Breaking Taboos

I sauntered down the streets of Goregaon, Mumbai, inhaling the spicy aroma of street vada pav and gripping my mom’s hand to cross the bustling roads. Among the hustle of Mumbai, I felt a sense of warmth, I felt a connection to my culture. It had been over 5 years since I visited India, and things had changed drastically. My mom and I took a pause to notice the large buildings and electronic billboards.

I stared at the billboard, recognizing all the brands that were on there, except for one. The brand enticed me, as I had been seeing ads for it throughout my trip. The ad showed a pale girl, who was extremely pretty, advertising a brand called “fair and lovely”. I assumed it was just another makeup product and moved on. Later that day, as I was washing my face, I found the product in my grandma’s house. I searched it up, thinking if I tried it, I would look like the girl on the billboard. The campaign slogan was “Guaranteed Fairness”, and the product was listed as a “skin lightener”. Confused, I researched the product more, only to realize that there were numerous skin-lightening products on the market in Mumbai.

I asked myself  “Why would anyone want to lighten their skin?” and it brought me to a painful understanding: there was colorism in India. This dates back to the early 1900s, when India was under British rule, it was common for the lighter skin people to be treated better. This deep-rooted belief that fairness=beauty now leads the most beautiful young Indian girls to be insecure about a feature that, in my opinion, only makes them prettier. In India, colorism is deeply ingrained in the society and culture, and it affects people of all ages, genders, and socioeconomic backgrounds.

One of the most evident manifestations of colorism in India is the preference for fair skin. Fair skin is often associated with beauty, success, and social status, while darker skin is seen as unattractive and undesirable. This preference for fair skin is perpetuated by the media and entertainment industry, which often features actors and actresses with lighter skin tones. Skin whitening products are also popular in India, with many using them to lighten their skin tone.

This obsession with fair skin has significant negative consequences, particularly for darker-skinned individuals. They are often subjected to discrimination, harassment, and ridicule, and they may have difficulty finding employment or getting married. In extreme cases, some people resort to self-harm or even suicide because of the social stigma attached to dark skin.

Colorism also intersects with other forms of discrimination in India, such as caste and gender. For example, Dalits or people from lower castes are more likely to have darker skin, and they may face additional discrimination because of this. Similarly, women are often judged more harshly based on their skin color, and they may face more pressure to conform to beauty standards that prioritize fair skin.

Despite the harmful effects of colorism, it persists in Indian-American society as well.  I was at one of my friends’ houses just last week. Her family is Gujarati and all of them are extremely fair-skinned except their eldest daughter. When I walked into their home, the aroma of turmeric consumed me. Being close to her mother, I headed straight to the kitchen to see what she was making. She told me she was creating “turmeric face masks to brighten and lighten skin” for her eldest daughter. This shocked me, as I knew the insecurity this would cause. Not to mention, due to the stress of Indian beauty standards, their mother-daughter relationship was weakened. I mean, if her own mother wanted to change the way she looked, how was she supposed to be confident in her beauty? 

Thankfully, there are also movements and initiatives aimed at challenging this discrimination. For example, the “Dark is Beautiful” campaign was launched in 2009 to promote positive images of darker-skinned individuals and challenge the notion that fair skin is superior. There are also efforts to increase representation and visibility of people with darker skin tones in the Hollywood and Bollywood industry.

Still, colorism is a pervasive problem in South Asians that has serious negative consequences for darker-skinned individuals. It is deeply rooted in the society and culture, and it intersects with other forms of discrimination. With my website Breaking Taboos, my goal is to one day create a world where these darker-skinned individuals embrace their beauty once and for all.