Do Indian Women Want Lighter Skin?

[flowerhead]

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Originally Posted by Beauty Mark It's probably because fat and pale means you have money (you can afford a lot of food and don't have to work in the fields). I think there's beauty in all skintones. Nicole Kidman is pretty pale, and she has gorgeous skin. Not everyone wants to use self-tanner or tempt skin cancer.

Maybe. I think from her tone she meant fat as being a defect...Basicly she meant they'd rather have a plan looking child if it was pale than a dark pretty one.
I certainly don't want a tan, was that aimed at me?

 

[nics1972]

Yeah.. its true.. in India, people associate beauty with light colored skin. This is very slowly dying though.. very very slowly. I am from India as well and I dont try to hide my actual skin color.. this is who I am. Take it or leave it and I dont care what anyone thinks.

 

[Beauty Mark]

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I certainly don't want a tan, was that aimed at me?

It was a general comment on the whole idea that being tan is better than being light.

There are good things and bad things about most skintones, IMO.

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I think from her tone she meant fat as being a defect.

I was thinking along the lines of what a dance teacher told me (I take classical Indian dance) that a more rounder body is ideal than a thin one.

 

[DirtyPlum]

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Originally Posted by aziajs “The definition of beauty in the Western world is linked to anti-aging,” he said. “In Asia, it’s all about being two shades lighter.” The idea of “glowing fairness” has nothing to do with colonialism, or idealization of European looks, Mr. Villanueva said. “It’s as old as India,” he said, and “deeply rooted in the culture.” There’s no denying that the notion of “fairness,” as light skin is known in India, is heavily ingrained in the culture. Nearly all of Bollywood’s top actresses have quite pale skin, despite the range of skin tones in India’s population of more than a billion people. Deeply rooted ideas about women’s roles are slowly shifting in India. The percentage of women married before the age of 19, for example, has dropped sharply. Advertising and marketing gurus are aiming at young, urban Indian women, who are earning their own money and are potential customers for a host of products including name-brand clothes, cosmetics and new cars.

I'm gonna keep it brief n simple...

^1st point...
Sad, but true. It really is such a big deal still with a lot of south asians... I see it around me a lot... no one cares abt aging, as long as they look fair!

2nd/3rd point - I dont think it has anything to do with colonialism at all... its just what ''looks good'' to a lot of shallow ppl. The Bollywood industry is not helping at all by only recruiting lighter skinned actors

4th point - wow, its encouraging that attitudes are slowly changing and I really wish ppl worldwide would stop being shallow and being so hung up on their skin tone.

I hate hearing "isnt it too dark?", "going lighter one shade, just to brighten up my face" as much as I hate hearing "gosh i look so pale i look dead, i need to be warmed up"

Ok, so having the odd whinge here n there abt some feature of urs is oretty natural, but to base ur life and to make a business out it is sad...
Embrace your colour, heritage, culture, ancestry and be grateful for being alive, healthy and fit!

 

[S.S.BlackOrchid]

It's true. If you look at Indian matrimonials, many of them say them they want a fair woman. It roots from a symbol of wealth (wealthy women staying inside and not getting tanned, etc), not from colonialism or European looks. It precedes the British rule.

Yes, it is ridiculous. My distant relative had a baby, and they were freaking out because they thought the baby had dark skin and would grow up to be ugly, so they kept using creams on the baby. My aunt, who's very reasonable, said that she didn't understand what the fuss was about and that the baby looked fine to her.

The trend is very slowly dying, because more people are starting to criticize it. I hope it does die out because it is just stupid. People talk about my sister not being fair, but she has the most beautiful, glowing, dark bronze skin.

 

[Mizz.Yasmine]

as far as getting a tan goes, most people just look ''healthier'' becuz they have a glow going on from the sun, thats something any darker skinned girl should be proud of, u don't have to risk skin cancer just to get some color

and i wouldnt call pale skin ugly! if u want to be blunt, ur facial features make u ''ugly'', not ur skintone. look at someone like jennifer lopez or eva longoria, u can see pix of her from pale to tanned and shes still beautiful simply becuz her face is beautiful.

 

[chocolategoddes]

It's not just India or other Asian cultures(obviously) but as far as I know this is VERY popular among West African women. I have aunts with husbands, kids, and siblings who are very dark and yet they are this funny shade of brown and yellow.
I'd ask my mom, " Why is Auntie so-and-so lighter than everyone?" and she'd tell me because she bleaches her skin.
It's a big beauty fad in places like Nigeria but it's also looked upon, kind of like extreme tanning is here.
Light skin sometimes means youthful and brighter skin to people. I would be lying if I said I never used to wish I was slightly lighter, too, but I'm happy with myself now. But hey, it's up to them. Bleaching your skin, wearing blue contacts, straightening your hair... all the same idea to me.

 

[frocher]

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[frocher]

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[xsnowwhite]

That fair & lovely ad is very interesting. It is much like a tanning ad you would see in the US.

 

[frocher]

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[Shaquille]

I used to live in a country in south east asia where they think "fair (white they call it there) is beautiful". There are whitening lotions everywhere.. They think being fair is superior and much better.
My skin is medium dark brown and I hung out with friends whose skins are much fairer, and I just didn't get appreciated the way they were.. and for awhile, I felt depressed and wanted to have fair skin color too, so I started using the whitening lotions - apparently gave allergic reaction.
When I moved to Europe, and now I'm in Canada, I learn that skin color is not important, and I get more appreciations because of my attitude and aptitude.
Now I am so comfortable in my own way and use make up and lotions to enhance my skin color.

 

[seonmi]

I'm from a south east asian country and I hated that notion of beauty because I'm tanned. There were girls that all the guys would die for just because of their fair skin tone (they totally didn't have pretty faces). I used to whiten my skin in spas and wear face mask (if you know what I'm talking about) and gloves and jacket

everytime I left the house.
My mom several times asked me if I needed some whitening lotion, she could send me some. I was like: no, I don't have any problem with my skin tone here

I feel bad for my sister being disadvantaged compared to those fair skinned girls

 

[ndn-ista]

Im indian..I think i wrote this before somwhere on this site..I have pretty medium-olive-honey color tone. I use fair and lovely, ONLY because it makes my skin look and feel softer. But I loveee getting tanned, and that glowy almondy look. I actually wear a darker foundation and lots of bronzer only because it looks good!

 

[miss_supra]

In the east lighter color is wanted because it means you have money. Back in the day if you had money or was in a higher caste/social ldder you had people to work for you. Lower closes, such as farmers, were always outside so their skin were dark and upper classes didn't work outside so they had lighter skin.


I forgot when it happened, but sometime in the 1900s a woman that was in the public eye vacationed in Europe. She developed a tan, which was then started people wanting darker skin because it was an upper class thing in the west. In the west you had people working in factories and office so they would go outside. Their skins were lighter, but the rich, upper classes had time and money to go to Europe for vacations. During their vacations sunbathing was the thing to do.

 

[mocha_queen]

Im quite pale compared to most indian women, but i absolutely love dark/brown skin tones
It bothers me that a lot of women feel that in order to be beautiful or sucessful they need to be fairer/lighter.

Yes, bollywood was all about celebrating just that
but im glad darker women are slowly emerging on top and are considered beautiful. They will set an example.

 

[kimmy]

i don't see why the media is allowed to tell me that the better tan i have, the better i will look but when the tables are turned it seems to be percieved as some big racial conspiracy.

i don't understand why the whole world can't just stfu about skincolour/tone anyway. does it really matter?

 

[Tinkee-Belle]

I think what it comes down to is people want what they dont have...

For instance, Indian women want lighter skin, but I am super pale with (naturally) blonde hair and I dye my hair very dark and get spray tans so I can look more "exotic." People ask me what my nationality is everyday and they are always suprised when I say... German.

 

[frocher]

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[DirtyPlum]

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Originally Posted by frocher NC40-35 you need to fix it, NC25-30 you are fair and lovely! You will get modeling contracts and land that hot guy! You will go from frumpy and unappealing to a knockout with a jet set lifestyle! It's really interesting.

LOL, damn I'm NC40 I better dig out the Fair n Lovely! Haha, maybe thats why I'm single too! Lol, its so funny you are spot on!
I got told by this guy once, you'll have no prob finding a guy, you have a nice personality, smart, and youre 'fair' - I just looked at him and shook my head. Its so shallow but youre right its ingrained in the culture and minds of south asians, I worry it wont ever change.