August 22, 2007
SRK is Fair & Handsome
Via the News Tab, mutineer Dari points us at FT coverage of Shah Rukh Khan’s ad for Fair and Handsome skin cream -
Shah Rukh Khan, Bollywood’s biggest star and corporate India’s most ubiquitous brand ambassador, is coming under pressure to abandon his controversial endorsement of a men’s skin-lightening cream.
Strong enough for a wheatish woman but made for a man…
Television commercials for Fair and Handsome, airing in August, show Mr Khan (or “SRK”) lauding a product that many see as entrenching discrimination based on skin colour by encouraging people to bleach themselves a lighter hue.
…Mr Khan urges a dark-complexioned and depressed-looking young man, struggling to attract female attention, to stop using skin-lightening products designed for women.
“Why are you secretly using a cream for girls?” Mr Khan asks. “Their skin is soft. Yours is rough and tough.” Several shades whiter and visibly more self-confident by the end of the 40-second commercial, the young man duly snares the girl of his dreams.
The commercial, of course, is up for all to see on YouTube -
Now is it me or does the pseudo-blackfaced dude in the commercial remind anyone of the lead in that paragon of awful 80s movies, Soul Man?
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A few weeks of Fair & Handsome away from… Alex P Keaton? |
As with the rapidly-becoming-infamous 1000+ comments “Is Dating White Right?” post a few weeks ago, a topic like this is a veritable lightning rod… So, perhaps I should just step out of the way and let the bullets fly.
I will however, point mutineer’s at Manish’s nearly-as-infamous original post on Fair & Handsome from a few years ago. At 200+ comments, it was one of the most trafficked posts of its time. However, many of us remember it more for its, dare I say, eyebrow-raising concluding note. 
vinod on August 22, 2007 11:22 AM in · T·r·a·c·k·b·a·c·k address · Direct link · Email post
Sometimes I get the impression that SRK isn't very discerning on what he shills--I mean, he sort of appears on billboards for EVERYTHING in India. But this is a commercial, so he had to make a conscious decision beyond just holding a bottle and flashing his pearly whites. Maybe it's "I'm not only a spokesman...I'm also a client."
besides the obvious messed-up-ness of fairness creams, i also like that us women apparently only get 'aam' (ordinary) fairness creams, which are insufficient for the men.
do desi grls like fair guys? I thought tall was the requirement for guys. i didnt realize pale was important too...
boys, it's time to put away your sun umbrella ((ella ella eh eh eh).
if tall and pale arae desireable, seems more efficient to find a nice white guy, then try to synthesize one out of a desi guy.
I guess this is one of the steps to becoming a desi 'metrosexual,' due to urbanization and all?
I personally don't have a skin color preference--it's more about facial features, and kind of about height (i'm fairly short so probably 99.9% of guys are taller than me) and about how fit they keep themselves, how they present themselves, etc.
I would guess a lot of desh-raised women would prefer light-skinned husbands though, because it leads to higher chances that their children will also be light-skinned. (This is assuming that desh-raised women have the light skin = superior mentality, which I think is much more likely if you were raised there since that mentality is so much more prevalent there than among the diaspora, that I know of at least). It's all about the children!
How is this not the most racist commercial on the planet right now?
Ok time to interject a different note in the conversation:
While I agree that :1) ads for Fair and Lovely and now F& H are absolutely loathsome and deservedly mocked 2) there is a prevalence of preference for fair skin across India, I wonder if everyone who buys these creams does this under the illusion that it will actually change the color of your skin.From my experience in the des , the pollution on the roads plays havoc on your skin specially if you drive a two -wheeler.I wonder if at least some % age of the people who buy this product do it to restore their "original skin color and not to change it completely.
Again this is not a defence of this product or preference for fair skin etc - just a passing thought
He's definitely playing to a perceived 'base' audience.
Have any Southie actors jumped on the lightening-product bandwagon?
I can't imagine a Rajni-helmed, "Dark and Date-Less" cosmetics campaign would be feasible.
Puli - I prefer tall over pale. I have a strong aversion to pasty white legs.
I love darker skin, it just gives you a healthy glow.
On a side note, I hate it when caucasion people say to me "Oh, I got so tan, I was as dark as you!"
NO, NO, NO if you were that dark you would be one large cancerous melanoma.
We could easily quantify this by examining the profiles in an Indian dating/matrimony site. My gut feel is that many Indian women living in India have a preference for lighter skinned men all other things (e.g. earning potential)being equal. I hear that it can be difficult getting a nice apartment or getting admission into exclusive social clubs as an affluent dark skinned man in India...is this true?. I can't say that I have seen it among women raised here in the US
Whatever happened to tall, dark and handsome?!
9/11. (I've ALWAYS wanted to give the glib, conservative one-word answer to any question).
runa, i think most people would actually buy it for lightening purposes, rather than for re-balancing. also, the aim of the campaigns is to make people fairer, not to give them back their original complexion. though i think a product along the lines you mentioned would be good for people - to protect against sun and pollution. that's something that can be marketed without necessarily hinting at the dark vs fair divide (though i'm pretty sure the ad execs would seize on this angle as well).
i think superstar should endorse a 'dark, filthy rich, and world famous' campaign.personally, i like dark skin (desi or not). it's not my preference per se, but i certainly notice darker-skinned men more immediately than their lighter counterparts. but in my experience, it hasn't played any part as to whom i actually end up dating.
Muralimannered: Not as far as I know, but I get the feeling Tollywood is still not catering to womens' tastes when it comes to selecting male leads in the way that Bollywood does. I know there is demand for such products, but any endorsement by a Tamil actor would attract serious anger from all of the Dravidian political parties
There's some odd color language in Telugu that I noticed: When it seems to someone that you got lighter (I really don't think this is the case, perhaps when your complexion is clearer they perceive it as lighter?), they say that 'rangu vocchindhi' (you got some color). And if you got darker, 'rangu poyindhi' (the color left you). I've had this said to me when I visited India, and it doesn't make much sense to me. Can Telugu speakers confirm/explain?; is this true in other languages as well?
Also, my mother is convinced that there's something in the water in New York that makes me darker when I'm here and lighter when I'm in India (even though I'm out in the sun more often in India). Um, anyone else's mothers think like this?
Finally, is anyone else willing to admit that their families/communities are color-ist? My parents have always made comments about skin color; I've gotten used to them. Just the other day, my mother said: "wow you look light today [nala]. did you take a shower today?" (yes yes I'm a college student, I'm allowed to be a total slob k?) Is there anyone here, though, who always tells off/educates their parents/relatives/aunties & uncles about not being colorist?
I think testosterone naturally darkens skin, so you would expect women to want a man to be darker relative to the average of the population?
there should be stupidity enhancing products on the market. an entire industry that promotes an ideal of being dumber than the next person as sexually desirable. that might be interesting...
maybe when your arround whyte people u look dark. when your around dark skinned desis you look light?
i jsut ignore them. the tastes of a 113 year old auntie barely registers on my radar in my mate selection.
Where can I order this cream ASAP? I hope SAMSCLUB/COSTCO get this product so I can get a bargain.
do they make dumber people look sexually desirable due to theri supidity?
@Nala
Your reply should be: "Rangu paduddi" (Comical dialogue in a Telugu movie for - blood will flow, exact translation impossible :))..
I've heard the same thing in Malayalam. It sounds backwards to me- if one was getting darker, wouldn't their 'color' be increasing?
well color decreasing sounds "ugly" color increasing sounds "pretty and healthy". people think that dark = "uglyer". therefore, color increasing = light.
once, one of my aunties introduced me to a grl who was "so pretty and fair". her only noticable physical feature was pale skin. want at all attractive in any way, but pale, so all good.
I don't want to get into the discussion regarding how many desis are afflicted with colorism (nice word, nala)...there's a more serious problem here that brings out the libertarian in me.
What does bother me is that all and sundry are attacking ShahRukh because he does not conform to others' notion of what constitutes egalitarian when it comes to physical attributes of people. Sure, maybe you don't think that in the sixtieth year of Indian independance it is not correct to continue to extend preference of fair skin over dark one. Noble idea indeed, and more power to you. But by asking/demanding that others accept your moral code for personal preferences, you are taking the first step towards fascism. What next, a lawsuit against Khan? A ban on these products?
loucypher said: >> any endorsement by a Tamil actor would attract serious anger from all of the Dravidian political parties
See, a common trait in India is that people try solving social issues by punishment instead of reward. Why don't these Dravidian political parties have award ceremonies for producers/directors of movies with dark skinned leads? Would'nt that be more encouraging than to punish those who don't?
Folks who are against such products and attitudes should probably try to bring change in their own families/friends before they embark upon saving the world. When they do, they'll find that attitudes don't change because you want them to, but because the underlying cause has been removed. More incidents of economic success among desis will slowly erode the fascination with such products, as the potential for self-hatred is gradually reduced.
M. Nam
I'd like to bastardize Morgan Freeman's character in Lean On Me, "I don't have to do nothin' but stay dark'n
date-less...and die!!!"
setting up my own fascist state was my planned retirement activity
Criticizing SRK on a blog is the first step toward fascism? That's a wee bit extreme, don't you think?
this stuff cant be healthy...
Why don't these Dravidian political parties have award ceremonies for producers/directors of movies with dark skinned leads?
Reminds me of Chris Rock's joke:
"a n****r wants credit for something that you're supposed to do, something that a normal black man just does, a n****r will say 'I take care of my kids', what do you want a cookie?"
how about rewarding producres and directors that choose good actors, in fact, how about rewarding an industry that makes a film about more than some girls dancing in the forest.
its a slippery slope. first step sepia mutiny. next step the world ruled by puli's iron fist.
this is so f'ed up and ridiculous it's funny. did you see how SRK lit a match off of the dude's face? aaah!
As long as you make sure the trains run on time, Puli.
Look at all the brown people on the planet. Having brown skin is no barrier to getting laid on planet earth. And I doubt 500 million guys that look like me in India spend much of their time bemoaning their brown complexion. When everyone around you is brown, how much anxiety can one tv commercial produce? What's tough is being the one brown guy in an all white work, school, or living environment.
and suddently showing whyte peple dancing in the background in australia or swizerland or something. thats key.
oh yes. this will be a logistical nightmare, but my adminstration will be up to the task. you will be asigned one at the next meetup.
MoorNam: I'm certainly not suggesting that SRK should not be able to flog this product, it's strange where you see the emergence of fascism. I do agree that head on confrontation of this pathology won't work. The economic ascendancy of South India will probably do more than anything else to convey "Black is Beautiful"
*makes mental note to attend next meetup*
I just saw the commercial. The girls are really hot in it. I'd go light for them, if my Axe body spray didn't do the trick.
LOL
BTW how many of you light skinned ones have experienced "reverse discrimination" from fellow brownies for supposedly not having a healthy glow?
well..the issue in india is that some people are slightly browner than other people. it is then rubbed in the face of the slightly browner poeple. also decreases your marriage market value. a different game out there.
nah, people compliment me that "my face is so nice" cause im pale. but, i get knocked cause im short. oh well.
>>Criticizing SRK on a blog is the first step toward fascism? That's a wee bit extreme, don't you think?
Every avalanche starts out as a small snowball...
And this is how it ends...
M. Nam
My experience tells me that complexion plays a bigger role in picking brides than it does in picking grooms, where education/employment seems to take precedence.
Also, in my mid-morning research into today's matrimonials, I found my new pet-peeve:
Why would a divorcee be, or atleast admit to being, anything but innocent??
Skep Mod,
Innocent = No fault in matrimonial speak
oh yeah, what exactly does 'wheatish' entail?
me, i'm more the color of barley myself.
did anyone else notice the "american double strength peptides and jaDi bootee" (0:12) referred to as the distinguishing feature of this product? i didn't know peptides had nationality! ;-)
Runa,
Is the implication that a divorce is always someone's fault?
You're right, we should definitely all keep our mouths shut from now on. That'll put an end to silly laws for sure!
My bet is that movies like Danny Boyle's planned "Slum Dog Millionaire" will introduce a new set of more typically complexioned actors/actresses that would never get anything more than a cursory examination of headshot photos from brain dead Indian film producers/directors.
Just saying "wheatish" isn't enough.
I myself am the color of golden 76.
just sayin.
hee. word to post #61
muralimannered on August 22, 2007 11:57 AM said:
Funny you mention that. There's an extended sequence in Sivaji: The Boss, where an America-returned Rajni (whose signature phrase time time is 'Cooool!' -- how lame!) is trying to woo a starlet young enough to be his great-granddaughter. She likes him s3kr1tly but cannot marry him for astrological reasons, so she says she can't marry someone who is so dark.
Rajni then proceeds to undergo comically absurd ways of lightening his skin, including vats of Fair & Lovely, only to resort to a digitally lightened skin a few shots later. The starlet is touched that he went through so much for her and proceeds to tell him the real reason they can't be together.
Oh, if only I too could get Rs. 16 crores (US$4m) for such drivel.
I looked for a YouTube clip but couldn't find one :*(
SkepMod says:
My best guess is that innocent here means that the divorce was not her fault (whether by law or as perceived by society). For instance, by this measure, I expect Aniston would be seen the 'innocent' one in the Aniston-Pitt split, seeing as how Brad hooked up with Angelina fairly soon after.
Other ways of becoming lighter: Dont step out in the Sun without cover. Stop drinking Indian tea. Dont eat any spicy food. Hang out with friends who are significantly darker so you look lighter.
I am never sure what I think about the complexion issue. There's certainly a bias towards fair skin (both for guys and girls) in the dating game back in the desh, but I don't see how you can police other people's sexual preferences. What I dislike is the blatantly un-PC way in which these biases are expressed.
btw, anyone else here run across aunties dabbling in amateur eugenics ('my son is too dark, I need a fair-complexioned girl for him.').
thanks for the tips ACfD - but for the chai, i'll be trying everything else ;)
When asked (repeatedly)why Bollywood actors are so much lighter than most Indians, I usually ask if Hollywood actors are representative of Americans. Nope! The majority of Americans are not orangey-brown and anorexic, they are pale and fat.
One of the blogs that Manish's post linked to:http://vsequeira.blogspot.com/2005/07/fair-lovely.html
Replace all skin color comments with fatness comments, and it works in the U.S., no?
Ex:
#1- Jennifer Anniston, Paris Hilton, all those girls of MTV reality shows... not particularly attractive, but are thin and tan. Naturally, we throw lots of money at them.
well, american is used like a marketing catch line there. all sorts of vague stuff is marketed as american in india. guess that liek "foreign chic" same as french being cool in the US.
aww...thanks.
i love matrimonial speak. i speak it better than i speak english. next time some grl says she is "a blend of east and west values" and has spent her whole life in the east, or west i will say "im sorry. i prefer an amalgamation of east and west values. this just wont work." I still havent figured out why eastern values are easter, and western values are western. if i analyse each value that is claimed is eastern, or westerm, it turns out that there is no historical or logical reason for that value to be assigned a point on the compas.
I think for a grl, pretty + light skin = golden. for a guy, money + height = golden. if either gender is missing one of its 2 key ingredients, its bye bye birdie for them in the marriage market.
s!eg h@il!
Several Telugu movies have Hindi/North Indian actresses, and just dub Telugu voice overs for them. The idea being that Telugu women are not fair enough, therefore not worthy of acting in movies for their own peeps.
Does the advent of F&H mean that pretty soon Telugu actors will also need to be replaced by Hindi/North Indian actors? In that case, they could just drop all of Tollywood and just dub every Bollywood movie...that would be even more cost effective!
"Mary gave birth to CHRIST without having known a man's touch, that's true. But she did have a husband. And do you really think he'd have stayed married to her all those years if he wasn't getting laid? The nature of God and the Virgin Mary, those are leaps of faith. But to believe a married couple never got down? Well, that's just plain gullibility. "
or...they could hire a bunch of italians. dub them in hindi, and everyone will be REALLY fair. (and besides, i have a weakness for the italians)
Isn't the problem that there is a market for these types of creams and has been for absolutely years?
SRK is just endorsing a product that is considered by many in India as perfectly just like our US anti -wrinkle creams or anti cellulite crap and these lightening creams are all over Asia has even filtered to the UK etc.
im not sure it is a problem. people everywhere have body issues of some knid of another. there is therefore a demand for products to aleviate some of these issues and build confidence. if people want to buy them, and F+L wants to sell them, what the problem?
I always though these types of "whitening" creams had something in them (hydroquinone I think) that actually does whiten the skin, but with long term use it is a dangerous carcinogen.
Can anyone confirm this?
If that is the case then I think the levity of the discourse evaporates and it becomes a very serious matter of public health within our community.
Whats the problem with a skin lightning cream?? Just because its out there does not mean every man or woman has to go get it!!1 If someone is not happy with their skin color so be it....this is a great way for them to make themselves feel better about the way they look.....as far as no body is forcing them...i don't see any issue with this. Its like saying oh my god there's another weight loss pill coming out in USA.....gosh there is so much pressure to be thin...now I have to go get it! Every culture has stereotypical conceptions of beauty.....you do whatever makes you look and feel good
well...if it causes cancer, then the stuff should be banned. if not, who cares?
Puliogre, your idea of "really fair" is Italian? I've heard even fairer ethnicities exist, in the mysterious lands to the north.
but, its a bit easier for an itlaian to pass as a really fair desi. much harder for some sweedish dude.
Could it be because Italians are part-Scythian?
Though I personally think that tendency to equate fairness with beauty is loathsome, the civil libertarian in me agrees with the gist of Moornam's comment (so condemn, but don't force); also i don't think it is quite accurate to equate these tendencies with "racism" or something like that. That would be distorting the cultural context in which these kinds of things happen. The more accurate american analogy would be things like breast augmentations, nose jobs , liposuctions etc. all of which are undertaken to try to conform to a certain ideal of beauty (that being said, these things sicken me too).
Umm..most of us understand there is no compulsion to purchase this.
Who again is calling for a ban ?
Obesisty is a racial characteristic ? You don't see anything pathological about a whole nation of people wanting to change a primary racial characteristic, but many of us do. Vive la difference I guess
god, no...you didnt just say that.
Here's an old one, would be appropriate here:
A black man walks into a cafe one early morning and noticed that he was the only black man there. As he sat down, he noticed a white man behind him.
The white man said, "Colored people are not allowed here."
The black man turned around and stood up. He then said:
"When I was born I was black,"
"When I grew up I was black,"
"When I'm sick I'm black,"
"When I go in the sun I'm black,"
"When I'm cold I'm black,"
"When I die I'll be black."
"But you sir..."
"When you're born you're pink,"
"When you're sick, you're green,"
"When you go in the sun you turn red,"
"When you're cold you turn blue,"
"And when you die you turn purple."
"And you have the nerve to call *me* colored!"
Yeah, they say 'rangu vocchindhi', but for the later one its mostly 'nalla paddavu'.
I've heard that too, from my mother and aunts. There could be some truth to it. I became tad light skinned while living in Hyderabad, but gained back my dark skin while living in Scotland.
interesting. maybe your just a bit healthier without dust/pollution/6 kinds of the runs etc? because of that the color copes back to your skin?
Let's put aside complexion. What's an acceptable basis of beauty?
May have been because of more UV. Generally you don't venture out much in India unless the temperature is cool enough. At northern latitudes you can wander out more often, catching more UV without much discomfort from heat or humidity.
Beauty is in the eye of the beer-holder.
for a grl: symetetry. clear skin. healthy hair. good abs, good chest, tight bottom, defined legs, pleasant smile.
for a guy: tall, broad shoulders, muscular, in shape, good eyes, squarish jaw. (im not g*y, so grls, or g*y guys would need to chime in on this one).
I solved the 'fairness problem' by hiring 2 guys to train spotlights on me wherever I walk.
The problem is that I keep tripping on the extension cords. Life ain't fair!
a lot of the studio pics on s.com have exactly that happening. the grl is standing in a blindling light. makes her look lighter.
The one thing that continues to surprise me about these "Fair and Lovely" discussions (both online and off), is how often it fails to place its arguments within an Indian context (Admittedly, I haven't read all the comments above). From the last post,
As desis the world over know, skin color simply does not carry the same significance in India. While the above is indisputably true, it also plays itself out in very different ways than one might imagine. There is always the argument that discusses India-as-colonized land that doesn't realize it's internalized-self-hatred perpetuated by the evil British. I am personally bored to death of this line of argument. It's old, tired, not to mention nauseatingly condescending. I would love to hear more Fair-and-Lovely controversies that are placed squarely in India. Skin color is first and foremost, a cosmetic concern for the vast majority. But maybe I am wrong. Maybe it is simply so, for the vast majority of the Indians I know.
I think it means the pink tones that are more visible with lighter skin. Tho a few fair-skinned Indians (including myself) have to slather on blush and tan shades because they look really pale without it.
im not g*y, so grls, or g*y guys would need to chime in on this one
any reason you censured the word gay?
am i the only guy that doesnt find makeup attractive?
not sure if the word somehow gets picked out of corporate filters.
"My bet is that movies like Danny Boyle's planned "Slum Dog Millionaire" "
This guy is good. Millions was fantastic.
About the "Innocent Divorcee", in Punjab it usually was taken to mean that the girl is sexually innocent, a virgin and implied this was becuase the guy was, how should I put it, unable to fulfill his matrimonial duties, hence the divorce.
well. every grl says she's an "innocent divorcee". am i to believe that like 99% of divorces are casued by a lack of viagra?
i mean, every divorced grl.
But the question is, does Fair & Lovely actually work?
This is so true. My friend's family sent him the picture of a girl taken by a professional and she looked light skinned. Later she sent a picture of her taken at home and she looks much darker. My friend is in two minds about meeting her. All I had to say was, let her move to the US and start drinking juices by the gallon and spend winters in the north-east and she'll look like picture 1 ;-).
I don't know. My Mom thinks Texas sun has done more harm than good for my skin. When I lived in Ohio, my Mom was happy that I was getting fairer, but now she's convinced that I should move out of Texas or she can't find a guy for me.
--You don't see anything pathological about a whole nation of people wanting to change a primary racial characteristic, but many of us do
louiecypher..i don't see any problem with anyone doing something to look good...be it fair and lovely or botox or anything else for that matter!
im not even sure that actually matters in the world of consumer products. as my marketing professor used to say "perception is reality"
Speaking of keeping up appearances for the other sex,do ABD men shave/wax/pluck-ze-follicles their chests?
Most DBD men I know take the hirsute route so wonder whether we will see a Gillette ad for chest shaving cream.
Mmmmm creammmmmmm.
LotR,
NAIR my friend!
a lot of guys are bid on non-pale grls.
Meanwhile gora's are obsessed with getting golden brown tans.
Fake Bake - sun tanning industry earned $4.2 billions in 2000
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m4021/is_2001_Sept_1/ai_78426782
No. I strongly believe that people who use makeup should also have the sense to decide what to wear and how much to apply, for the sake of everyone's sanity and well-being. I myself have several colleagues of the female persuasion who slather on their stuff with a shovel, looking positively ghastly at the end of it. But at least the effect is transmitted only on light waves, so it doesn't turn corners. Much more annoying than makeup is overuse of perfume or cologne. It has been my experience that the person who finds a subtle fragrance too expensive will compensate by applying too much of a cheap perfume which does its best to announce the person's arrival 30 feet away by burning everyone's noses. At the end of this olfactory assault, I can't even smell the curd rice and mango pickle I brought for lunch because a colleague has apparently swum to work in a stream of cheap scent.
Ever noticed how on sites like Shaadi.com, people will tick off the "wheatish" complexion box even when you can tell from their photographs that they're darker than sin? (And please don't take that comparison out of context--I'm a brown skinned lady who loves my non-veetish looks!) Perhaps they think possible suitors will relegate their appearance to bad lighting?
As a milky-white white guy ("duddhu"?) with an unexplainable preference for dark skin (I must be brown on the inside), I've always found these lightening products strange and pointless. Not only is brown beautiful, it looks a hell of a lot more healthy than the typical pale, pasty, nearly translucent European skin tone. White people know this, even if only unconsciously, or they wouldn't be out in the sun giving themselves melanoma all the time. If only those aunties with colorism problems would figure it out.
What does this have to do with Malayalees?
You mean a hairy mallu? The hair-raising adventures of Mammooty?
the thing about on line mate selection is that you can set hard and fast filters. if you click "dark", you are filtered out of a lot of guys searches reducing your pool of potential mates. therefore, if you click "wheatish" you come up more often. if you are not rejected by the filter, maybe your picture will attract some guy that would not even see your picture otherwise. its the same reason guys lie about their height and income on these sites. (not that i am condoning lying. i just put my height and income as is on there)
"a lot of guys are bid on non-pale grls."
Looks like I showed up right on time. For once.
Fairness creams are also popular in the United States, FYI, among non-desi people--but it's funny how they get marketed in different ways. They never profess to lighten your complexion; rather, the creams profess to "brighten" your skin and make it more translucent. This also means getting rid of hyperpigmentation (dark spots caused by hormone fluctuations and sun damage), which is actually close to impossible (trust me, I've used the best of the best ointments out there). It seems particularly nefarious that although they don't say they'll lighten dark complexions, the majority of people who use them are specifically looking to do that--the implication being that dark skin in and of itself is THE ultimate blemish. I wonder if some of these companies in the U.S. (like L'oreal) were brought under pressure to change their advertising messages so that colorism wasn't so blatantly front and center?
im a big fan of comfortable normal looking humans. in general.
what happens if a white chick uses fairness cream?
"Arya"....I see that looking fair is "looking good". Demented people are usually the last to know that they are demented. Very appropriate handle you've chosen
Where is Rahul? HAve not heard from him on this whole thread yet..Rahul, the virtual harem is getting restless...
(perception of) Body image seems to be an international phenomenon, though Photoshop seems a better bet than F&L - at least till you meet someone IRL.
In all fairness (pun fully intended), knocking our pale-skinned brothers and sisters ain't right. For me, skin that is soft, hydrated, and healthy can come in all kinds of hues. I once knew a Danish woman who had extremely delicate, extremely white skin--which I think is also pathologized to a certain extent, but of course, not on the same level as dark skin--and I thought she was absolutely beautiful, although I definitely wouldn't want to be her in hot, humid climes...
what happens if a white chick uses fairness cream?
she would turn into Mr. India
that guy hasnt been on in a long time.
No no, to become invisible, she must not use fairness cream. She must use vanishing cream.
L-We are talking at 2 different levels. You are at a much lower level than I am so I am just going to leave it here! Enjoy!
Yay, there is still hope for me! I am allergic to most makeup, so I never try any. I used to think that guys like the barbie dolls that flood most desi parties.
The double standards in indian society kill me.. the guy has to be all wheatish and slim..handsome
but the girl can be dark..fat and ulgy.
wait...what "level" are we supposed to be on? i admire your "level" soooo much. i wish i could be on your "level"....
they do. but they also like other kinds of grls. perhaps the guys that hang out around barbie doll grls at parties wont like any other type. but, there are more types of guys out there than you can find at desi parties.
thats not how i always understood it. i think pressure