White Beauty

I used to play cricket in Saudi Arabia with my friends on a weekly basis. The scorching sun is not kind to light skin. I remember being on vacation in Pakistan in the early 90s. I was visiting an aunt; her reaction upon seeing me was to moan about how much black, kala, I had become.

I was confused for a few seconds till my mom explained why I wasn't so lovely anymore. The culprit being cricket. The obsession with skin color -- specifically white -- is all-powerful in Pakistan. For example, often an arranged marriage can come down to just how 'fair' the bride really is.

At Foreign Dispatches, one can view an Indian ad which showcases this mentality. The actor is Saif Ali Khan, a famous actor and the main actress is Priyanka Chopra who was crowned Miss World in 2000. So, the ad is definitely mainstream.

Comments

[Snake Oil Baron]

This always seems like a weird phenomenon to me. Especially when it occurs in African cultures. As a fair haired/skinned white fellow, I find dark skinned chicks just as hot as others. I guess it is a status thing. White has been equated with power and the lighter one is (or one's kids are) the more powerful they are deemed to be. Humans are weird.

[Mike T]

I chalk part of it up to the same mentality that made the mandarins grow their fingernails long: a classist thing saying that they don't have to work with their hands. Poor, low status women are less desirable than the daughters of wealthier families who also have the ability to keep their daughters from wearing down their bodies with hard work.

There is also the fact that the features that men of all races tend to prefer in a woman tend to come in abundance in fair-skinned women. Let's face it, the very dark-skinned women who could appeal equally to a mix-raced room full of men are rarer than the lighter dark-skinned women because their very dark skin color also tends to correspond to body features which are less attractive.

[Easily sunburned]

I am so shocked. I never thought it had come to this. 'White Beauty' indeed. I'm happy if my FEET tan in summer!