Obsession for Fair Complexion

A foremost fascination for fair skin triumphs strongly in the society. Light-skinned women are known as fair while the dark are recognized as shocking.

A quick survey of all the commercials on television and ads in newspapers would make us believe that a woman’s destiny depends upon the colour of her skin. A dark-complexioned girl is engaged to marriage to a dark man much older than her. She uses a fairness cream, and gets a handsome, young husband.

A dark-complexioned girl even becomes a successful, serious cricket commentator when she uses a fairness cream. Furthermore, a girl who has a small-time job and cannot afford the innumerable cups of coffee for her retired father’s drinks changes her lifestyle instantly after she uses a fairness cream and gets the well-paid job of an airhostess. What more, she suddenly becomes the provider of the elderly parents, from a "dark, unfortunate burden" of her father.

These are telling commercials — a scary commentary on the status of the woman and the mindset of our society. Just read any matrimonial advertisement looking for brides. Invariably, all of them mention that fair-complexioned girls are required for eligible sons. A highly educated woman confessed.

"Though my son is rather dark complexioned, but I prefer a fair wife for him as I wish to have fair-skinned grand children. Therefore, there is good reason to dig down to the roots of the principle that a fair woman has a better destiny than a dark woman and that the colour of skin determines the character of a woman.

Thus, an intense artificial selection in favour of fair complexion is going on throughout our country. The craze for fair, white complexion has become more unnatural and even ‘shocking’. In our society where as much as 90 per cent of the parents still consider the birth of a girl child as an economic loss, they find the marketability or sale ability of their fair daughters is better in matrimony.

Surprisingly, the preoccupation with white skin is so deep that there is an unreasonable demand on the transparency of the skin than the quality of mind and character of a person. This is due to the lack of awareness of right values and correct potential of a person in our competitive society.

The emphasis is more on the wrapping than the gift, the real person behind the skin. Interestingly, when even in the western countries a transformation in the concept of beauty is taking place (one of the highest paid models in France is dark). But for our country, beauty is generally associated with the colour of the skin, in which white is the indisputable winner.

Therefore, there is a race to achieve a ‘fair’ complexion through artificial cosmetics which could be harmful to the skin and, eventually, to the psyche of the individual.

:: By Zahid A Khan
Model Aalvi Dress Mantra Photo Iqbal Ahmed