Does Skin Colour Matter in Success?
by It seems to be so, especially for girls. Is it colour or gender discrimination?
From adoration to obsession- it is curious how colour has imperceptibly become a ruling passion in the changing India. There is no end to the number of sun protection lotions. No doubt the harmful rays of the sun may even cause cancer; but these lotions are more used to protect the skin tone than for anything else. Some bleach, which seem to give immediate results, have been found to be very harmful for the skin.
Everyone seems to scorn the advertisements used for fairness creams. But there is no dearth of buyers. The number of fairness creams is on the increase. It is shocking to see the ads picturing these fairness creams landing the girls in good jobs, acting careers and securing the love of handsome men.
Some of the advertisements go to the extent of boasting to enhance the beauty of the person. One of the popular brands of fairness creams throws out competitions for village girls to target the sales in villages. The competition is who grows fairest after applying the cream.
“Fair ones getting good jobs” has extended to men, with the introduction of fairness creams for men; they get good-looking girls also. In fact the marketing people of the companies, producing these fairness creams, admit that they adopt the least marketing strategies for their products; people’s obsession takes care of the sales.
India being the country where arranged marriages predominate, the insistence on the girl being fair still prevails. No wonder the girls go for fairness creams. More so if the girl is not earning and likely to become a dependent on her husband and in-laws after the wedding. She has to compensate this with her colour.
The colour based discrimination in the marriage market merges with the gender based discrimination. It is not wrong for anyone to want to look good; but the fixation that fairness is essential for beauty, verges on insanity. Girls should become bold enough to accept and make others understand this. A word for the girls searching for beauty and fairness aids. “Cherish what nature has given you. Confidence and carriage enhance beauty. Be straight forward. These are the best ways to impress people”
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Post CommentMythili Kannan
On October 18, 2009 at 2:37 pm
Well said… I know few girls who suffered in their marriage life, bcoz of their color
Sourav
On October 18, 2009 at 2:54 pm
Well… you know, all of us are born racists. And you can not deny it. Remember racism doesn\\\’t only mean the discrimination between colors rather it can be of anything, like caste, religion etc. People discriminate within families. So I believe discrimination and racism were there in the past and it\\\’ll be in the future.
deep blue
On October 18, 2009 at 3:50 pm
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Your post speaks well of the continous discrimination despite common ethical policies for the good of many.
Goodselfme
On October 18, 2009 at 4:14 pm
The thoughts ones has can be willfully changed. Some people just don’t want those changes. Tx for posting with such depth. Well done!
Ruby Hawk
On October 18, 2009 at 8:32 pm
Skin shouldn’t make any difference at all but we can all see that it does. Maybe someday we will learn to cherish what we have.
wonder
On October 18, 2009 at 10:52 pm
Just the right article.Excellent!
CHAN LEE PENG
On October 18, 2009 at 11:42 pm
I don’t skin color is that much important, because success is determined by patience, wisdom, knowledge and morale thinking.
wonder
On October 19, 2009 at 1:33 am
We are so carried away with the external and we forget the genetic factor behind these things.Who are we to sit in judgement about our genetic codes; fair or dark which one is better, the very thought is foolhardiness.And the cosmetics—-
I wont waste my time commenting on them.
giftarist
On October 19, 2009 at 8:16 am
Interesting thought.. I agree with what Ruby says.
Jane Jane
On October 19, 2009 at 8:56 am
It shouldn’t be but in reality it does matter especially the black and whites.
Vikram Chhabra
On October 19, 2009 at 12:12 pm
I have always found Indian preference for lighter skin color disgusting. You have rightly pointed it out in this article.
Anna Storer
On October 24, 2009 at 11:59 pm
Discrimination of any kind is the curse of mankind. Race, color, creed, man or woman or beauty. True success is not measured by any of this. One’s success is or should be measured by the ability of a person who has strived to achieve a better quality of life for all, be it for one’s self, home and family, community and the world as a whole. Whatever the achievements, large or small. We all belong to the family of man and are all God’s children and we are all responsiable not only for our success but for the success of others irrespective of our background.
Nikita K
On October 29, 2009 at 11:30 am
Wow, this is really horrible! How can you discriminate between colour and pick who gets to find love and who doesn’t. Seems really bad to me but I guess you have a reason for it which sounds pretty much reasonable. I’m fairly dark myself and it makes me think what I’ll be treated like :O A really good article that I learned a lot from.
rama
On December 3, 2010 at 4:29 am
This piece truly reflects the thoughts of a very dispassionate, balanced mind. Nice….