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Why the fuss about fair skin and fairness creams? Why Indian women should love our brown skins!
India’s obsession with fair skin is well known. Much has been written and discussed about the fairness cream industry and the social conditioning which has been sending out strong signals for decades, stating blatantly that only fair Indian women are beautiful. I am not particularly dark nor am I particularly fair – I guess I would fall into what the matrimonial columns would term as “wheatish”. Now, since wheat is a kind of brown, here are 5 reasons why I am content with being a brown skinned Indian woman:
1. Tanning products? No thanks! I am just as weak as the next consumer and my dressing table is already cluttered with enough products. Living abroad, I often see advertisements for tanning sprays, lotions, creams and even, tanning beds and spas. Thank goodness I will never need any of those! As it is I am quite lazy about the whole waxing and threading business, now can you imagine if I had to add tanning to that list? My brown skin sure helps me save time, effort and money. Plus, if you’ve ever watched the episode of Friends when Ross visits a tanning salon, you’ll be as glad as me to know that you’ll never have to do that!
2. Sunburn? What sunburn? I come from Chennai which, as the joke goes, has only 3 seasons – hot, hotter and hottest! For the past few years I have been living in the Middle-East where temperatures can soar to 50 C in summers. Yet, I have never once been sunburnt in my life. Granted, I don’t stand in the sun for hours on end without any protection. However, there are more chances of me getting a headache, a tan or even a stroke rather than getting sunburn. My brown skin is pretty hardy you know!
3. Reduced risks of getting skin cancer: Research suggests that light skinned people are more susceptible to skin cancer than darker skinned people. Of course, it does not mean that darker skinned people will never get skin cancer – but the chances are lessened. Well then, one less thing to worry about.
4. Dark skin ages slower than light skin: Studies also show that the effects of aging are more pronounced on light skin than on dark skin. Since darker skin has more melanin, light skin is quicker to wrinkle and develop age spots when compared to dark skin.
5. In august company: The list of brown skinned beauties is endless – Nandita Das, Bipasha Basu, Konkana Sen Sharma, Freida Pinto and not to mention a host of even-darker skinned international models. When we have such gorgeous women on our side, tell me, what is there to be ashamed of in being brown skinned?!
*Photo credit: cea.
Anne John loves to play with words and calls herself a reader, writer, explorer & dreamer. She has a wide range of interests and has recently jumped onto the Mommy Vlogger bandwagon! read more...
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People say that women are the greatest enemies of women. I vehemently disagree. It is the patriarchal mindset that makes women believe in the wrong ideology.
The entire world celebrates International Women’s Day on March 8, 2024. It should be a joyful day, but unfortunately, not all women are entitled to this privilege, as violence against women is at its peak. The experience of oppression pushes many women to choose freedom. As far as patriotism is concerned, feminism is not a cup of tea in this society.
What happens when a woman decides to stand up for herself? Does this world easily accept the decisions of women in this society? What inspires them to be free of the clutches of the oppression that women have faced for ages? Most of the time, women do not get the chance to decide for themselves. Their lives are always at the mercy of someone, which can be their parents, siblings, husband, or children.
In some cases, women do not feel the need to make any decisions. They are taught to obey the patriarchal system, which makes them believe that they are right. In my family, I was never taught to make decisions on my own. It was always my parents who bought dresses and all that I needed.
14 years after her last feature film Dhobi Ghat, storyteller extraordinaire comes up with her new film, Laapataa Ladies, a must watch.
*Some spoilers alert*
Every religion around the world dictates terms to women. The onus is always on women to be ‘modest’ and cover their faces and bodies so men can’t be “tempted”, rather than on men to keep their eyes where they belong and behave like civilized beings. So much so that even rape has been excused on the grounds of women eating chowmein or ‘men will be men’. I think the best Hindi movie retort to this unwanted advice on ‘akeli ladki khuli tijori ki tarah hoti hai’ (an alone woman is like an open jewellery box) came from Geet in Jab We Met – Kya aap gyan dene ke paise lete hain kyonki chillar nahin hain mere paas.
The premise of Laapataa Ladies is beautifully simple – two brides clad in the ghunghat that covers their identity get mixed up on a train. Within this Russian Doll, you get a comedy of errors, a story of getting lost, a commentary on patriarchy’s attitude towards women, a mystery, and a tale of finding oneself, all in one. Done with a mostly light touch that has you laughing and nodding along.
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