It wasn’t until I traveled to India for the first time that I fully realized how arbitrary beauty standards really are. While the United States was in the midst of a tanning craze, I discovered in Jaipur, Rajasthan (a state in the Northwestern part of India) that women (and men) were desperate to lighten their skin tone.

When I told a Rajasthani friend of mine that, in the United States, most white people wanted to darken their skin to resemble a tan one would get from a day at the beach, she laughed in disbelief. Then, she explained to me that most young women like her used lightening creams and other products, such as those made by the popular brand “Fair and Lovely,” to lighten their skin. For Indian men, there is a similar line of products known as “Fair and Handsome.” In Rajasthan, it’s also common to see women’s (and some men’s) faces entirely wrapped up in large handkerchiefs not only to block the dusty and polluted air from getting into their lungs, but to stop the sun from darkening their skin. Another common sight is women wearing long gloves that extend to their upper arms to protect this skin from the sun as well.

This fascination with fairness has, of course, many detrimental effects, including convincing women and men that there is only one standard against which to measure beauty and, thus, that those people who do not conform to this standard cannot be considered beautiful. Unfortunately, the power of the “Fair and Lovely” and “Fair and Handsome” ad campaigns is also prodigious as famous and admired actresses and actors star in these commercials and appear in other advertisements to sell these products.

To combat the negative effects of this “fascination with fairness,” the actress, director and social activist Nandita Das featured prominently in a campaign called “Dark is Beautiful” with the tagline “Stay Unfair, Stay Beautiful.” Das, who earned her Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Delhi, is passionate about numerous social issues, including AIDS and violence against women. Interestingly, Hindustan Unilever Limited, the creator of the “Fair and Lovely” and “Fair and Handsome” products, advances the idea that “90 percent of Indian women want to use [skin] whiteners because it is aspirational, like losing weight. A fair skin is like education, regarded as a social and economic step up.” Das corroborates this with her own personal experiences as an actress in Indian films, saying that “especially when you are playing the middle class, educated character,” makeup artists and cinematographers will generally urge you to lighten your skin tone if it happens to be a bit darker. Therefore, we can clearly see that this bias against dark skin is even more dangerous than its status as a mere “beauty standard” would suggest; the fact that fair skin is connected to one’s socioeconomic status and education level is troubling indeed and indicates deeper forces at work than a simple aesthetic appeal.

Read the dialogue below carefully between Nandita Das and a reporter from the Hindi-language newspaper, Dainik Jagran (दैनिक जागरण). *Note: this dialogue is not a transcript of one that took place in real life; it is an imaginative take on the social issue of bias against darker skin tones.

संवाददाता/रिपोर्टर: नंदिता जी, आपने इस “Dark is Beautiful” (गहरा रंग सुन्दर है) का campaign (आंदोलन) शुरू क्यों किया ? 

Samvaad-daataa/Reporter: Nandita ji, aapne is “Dark is Beautiful” (Gehra Rang Sundar Hai) kaa campaign (aandolan) shuruu kyoon kiyaa? 

Reporter: Nandita ji, why did you start this “Dark is Beautiful” campaign? 

नंदिता दास: मैंने यह campaign (आंदोलन) शुरू किया क्योंकि मैं इस गहरे रंग के ख़िलाफ़ बुरे एकतरफ़े से तंग आ चुकी हूँ । बचपन से ही लोग अपने बच्चों को कह देते हैं कि “गहरे रंग का होना अच्छा नहीं है; दिन में बाहर मत जाओ,” वग़ैरह, वग़ैरह। हमें नयी पीढ़ी को दिखाना चाहिए कि अलग अलग तरह की खूबसूरती होती हैं अौर ना सिर्फ़ बाहर की खूबसूरती भी। 

Nandita Daas: Maine yah campaign (aandolan) shuruu kiyaa kyoonki main is gehre rang ke khilaaf bure ektarafe se tang aa chukii huun. Bachpan se hi log apne bacchon ko keh dete hain ki “gehre rang ka honaa accha nahin hai; din me baahar mat jaao,” vagairah, vagairah. Hume nayi pirhi ko dikhaanaa chaahiye ki alag alag tarah ki khubsoorati hoti hain aur na sirf baahar ki khubsoorti bhi. 

Nandita Das: I started this campaign because I’ve gotten sick of this negative (or “bad”) bias against dark (skin). From childhood, people tell their children, “It’s not good to be dark (skinned); don’t go outside during the day,” etc., etc. We should show the new generation that there are many types of beauty and not just outer (superficial) beauty either. 

संवाददाता/रिपोर्टर: आपने अपने निजी ज़िंदगी में यह “गहरे रंग के ख़िलाफ़ बुरे एकतरफ़े” का अनुभव कभी किया है ? 

Samvaad-daataa/Reporter: Aapne apne niji zindagi me yah “gehre rang ke khilaaf bure ektarafe” kaa anubhav kabhi kiyaa hai? 

Reporter: Have you ever experienced this “bias against dark (skin)” in your personal life?  

नंदिता दास: हाँ, मैंने कई बार यह अनुभव किया है । आम तौर से, जब एक अभिनेता या अभिनेत्री कोई middle class (मध्य वर्ग) वाला किरदार निभा रहा/रही है, तो back stage वाले लोग उनसे कहेंगे कि “तोड़े गोरा/गोरी हो जाओ तो बेहतर होगा।” लोग यह कहते हैं क्योंकि वे (वह) सोचते हैं कि “class,” “शिक्षा” और “गोरेपन” जुड़े हैं । लेकिन, यह सच बिल्कुल भी नहीं है । 

Nandita Das: Haan, maine kai baar yah anubhav kiyaa hai. Aam taur se, jab ek abhinetaa ya abhinetri koi middle class (madhya varg) vala kirdaar nibhaa rahaa/rahi hai, to back stage vaale log unse kahenge ki “tore gora/gori ho jao, to behtar hoga.” Log yah kehte hain kyoonki ve (voh) sochte hain ki “class,” “shikshaa,” aur “gorepan” jure hain. Lekin, yah sach bilkul bhi nahin hai. 

Nandita Das: Yes, I’ve experienced this several times. Usually, when an actor or actress is playing some middle class character, people back stage will say to them, “If you become a bit fairer, it will be better.” People say this because they think that “class,” “education” and “fairness” are connected. But, this is absolutely untrue. 

संवाददाता/रिपोर्टर: आपको क्यों लगता है कि ज़्यादातर भारतीय/हिंदुस्तानी लोग गोरेपन के पीछे पड़े हैं ? 

Samvaad-daataa/Reporter: Aapko kyoon lagta hai ki zyaadaatar Bhaaratiya/Hindustaani log gorepan ke piche pare hain?  

Reporter: Why do you think that most Indian people are crazy (lit., lying/falling behind “x”) for fairness? 

नंदिता दास: मुझे लगता है कि इसकी अलग अलग वजह हैं । एक है हुमारे देश के colonial (औपनिवेशिक) इतिहास, जिसके अनुसार अँग्रेज़ अपने राज्य को अौर सफ़ाई देने के लिए हमें कह देते थे कि “तुम हीन हो और हम उच्च हैं”; और इस संदेश में सूरत की हीनता (inferiority) भी जुड़ी है । बूरी बात यह है कि हमने यह मानसिकता इस देश की आज़ादी अौर globalization के साथ भी छोड़ी नहीं है । दूसरी वजह यह है कि लोग हमेशा चाहते हैं जो उनके पास नहीं है जैसे कि अमेरिकन लोग चाहते हैं कि वे (वह) ज़्यादा गहरे रंग के हों ; वैसे ही भारतीय/हिंदुस्तानी लोग ज़्यादा गोरे होना चाहते हैं । 

Nandita Das: Mujhe lagta hai ki iski alag alag vajah hain. Ek hai humare desh ke colonial (aapniveshik) itihaas, jiske anusaar angrez apne rajya ko aur safai dene ke liye hume keh dete the ki “tum hiin hain, aur hum ucch hain”; aur is sandesh me soorat ki hiintaa bhi juri hai. Buri baat yah hai ki humne yah maansiktaa is desh ki aazaadi aur globalization ke saath bhi chori nahin hai. Dusri vajah yah hai ki log hamesha chahte hain jo unke paas nahin hai jaise ki American log chahte hain ki ve (voh) zyaada gehre rang ke hon; vaise hi Bhaaratiya/Hindustaani log zyaada gore honaa chahte hain.  

Nandita Das: It seems to me (I think) that this has many different reasons. One (reason) is our country’s colonial history, according to which the British, in order to justify their own rule, told us that, “You are inferior, we are superior”; and, inferiority in terms of appearance is connected with this message. Another reason is that people always want what they do not have, like American people want to be darker; in the same way, Indian people want to be fairer.

संवाददाता/रिपोर्टर: अच्छा, बहुत दिलचस्प है । मेरा आख़िरी सवाल यह है कि आपकी जवान लोगों के लिए कुछ सलाह है ताकि वे (वह) एक दिन यह मानसिकता छोड़ सकें?  

Samvaad-daataa/Reporter: Acchaa, bahut dilchasp hai. Mera aakhiri savaal yah hai ki aapki javaan logo ke liye kuch salaah hai taaki ve (voh) ek din yah maansiktaa chor saken? 

Reporter: I see, very interesting. My last question is: do you have some advice for young people so that they can one day abandon this mindset? 

नंदिता दास: हाँ, ज़रूर । मेरी सलाह यह है कि तुम लोगों को advertising इतना ध्यान नहीं देना चाहिए क्योंकि advertising वालों का काम तुम्हें विश्वास दिलाना है कि तुम काफ़ी सुन्दर, ख़ास, या कुछ भी हो, नहीं हो; अपने में विश्वास रखो और तुम ठीक रहोगे । 

Nandita Das: Haan, zaroor. Meri salaah yah hai ki tum logon ko advertising itnaa dhyaan nahin denaa chaahiye kyoonki advertising valon ka kaam tumhe vishvaas dilaanaa hai ki tum kafi sundar, khaas, ya kuch bhi ho, nahin ho; apne me vishvaas rakho aur tum thik rahoge. 

Nandita Das: Yes, of course. My advice is (you people) should not pay so much attention to advertising because the advertisers’ job is to convince you that you are not beautiful enough (or) special (enough), or whatever it may be; believe in yourself and you will be alright. 

शब्दावली की सूची

(Shabdaavali ki Soochi/Vocabulary List):

1. गहरा रंग/gehraa rang: dark color, रंग/rang is a masc. noun.
2. सुन्दर, खूबसूरत/sundar, khuubsoorat: beautiful (these words are interchangeable; one is from Sanskrit, the other Arabo-Persianate). If you want to transform these into nouns, see the following: सुन्दरता/sundartaa, fem. noun=beauty and खूबसूरती/khuubsoorati, fem. noun=beauty.
3. शुरू करना/shuruu karnaa: to begin, start.
4. के ख़िलाफ़/ke khilaaf: against (postposition).
5. तंग आना/tang aanaa: to be sick/tired of something, as in “नंदिता दास इस bias से तंग आ चुकी है.”
6. वग़ैरह/vagairah: etcetera.
7. पीढ़ी/pirhi, fem. noun: generation, “नयी पीढ़ी/nayi pirhi” means “new generation.”
8. बाहर/baahr: outer, outside.
9. अनुभव करना/anubhav karnaa: to experience, अनुभव/anubhav can also be used as a masc. noun by itself.
10. किरदार/kirdaar, masc. noun: character (in a play, film, novel, etc.).
11. गोरा, गोरी, गोरापन/goraa, gori, goraapan: the first two are adjectives meaning “fair” to agree with the number and gender of the persons described and the last, गोरापन, goraapan, is a masc. noun meaning “fairness.”
12. x के पीछे पड़ना/x ke piche parnaa: to chase after something or be crazy about something, as in “ज़्यादातर Indian लोग गोरेपन के पीछे पड़े हैं.”
13. मानसिकता/maansiktaa, fem. noun: mindset.

If you’d like to know more about this topic, check out the video below, featuring actress Nandita Das speaking about this issue: