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 IndependentWhen 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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