Complexion biases aren't new. And though we tend to tell ourselves that such discriminations don't bother urban areas much, that's not always the case. And this obsession goes across genders. I am pretty sure that if a survey is carried out we will find most women would prefer a fair complexioned man as their husbands or boyfriends.Disturbing fixation with fair skin
Unfortunately our attitude towards black Africans and white Europeans are markedly different
Syed Mehdi Momin
Complexion biases arent new. And though we tend to tell ourselves that such discriminations dont bother urban areas much, thats not always the case. And this obsession goes across genders. I am pretty sure that if a survey is carried out we will find most women would prefer a fair complexioned man as their husbands or boyfriends.
Actually I have no problem with people seeking fairer skin. They have their own concept, albeit a tad shallow concept, of beauty and they are entitled to that. In the same manner I dont object to people with pale skin sunbathing to get a tan. As far as it is an individual choice it is okay. However, I have strong objections about this ingrained belief in our society that equates beauty with fair skin. And it is nothing short of virulent racism when a section of the society tries to propagate the view that people with fairer complexion are superior to dark complexioned ones.
The ways fairness products are advertised are odious. A number of advertisements portray that a dark complexioned girl is undesirable and utterly unhappy and after discovering and using a magical skin whitening cream all her dreams come true not only does she get married, but also gains self-confidence. These advertisements project the notion that girls who are of a darker skin tone are worth nothing they dont deserve success in any aspect of their lives, let alone marriage. I have come to think that in our society while prioritising people, after nepotism skin colour takes the lead. It is miserable to observe companies peddling so-called fairness creams and Bangladeshis buying those in great numbers even when fair-skinned people are a minority in this country. If you go through the matrimonial pages in any newspaper or surf through matrimonial sites, one similarity you would come across in most proposals is the demand for a fair bride. Bangladeshi society considers only fair brides as pretty ones.
And these days this whole get fair business is not confined to the ladies, I believe with some fairness products are launched for men, they are in the race too. The commercials that are aired today propagate a myth that it is necessary to be fair in order to succeed. An aspiring actor, news reporter or even a sportsman is shown to achieve his goals in life only after getting a light tone of skin, courtesy the specified fairness cream. I am sure everyone will agree being light skinned is essential for success. One surely needs something beyond outer appearances to succeed in any field; they need talent. Then why are ignorant masses hampered with such wrong notions? This is the reason why thousands look out for such products even when they know that those cant guarantee what they claim.
Moreover, it is sad to see that it is mostly the well-educated population who are falling in this trap. Do they expect themselves to turn fairer in a couple of weeks? Arent they aware of the fact that our skin tone is hereditarily determined by the amount of melanin present in our body? Fairness products can probably help you get rid of the tan. But apparently there are people dim-witted enough to believe that it would alter the amount of melanin in their body. Many fairness creams are made of bleaching agents and ingredients which are banned in Europe as they lead to skin sensitivity and hyper-pigmentation. Almost all skin-lightening products come with risks. Most fairness creams contain steroids that increase risks of skin infections, acne, and slow wound healing. Hydroquinone inevitably causes dark patches (hyper-pigmentation) or untreatable skin (ochronosis), which are difficult to treat. What people dont understand here is that if it is making your skin tone lighter, it is depleting layers of melanin from your skin. Melanin, a pigment, is a component that determines the colour of the skin; the higher the content of melanin, the darker the skin. It absorbs the UV radiation coming from the sun, transforms it into harmless heat and protects us from indirect DNA damage. Hence melanin is our bodys natural defence against these rays. When we fight with nature, it is bound to have detrimental effects. Similarly when one depletes the melanin layer for fairness, they also deplete years of healthy living. All these whitening facials and creams work on the principle of thinning the skin by depriving us of melanin. Also, most dermatologists say that the maximum fairness they can guarantee without steroid use is only 20-30 per cent. No harmless procedure has been invented that can provide permanent fairness since skin colour is purely genetic and is influenced to some extent by environmental factors.
In a country where a majority of the population is brown (and its various shades) it is atrocious to say that only fair is beautiful. Imagine the power of the media, and peer pressure, if almost everyone aspires to become fairer in an attempt to fit into someone elses definition of beauty. Inferiority complex and loss of confidence, health hazards (both physical and mental), isolation by family and friends, inability to find a suitable partner can be traced back to just one main cause not being fair enough. So what message are we giving to our youth? That the lightness of ones skin tone has a direct bearing on success in career, relationships and life? Every action of ours, however subtle, leaves an impact on young minds. It is high time that we, as adults, realise the shallowness of perceiving beauty by skin colour, height, weight, etc. of an individual.
This is easier said than done, but if we dont want to see the future generation busy whitewashing itself to defy genetics, we have to take the first step. Cant we ignore those ads that tell us that we are not good enough? That keeps pulling us towards that tempting but non-existent world of permanent radiance and physical beauty? Unfortunately Bengalis has always been obsessed with fairness. So much so that even today pregnant women in rural areas believe they will give birth to light-skinned babies if they consume lots of white dairy products such as milk, cream, yoghurt, and butter. Dark models and actresses struggle for work as their skin isnt regarded as desirable. And the launch of such worthless fairness enhancing products has only helped the obsession grow. Wrong notions of success and fame through outer appearances are outrageously portrayed and moreover, influential celebrities are roped in for such acts. A famous actor or cricketer giving credit to a certain product for being a sensation is surely not what should be ideally depicted.
These days there are many foreigners living in Bangladesh. Unfortunately our attitude towards black Africans and white Europeans are markedly different. A few months back law enforcement agencies conducted a concerted drive to take legal measures against foreigners lacking valid permits to stay or work in Bangladesh. This is a common measure practiced almost in every country on earth and in a densely populated country like Bangladesh where many local people are jobless; this is a measure long overdue. However, if one looks at the faces of those who are arrested, it is difficult for one to escape the fact that most of the people who are caught by this drive are black-skinned people from Africa.
Hard numbers are unavailable but it is apparent that people from other continents are nowhere near as affected by this drive as the Africans are. One can argue that mostly African people are being arrested in this drive against illegal immigrants, as they are the largest undocumented group of people living in this country. However, such an explanation needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. The geographical location of Africa makes a journey from there to this country a relatively expensive one. Newspaper reports indicate that people from other Asian countries, particularly the neighbouring South, East, and South-East Asian countries would probably be the majority of illegal immigrants in this country.
I think our attitude has something to do with our colonial legacy. The scars of more than two centuries of colonial rule under the British and the Pakistanis are yet to heal. Our genes may have carried our ancestors fear or reverence for the fair skinned people. But even long before the British arrived in the subcontinent, the fairer among us were well received in social settings and marriage markets. Therefore South Asia has always been an easy target for big cosmetic firms as they can further an existing cultural bias and lure prospective customers into buying fairness products.
Quite expectedly, such an assertion about the existence of racism here will not be taken seriously; the response will be to either remain silent or refuse to acknowledge this form of racism or to reject it. Ironically, most of us see racism as a phenomenon that exists in other countries, particularly in the West, and without fail, see themselves as victims. They do not see themselves harbouring (potentially) racist attitudes and behaviour towards others whom they see as inferior.
Bengalis have been victims of the worst kind of racism during the Pakistani rule. The racist depiction of the darker skinned Bengalis as an inferior and incapable people became the unquestioned dogma among the ruling minority. In addition to the racist depiction of the darker-skinned Bengalis, their culture, music, cuisine and attire were mocked while their language was banned and led to widespread protests and deaths in 1952. In 1970, after suffering under the minority rule of West Pakistan for 25 years, the Bengalis voted and gained a clear majority in the countrys national parliament.
However, the racist view that Bengali people were incapable of ruling the country or that they were traitors to the fair-skinned minority of West Pakistan, led to a military intervention and widespread massacres in which one million people were killed in a nine-month period.
Bengalis have always fought against foreign invasion and their atrocities. We boast of being strongly against Apartheid. We stood up against those encroaching upon us and also against the evils within. We condemn racism when people in foreign lands suffer because of their complexion.
But, somehow, we fail to notice this unusual kind of racism that we unknowingly practice. When any one of us, recommends or uses such products we somehow have indulged in racism. Feeling good and looking good is another story. Why try to be something that you are not? Instead be as you are and be fair, to yourself.
The writer is Assistant Editor of The Independent and can be contacted at: [email protected]
