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Does fair equal lovely??

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  • Does fair equal lovely??

    Hey guys
    Hey all
    I'm a year 12 student from Australia, doing my major work on the whole fair skin obsession that seems to pervade indian society. Im basically trying to get opinions from people living in India, and compare them with opinions from Indians living in Australia on this issue, and so then I would be able to find out just how much your cultural background influences your perception of physical beauty.

    Any opinions, personal experiences or insights into this will be really really appreciated, as I could use it as my primary research.

    Also, I need to have all these surveys filled out by people from India and Australia, so if any of you had the time to visit the site



    that would be great as well

    Also, if you want to view the other discussion on this issue Ive started for a few discussion topics, please visit

    Blogger is a blog publishing tool from Google for easily sharing your thoughts with the world. Blogger makes it simple to post text, photos and video onto your personal or team blog.


    and feel free to add a comment.

    Thanks heaps!

    Just some discussion topics--

    Is one's ideals of beauty (i.e. the ideal skin complexion) shaped by the power structure, or the values of their society? For example, in India darkness is equated with the labourer classes, and perhaps its history of British colonialism and Aryan rulers has contributed to the perception of fair skin as superior. In Western Countries, such as Australia, being tanned is associated with lesuire, a healthy outbdoor life, etc. and fair skin may be seen as a sign of an unhealthy indoor life, or is perhaps associated with the snobbish upper classes.

    Perhaps the obsession with fair skin in Indians could stem from a shame of their cultural identity? Are they trying to emulate the white cultures because they deem theirs to be inferior?

    How does the media contribute to this perception; e.g. the perception of fair skin in India is reinforced by Bollywood actresses and models, advertisements, television shows. Any examples or opinions on the role of the media in either Western countries for tanned skin, or India for fair skin would be great to hear.

    Do we just want what we can't have? Is it just because fair skin is considered to be an exotic, and therefore more desired quality in India, and the same for Western countries with tanned skin?

    Also, it would be handy if you guys could leave you age, gender, ethnic background and the country you live in so I could compare opinions across different ages and cultures etc

  • #2
    Hi,
    I am a male from India and I've also been pondering over the Indian obsession with fair skin. Much discussion about it takes place on the internet. Various theories are suggested. The theory that Aryans invaded is now not considered good. It is said that Aryans more like migrated to Indian peacefully and started living here. Also a few day back I came to know that fair skin is vaunted even in South-East Asian countries and more or less all across Asia. They clamour after fairness creams there too. Infact they do that in Mexico too. No ancient Aryans went to those places so attributing liking of fair skin to some ancient Aryan invasion looks fallacious to me.

    Another theory suggested was in these countries close to the equator but not particularly made of permanently dark-pigmented people like Africans for eg., those who work and toil in the sun acquire darker skins while those who have money and education and don't need to work have fairer skin by not having to toil under the sun. So fair skin comes to be associated with social power and high-status.

    Yet another theory suggested is invasions by light skinned Central Asians and thereafter Europeans which imposed the idea of the ruling invaders as attractive. Infact this occurence is the most recent in history so most people believe in this.

    I think the second and third theories are probable ones. What I've been thinking is the second theory got continued and extended by the third theory. Among the original inhabitants of these lands, the ruling and privileged people didn't face the sun so they had a fair skin. Thereafter invaders came and enriched themselves of the riches of these lands and became the new rulers and the process continued. Also the invaders' ideas of beauty gained currency among the populations because of their rule, power and influence. And so all this obsession with fair skin will die out over time if all the people in these societies got to have a relatively prosperous and comfortable way of life and get more exposed to their own cultures. It looks more like a historical socio-economic phenomenon to me.

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