India debates 'racist' skin cream ads

[Gauracandra]

This is interesting. A few days back I saw a program on China and it mentioned that a major portion of the female population (maybe 2/3rds) use skin bleaching creams. Same exists in India it appears. Kind of odd, but I’ve always thought that Japanese & Koreans have white skin.

 

India debates 'racist' skin cream ads

Parliament has now banned one of the adverts

 

A recent row over a television advertisement for a skin-lightening cream has fuelled a debate in India over why fairer skin should be considered more beautiful.

While India has seen a phenomenal growth in the number of skin-lightening products, women's groups in the country claim recent adverts are insulting, as they equate fairer skin with beauty and success.

 

One advert - for a product named Fair And Lovely - has now been taken off the air.

 

"It's a highly racist campaign," Brinda Karat, general secretary of the All India Democratic Women's Association, told BBC World Service's Everywoman programme.

 

"It equates fairness with beauty."

 

Cultural basis

 

The advert was known as "the air hostess ad".

 

It showed a young, dark-skinned girl's father lamenting he had no son to provide for him, as his daughter's salary was not high enough - the suggestion being that she could neither get a better job or get married because of her dark skin.

 

 

Many of India's models are light-skinned

The girl then uses the cream, becomes fairer, and gets a better-paid job as an air hostess - and makes her father happy.

 

"Of course, there is a cultural base in India for this kind of market. [Fair And Lovely are] taking advantage of that and exploiting that very backward understanding," Ms Karat said.

 

"This advertisement, we believe, is demeaning to women and it should be off the air."

 

The company that manufactures Fair And Lovely, Hindustan Lever Limited, said it acknowledged the concerns that had been raised regarding the campaign.

 

"Some individuals or organisations have expressed objections against specific exhibitional elements advertisements," the company said in a statement.

 

"As a responsible company, we have taken note of these objections and will address them."

 

But they pointed out that only one advert had been withdrawn, and added that they had not intended to show it again anyway.

 

"This ad had already been withdrawn by us, as it had run its campaign period," the statement continued.

 

"All the other ads for Fair And Lovely are all on air."

 

'Polluting' India's youth

 

But that is not likely to be the end of the row.

 

The Indian Government is now looking into other adverts, and indeed the whole skin-lightening industry.

 

 

The ads are targeted at the young and fashionable

"You have to maintain a very delicate balance about that," Rita Vorimer of the ruling BJP party, told Everywoman.

 

"I do not like the concept of moral policing.

 

"But some of these ads have really been very irresponsible, and they portray women in a very poor light."

 

Ms Vorimer was particularly critical of the impact the adverts were having on India's youth.

 

"They are polluting the minds of the younger generation," she said.

 

"They think women are the objects of lust - that is a very wrong value.

 

"Something must be done by the government, and the government has a responsibility to stop all this nonsense."

[theist]

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- Malaysian officials have banned a car advert featuring Hollywood heartthrob Brad Pitt, saying the promotion could be humiliating to Asian looks.

 

According to the official Bernama new agency, the move comes as part of a broader effort by the government to reduce the number of non-Malaysian faces used in local advertising.

 

In comments directed at the country's advertising agency, Malaysian Deputy Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin said the widespread use of Western faces in advertisements could create an inferiority complex among Asians.

 

"Why do we need to use their faces in our advertisements? Are our own people not handsome?" Bernama quoted him as saying.

 

Commenting on the Pitt advertisement he said: "We barred the advertisement as it appeared as a humiliation against Asians."

 

Hollywood actors and other Western stars frequently appear in advertising across Asia, where they can earn millions of dollars simply by associating their face with a particular brand.

 

 

 

[Gauracandra]

Here is an interesting thing to consider. From a materialistic perspective aren't blond hair & blue eyes sought after because they are unique? We can say we are conditioned by Western culture to like these things, but I think that is too simplistic. Why do we value diamonds? Because they are so rare. If diamonds were everywhere then we wouldn't care much for them. In the U.S. 33% of women are blondes, but only 5% are real blonds, the rest are dyed.

 

The thing is since blond hair & blue eyes are recessive genes, they will only become rarer and more "valuable". The vast majority of people in the world have dark hair and dark eyes (Africans, Indians, Asians and most of Europe). Thus since it is so common it isn't as "valuable".

 

They can artificially ban Brad Pitt from bus advertisements, but that won't make him less appealing, to those that find him appealing.

[xxvvii]

 

Here is an interesting thing to consider. From a materialistic perspective aren't blond hair & blue eyes sought after because they are unique? We can say we are conditioned by Western culture to like these things, but I think that is too simplistic. Why do we value diamonds? Because they are so rare. If diamonds were everywhere then we wouldn't care much for them. In the U.S. 33% of women are blondes, but only 5% are real blonds, the rest are dyed.

 

 

Please allow me to initiate a sensitive topic. First I should declare the term HERE, Aryan, only relevant to race instead of moral. Fair hair reveals the purer blood probable; fair eyes reveal a certain portion of Aryan blood at least; fair skin reveals merely the race of white or even yellow.

[Guest guest]

Hi I am an Indian staying abroad , I have noticed indians facing racism all the time beacuse of their dark skin , I ve even seen people calling Indians black , isnt it better to bleach and have a fairer skin to show the world that we are not dark , we also have fair skin, our skin gets dark due to sunlight in Indian , which in europe people have light skin because of less sunlight , bleaching is not a crime , it is to stop racism in world , it is just getting rid of the melanin we get from sunlight in India , to equalize , our skin free from sunlight , after all we are aryans !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[theist]

In the USA I can tell you that Indian women are very much desired. The most beautiful in world to most of us. We like their brownish skin and their attractive faces.

 

Nobody is every really satisfied with their material bodies. It's not possible. People bleach their skin and straighten their hair and others of us lay in the sun to tan our skin.

 

It's all pretty silly but now it has reached truly dangerous levels. Cosmetic surgery is getting more and more popular.

 

We need to remember that story of liquid beauty.

 

If only we could catch a glimpse of our true spiritual forms.

[Kulapavana]

in the Vedas several different tribes are described as Aryan (Mahabharata is just one source, see description of armies at Kurukshetra in the full edition). While the term may have some racial connotations, the overriding factor is the consideration of culture. Arya means "noble" and not "white" (sukla). Sanskrit is very precise and follows real life applications.

[ancient_paztriot]

The Indians golden (very golden) skin color mixed with brown is awesome. Indian women with big eyes and a faraway smile… help!

 

Prabhupada said Italian women were among the most beautiful.

 

There's awesome Polynesians.

 

Actually, there's awesome looks in every culture. Individuals… that its.

 

But I'd pick the top three for cultural superficial beauty.

 

I think all those people have the OLD World look in their features.

 

Europeans? Cold as a Greek statue.

 

Beauty is measured by the women and not the men? I guess women ARE the higher standard?

[xxvvii]

"hijo de la luna"

[xxvvii]

See attachm..

[Guest guest]

There are fat ppl in every race, country. Whats your point? Italian women are the most beautiful, in the sense majority of them are. It is impossible to find a country 100% beautiful. Obviously, you'll find fat, ugly ppl every now and then.

[gHari]

Go figure. Brad Pitt embarrasses all of us; Malaysians shouldn't worry.

 

[xxvvii]

 

There are fat ppl in every race, country. Whats your point? Italian women are the most beautiful, in the sense majority of them are. It is impossible to find a country 100% beautiful. Obviously, you'll find fat, ugly ppl every now and then.

 

 

I. Whether I made a mistake, Latino = Latin Amer.. So you're ignorant at this word.

II. I haven't say whether she's ugly or not. So you would be known to all as guilty if you left your name with the mes..

III. I don't know whether you were "fat, ugly ppl" alleged by yourself. So you were lucky enough if you were such person because you would be identified as self-abasement or self-mockery "ppl".

IIII. Conclusion: unreasonable mes..

[Guest guest]

but can you please write in English? I don't get what you're trying to say, prabhu.

[xxvvii]

You're flattering me. Thanks. Please replace "prabhu" with "you, a dog!".