When questioned by me on this week’s episode of We the People about his role (as an advertiser) in propagating the idea of a fair skin bias through fairness cream advertising, Alyque Padamsee heroically declared, “I have no responsibility”.
I was part of the studio audience for NDTV’s weekly talk show, hosted by Barkha Dutt. With the question of debate being “Fairness Creams: an un-fair obsession?”, one would expect the argument to be one-sided.
But when a man of Mr. Padamsee’s calibre decided to speak for the fairness obsession, we knew this would be a controversial 50 minutes.
Let’s take a look at the facts. Fair & Lovely is India’s first skin lightening cream, on the market since 35 years, though the fair skin obsession has existed much longer. Matrimonial ads listing ‘fair’ as one of the qualities are not alien to us. According to jeevansathi.com statistics, 71% of women want responses from fair skinned men, while 70% men register their skin tone as ‘fair’. Not surprisingly, these men get 5 times better responses.
Owing to genetics and geography, Indians are predominantly brown-skinned people. Yet, we have not only accepted, but practiced and perpetuated this form of racism across generations. Mihnaz, a victim of domestic abuse said that her skin tone triggered her in-laws’ hostility. She was continually harassed for not bringing in “enough” dowry to compensate for her complexion.
Skin lightening advertising is turning an existing racist preference into a destructive, repugnant obsession by establishing an infrangible link between lighter skin and professional success. In this scenario, it is only reasonable to expect some form of accountability from an advertiser. So while Mr. Padamsee’s untainted ethic keeps him going in his crusade to “help dark people become fair”, his callous disregard for responsibility is a cause for concern.
The problem, however, does not end here. Fair skin is only a part of the package of unrealistic (in this case, irrational) beauty standards that women feel compelled to live up to. Where height, weight and vital stats are few things that women have hated about their bodies, skin tone yet another. It is no surprise then that the debate drifted into definitions of beauty and the pure subjectivity of the concept. Even though Mr. Padamsee may have suggested a grossly patronizing campaign – “Ugly is Beautiful” to combat prejudice, it is worth keeping in mind that he is no authority that can possibly dictate these standards.
Watch : We The People, NDTV (6th October, 2013) – Fairness Creams : An un-fair obsession?
Miscellany 