Unilever has done it again. In its quest for greater profits it has successfully exploited the inferiority complex of many Indians who think their dark skin is somehow degrading. More than settle for a “fairer” skin it seems the company is trying to push for what many Indians consider the highest ideal of beauty – a white skin. In this particular ad (which is more like a drama) Priyanka Chopra who gets dumped by Saif, slathers her face with Pond’s white beauty and lo and behold… Saif realizes he is actually in love with her(due to her “radiant white beauty”) and goes back to Priyanka. The whole idea is so shallow, I wonder which kind of woman will be appealed by it. It is truly an insult to the intelligence of Indian women. If this is what is required to attract a suitable husband then I’d rather remain a spinster all my life. ;)
Unilever has been involved with such racist ads for a long time with its ubiquitous and highly lucrative brand “Fair and Lovely” where a fair skin can guarantee you anything from a high paying job to a hubby. In these ads they usually show a woman who is not only dark but also doesn’t have a fashion sense, is timid and scared to approach people. Once she uses fairness creams everything about her changes (not only her face), she dresses more fashionably, approaches people more confidently and manages to attract suitable grooms.
As pointed out by many in the blogosphere, the same Unilever company markets Dove products in the Western countries which asks woman to love themselves the way they are. Apparently Western people can be confident about the way they look, but Indians should cover their faces with creams to reach the “ideal” look. Our idiotic society plays a huge part in reaffirming these prejudices. You only have to look at the matrimonial section of newspapers to know this.
I call all self respecting women (and men) to boycott Unilever products. It is time we Indians got rid of this slavish mentality.
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8 comments:
I share your concern.
But why blame (only) the corporation?
There's a wonderful dialogue by Paresh Rawal in the movie Satya - which is very apt to the situation you described "Kasaai ko kyon gaali dete ho? Kasai bhi bakra tabhi katata hai jab log use khate hai." loosely translated as "Why curse the butcher? He kills the goat only when people want to eat it."
The media/corporations do not push this 'slavish mentality' down to people's throat. People actually line up to get their regular dose of 'slavish mentality'. The public is *predisposed* to the 'slavish mentality'.
If the corporation stops advertising their product based on a premise that the public is susceptible to, they would go bankrupt!
Most of the time, the media and corporations do not create such world-views. Their mere existence actually thrives upon (already existing) popular world-views. I agree that they do exploit the "popular demand" to sell their products. And I do blame them for doing that, BUT I think that the public should be blamed more than how much we blame the media/corporations.
My 2 cents.
The society has to take a fair share of the blame. I understand that. That doesn't mean that the corporations can keep exploting their weaknesses without any sense of social resposiblity. For ex: there may be many whites in the U.S. who might consider blacks inferior to them. Doesn't mean that the corporations make use of such prejudices and make money out of it. I am not against advertising for beauty products. However there is a limit to which you can reinforce social prejudices for profit making. It is not possible to change people's mentality in a day. Just because a majority of Indians think that fairness is the greatest ideal(I am generalising based on the people I've met) of beauty doesn't make it right. The fact remains that the majority of Indians are dark skinned. The belief that you skin tone is somehow degrading is pathological and just because many Indians have that belief doesn't make it normal. It only reeks of a slavish colonial mentality. What is required is consciousness raising as in gender issues to question the exisiting social mores. One other reason for its all pervading existence is because of its close relationship with the caste sytem. Many Indian are still living in the 19 century in this respect.
Hi
I do understand the frustration of imposed ideals of beauty that the society and the market puts on us. But for every overzealous entrepreneur, there is a gullible person who will want some kind of wonderful product that will lift him from who he is to who he can be. They are dream merchants. It can be religion, god men, some exotic remedy, or some beauty product. There is only a small amount of influence that the outside can make on the gullible party and reason out with them. You must have tried arguing with an ardently religious person to the same effect as with a person who wishes to be obsessively beautiful. The only way any sense can be got, I feel is taking a different route. Many of these products use chemicals that slowly seep into the body, and will have long term hazards, and can affect pregnant women, and children. Also companies like Dove, and other products rely on animal testing, which is the most cruel thing in the world to do. (I have been there and am even today haunted by the cruelty). It is important to constantly remind the population the consequence of their action, and its long term problems. Beauty is something people will search for ever. They have been doing it long before fair and lovely, and will do it long after this too. But pressure has to layed on the fact that it cannot be at all costs. I may have strayed away from what you were talking about, but I thought it was important
Yeah I agree that there will always be a group of gullible people who fall for such claims. But don't you think something is wrong when almost 50% of the female population uses this in India? What kind of self respect do they have?I can't speak for others but I feel this is a retrograde trend.
Well unilever is just making mockery of the orthodoxy prevailing in our country...
too bad this slavish mentality is prevalent everywhere white man once ruled.
got here through TR's blog. glad to be here.
Hi roop. Yes, the british did contribute a lot towards developing this slave mentality, but I'd say the Indian caste system is also partly responsible.
Unfortunately all our rulers have been light(er) skinned ...Caste system, then Mughals, then the British.
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