OPINION: If all colours are beautiful, why is India's fair skin business booming?

Indian society is very much obsessed with fair light skin tones – and most people think having it makes someone more beautiful. They can go to any level to have that fair skin. The adverts of some creams and face washes misleads those watching and as a result, they spend huge amounts of money on them.

Some individuals define beauty by the skin tone of a person and not by the personality – leaving girls feeling insecure about themselves if their skin tone is brown. They consider themselves different and part of the ‘other’,

Take India's first supermodel, Lakshmi Menon, who has worked with leading names and famous fashion agencies. However, her career was at stake because of her skin colour. She was mocked at times because of it. However, now, we see global fashion industries promoting people from South Asian cultures. These models are coming up the ranks and speaking up for themselves – yet Indians still have an obsession with fair skin.

Will this ever change?

Is there any way to remedy the obsession of Indians towards skin colour?

It is often said that skin colour and class intersect, and those with fairer skin have better financial and social status. This is a notion Indian people believe in. It is those with darker skin who are discriminated against and suffer prejudice. Because of this obsession, we fail to identify people based on their personalities. We fall into traps and this is why India's fair skin industry is growing in billions.

Fair & Lovely: Yami Gautam's advertisement promotes fair skin is the best

You may have seen this famous advertisement by Yami Gautam, which states "Fair & lovely use Karo aur pao Nikhaar Powder finish ke saath!”

The multi-billion-dollar brand Fair & Lovely promotes those of all skin colours should use their products to achieve fair and glowing skin – but why should everyone aspire to have fair skin?

However, Abhay Deol, has lashed out at such ads saying people need to stop being influenced and believing one skin tone is more beautiful than all others. He even stated these kinds of adverts should be censored.

The obsession with fair skin has not come from Hindustan or Emami, it is a long-rooted cultural bias believed by the Indian society and is considered as superior. If there is a demand for a particular product, then it is natural for a manufacturer to come out with the product in the market to gain profits. And eventually, all the people will buy it – it doesn't matter whether Shah Rukh Khan, Yami Gautam, or John Abhram tell them to buy it or not.

Dark is beautiful

We must understand that dark skin is beautiful. Legal action has been taken on such advertisements. In 2017, Nivea showed an advertisement which said ‘white is purity’. This was slammed as racist and eventually, legal action was taken. The ‘dark is beautiful’ campaign was launched by an advocacy group of women to fight the odds, break down beauty stereotypes, and the toxic belief that a person's worth is measured by their skin colour. Filmmaker Ram Subramanian wants action on such products and wants the government to ban them.

Action taken

In 2020, Unilever was criticised and they vowed to remove the word ‘fair’ from their products. A penalty was imposed on it by the consumer court and the government banned 14 such products. In my opinion, dropping fair from Fair & Lovely won't erase the mentality and racism evoked by their products.

Although the mindset of people is changing, some individuals in our society still judge people based on their skin colour. People should be encouraged to be proud of, and embrace, their skin colour. Sadly, Fair & Lovely’s business is still booming, and all they provide is false promises.

We must cherish and look after our skin, no matter the colour, as each one is just as valuable as the next.

Edited by Katie Wheatley