Dark Is Not Ugly

Sibtain Hyder

Laxmi Chandra, a dentist based in Jammu recalls how her classmates in college used to ridicule her because of her dark complexion.

“They never allowed me to sit next to them. Being dark in complexion doesn’t mean I am a lesser human. I am perplexed. People still continue to stress on this myth that white people are superior,” she said.

‘My relatives barraged me with words of contempt. My uncle even bought me a fairness cream and persuaded me to use it every day. For a woman, looking fair is a must in this country,” she added.

Subash, a 25-year old pass-out from National Institute of Technology Srinagar, has a similar deplorable experience to share.

The questions he faced from his fellows like “don’t you take bath? Look at your skin, you pollute this college,” he recollected.

Media strengthens the stereotypes. It plays a significant role in shaping our outlook. And it is dead on target. In promoting a brand or in highlighting social causes, objectivity is crucial. But in the contrary we see adverts and films promoting discrimination on the basis of skin colour.

Media tries to persuade us to believe that our natural skin colour is not good enough. Low grade workers or beggars shown in films are mostly dark-skinned. Advertisements of fairness products openly express that dark in ugly.

We have to examine culture in general. Fairness has always been considered superior. The films, advertisements are made for a commercial outcome. For a successful commercial outcome, filmmakers or advertisers will make a media product that is targeted to a certain audience. One could blame filmmakers or advertisers for their stance, but it’s all society’s fault. The questions are, Can society be changed? And what role should the media play? Media has become a money-making machine. We can’t get away from that fact.

I believe the only way to change views is to take education to the grassroots level. The government must utilise media to project a healthier viewpoint. Since the society we live in doesn’t have direction or motivation for the good, the short term prognosis will be poor.

You cannot promote something without comparing it with its inferior, like they do in advertisements. They promote a certain brand of fairness cream by comparing a dark-skinned person with an energetic white skinned one. Researches show that India’s fairness cream market is worth $450m and growing rapidly at the rate of 18 per cent a year. So far this year, people have used over 100 tons of skin whitening products.

People suffer from low self-esteem. Colour bias is still lodged in the society. It not only involves home or family but educational institutes and workplaces too. It has affected our relations. Discrimination lives in those who have continuously stressed on this concept. Education plays an important role in bridging the gap.

In the corporate world of today, every value, every great human virtue is trashed. Evil phenomenon like racial discrimination are being promoted as common brains already stand brainwashed to anti-human tendencies by today’s corporate culture.

Media, parenting, friend circles or lack of conscience, whatever may be the reason, dark is not ugly. What is ugly is the fact that consciously or sub-consciously our society is contributing to this hurtful social evil.