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We are all outraged at the surge in racial bias in the United States. So it is time we Indians self reflect and make some serious changes to OUR preferred mode of skin-tone prejudice: Colorism
With the murder of George Floyd sparking protests in over 60 countries across the globe, and Hindustan Unilever rebranding its cream as ‘Glow & Lovely’ instead of the earlier ‘Fair & Lovely’; now is perhaps a really good time to talk about how colorism in India is often many times mistook for ‘racism’.
2 important things to note with regards to race and color are:
1) People of the same race may have different skin tones
2) People of different races may have the same skin tone
Colorism may have begun for many of us at homes as children when being compared to a more fair-skinned sibling. This example is crucial to understanding what colorism actually is. 2 children from the same family, belonging to the same race and being treated differently is not racism, but rather is colorism.
In simple terms, while racism is treating people of different races differently irrespective of their skin color; colorism refers to when two people of the same race but different skin tones are treated differently.
As an example, an Australian souvenir-shop owner treating an Indian customer, who is the same skin tone as another Australian customer, differently than the Australian customer is racism.
On the other hand, a salesperson in a mall smiling and offering chocolates only to the more fair-skinned of the two small kids (of the same race) of a shop’s customer is colorism.
An example that comes to my mind when thinking of how deep-rooted colorism is, is a dialogue from the movie ‘2 States’. While convincing his mom for marrying Alia Bhatt’s Tamil character in the movie, Arjun Kapoor’s Punjabi character says, “Mom, voh (Alia Bhatt’s Tamil character) mere se bhi jyada gori hai!” (translation: “Mom, she is even fairer than me!” (i.e. despite the fact that she is Tamil and hence prejudiced to be dark-skinned while he is Punjabi and hence generally prejudiced to be fair-skinned)).
So, any inequity, bias, or prejudice that is a result of skin tone among persons of the same race is colorism. Colorism is not specific to India but rather is international in nature. The commonality across different cultures, however, is that the lighter skin is systemically privileged while the darker skin is disadvantaged.
A sad outcome of colorism is the dislike that a person affected by colorism may develop for their own skin tone and features.
All in all, colorism and racism are both terrible and morally disgusting in nature.
I feel that it will help a great deal if each of us introspects and recognizes the need for unlearning colorism if one is consciously or unconsciously propagating it through any words or actions.
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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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