Fashion + Beauty
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Is white skin more "beautiful?"
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These kinds of beauty news stories really bum
me out: A Bollywood-style advertisement for a skin-lightening product
called "White Beauty" (subtle!) in India features two women and one
dashing dude, who is torn between a dark-skinned woman and one with a
paler complexion. Guess who gets the guy?
The "whitening" market in India is similar to the one in Japan,
where a pale complexion is considered by some to be a valuable asset,
teaching millions of women to feel ashamed of their natural skin color.
One Indian feminist speculates:
"It is strange. There is such a
premium placed on pale skin," said Urvashi Butalia, a historian and
director of Kali for Women, India's first feminist publishing house. "I
am not sure where it comes from. It may have something to do with
India's history of being colonised by various people and that there is
a hangover of the idea that Aryan people are superior and Dravidian
people--those who were already here--are inferior." --The Independent
When
it comes to many beauty ideals, the grass is always greener, so to
speak. It seems a part of human nature to desire what we don't have:
straight hair when ours is naturally curly; long, thin legs when we are
petite; and so on. But when it comes to altering the color of one's
skin, when does aesthetic become racism?
Hate to be left on such a suspenseful note? Here's the five-part saga in full, featuring Thai actors Benjawan Ardner and Wittaya Vasukornpaisan.
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Related: skin lightening, skin care, ponds, japan, india, bollywood, asian
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Posted by Taylor Wed Jul 23, 2008 4:25pm PDT
i think that ponds should b ashamed! sure, i wish i was whiter sometimes (when i was in 2nd gr, i accidentally used too much tanning oil and have been tanning without salons or anything ever since.), but just so my eyeliner & mascara will stand-out more. There's nothing wrong with being dark. We tan people get along just fine cause tan ppl look pretty in swimsuits. But pale ppl look pretty with anything back or purple. Let's just take Edward Cullen & Jacob Black as our example: Edward is PALE & Jacob is DARK, but Bella loved them both. (They're also both very hot!) So yeah.... SCREW U PONDS FOR MAKING PPL SUB-CONSIOUS ABOUT THEIR SKIN COLOR!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Posted by sha h Sun Jul 27, 2008 8:17pm PDT
I must say i am very happy about all the comments by different races. The skin color does not matter it is how you take care of it. I don't care how light or dark GOD made all of us to bleed the same blood and to be able to encourage each other of all races to be who we are and be PROUD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Posted by tlnu Sun Jul 27, 2008 9:22pm PDT
I thnk it adds to inter-race racism. I am a light-skinned African-American woman who has been disliked by other Black women just because I am lighter than they are. I do not think I am prettier or better than anyone because of my skin color; I was born with it. Unfortunately, this commerical and skin-color discrimination come from the same source: European domination. India was ruled for decades by the English who separated the people according to skin color. The same thing happened in American slavery. That type of "conditioning" has been reinforced in people's minds that "light is right."
I so admire the complexions of my beautiful, darker sisters. In fact, I think they are more beautiful than I because of it.
Like just thinking said, white people are trying to be darker and risk cancer to stay in the sun and tanning salons for the affect. It doesn't make sense to me. Discrimination may not be as obvious as it once was, but it is still here. The fact that white people want to look black is strange. Not only do they want our skin color, they want our lips and butts, too. Plastic surgery Brazilian butt-lifts and collagen lip injections prove that point. Why do so many white people discriminate when they pay so much to look black?
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Posted by Dolors Mon Jul 28, 2008 2:02pm PDT
i don't know... bat I am very white pearl and the people say to me that I look like a ghost and they prefer a skin more Brown.
catalunya
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Posted by KEVIN Sun Aug 24, 2008 10:40am PDT
i think paler skin is better darker faces lok lderexspecially if they are sun worshipers fairer skin more younger and fresher look at nicole kidman
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Posted by KaylieW Sat Feb 28, 2009 9:40am PST
grrr... i have that "beautiful" white skin. but its so false! the whiter your skin, the more blotches and blemishes show up! if u hav tan skin, you may not realize how many imperfections u have...but my skin sure points em out!
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