charmer. Also, lord Shiva, who is revered for his strength and power, is dark too. So is Durga, the good-over-evil goddess.
• Indian audience had shown overwhelming acceptance for dark skin tone actors and actresses. Like- Rekha, Kajol, Anu Aggarwal, Shilpa Shetty, Bipasha Basu, Nandita Das, etc. the list is endless. Among male Rajni Kanth, Shatrughan Sinha, and many other darker-skinned stars have ruled the hearts of millions.

Changing attitudes;

Women’s attitude is changing as they are gaining more confidence by being educated and financially independent. We do find beauty in dark but most of us ignore it for we know beauty lays in the eyes of the beholder. We overlook the brightness of those eyes and confidence in those smiles for there is darkness in the skin.

Conclusion;

We cannot change society but we can start by being the change, for as a beholder we can be confident with who we are. Kavitha Emmanuel is the founder of Women of Worth, an Indian NGO that is standing up to bias toward lighter skin. The Dark Is Beautiful campaign, launched in 2009, is not “anti-white”, she says, but about inclusivity – beauty beyond color( mention in the guardian). It is time for us to decide on whether to start thinking and take a step ahead now or further keep ignoring the darkness which has its beauty too like that of a monsoon cloud. You all can join the Facebook page of the campaign and be the part;

https://www.facebook.com/darkisbeautiful/

I would like to ask from you that still is it necessary to have fair skin? Tell me in the comment section what you think about it!!

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SANSKRITI