Obsessions of Fair Skin and my tryst with It
Have you seen channels like Naaptol or Home Shop 18?
These are the channels selling products with an aggressive pitch centered on
cheap and quality products. Over the years these channels have evolved in
putting up better content and selling better products but there is still a sea
of useless products being pushed down the throats of gullible customers.
I remember seeing these long infomercials for the first
time on TV around 20 years back. It was the time when I was in school and
seeing these ads I believed whatever they presented on TV. I vividly remember
the most popular infomercial/commercial of a product named “Roop Amrit” - Roop
ka Amrit, literally translated as a Nector for Beauty.
What it claimed to do was to make you at least 4 tones
fairer. It was hypnotizing to see the ad as everything about the ad was crafted
artfully. The voiceover was a deep-pitched speech that hooked you to the screen
accentuated by the visuals that you could hardly take your eyes off. The
subjects of the ads used to be having a visible dark skin tone which also had
pimples and pigmentation.
The girls were visibly depressed about how they looked;
the guys could not fathom the courage to go and speak to a fair-skinned girl.
Their gloomy faces clearly showed their despair and insecurity. Then they got
introduced to the holy grail “Roop Amrit” which they used for 60 days as
advised by their friends and well-wishers.
The use of the product not only alleviated them from the
scourge of having a darker skin tone but also made their features attractive.
They were now ready for the world- girls finding their due in society with
increased stares from guys, the bully colleagues dying of jealousy, and the
girls equipped with the worldly confidence they deserved. The guys had girls
asking for their numbers and their social standing being at par with the elite.
All this was possible in 60 days and for just Rs. 1999/-. One could only be a
loser to miss this opportunity.
The Ad in my opinion was racist and discriminatory. It
carried the undertones of disgust and xenophobia towards darker-skinned people.
It equated dark skin as unattractive and fair skin as beautiful. It wanted to
tap into the obsession with the fair skin of the Indian masses.
Who is to blame for this notion of only fair is beautiful?
Why do Indian females obsessively want a fair-skinned baby? Is the media to
blame for propagating the discrimination? Or they are showing what society
wants to see or it is the other way around?
Well, I too got influenced by the ad. I loved field
sports which meant I was mostly outdoors and there was no concept of
sunscreens. I was thus a tanned brown-skinned guy who often got taunts for my
dark skin resembling the African natives or people from southern states. Most
of the people I knew valued fair skin over dark and dark-skinned people were
looked down upon as worthless ugly creatures. The society at large is still the
same.
After looking at the ad, I thought it was my chance to
transform my looks and be the fair-skinned guy that society valued. Thankfully,
I had no money to buy the product and by the time I had money to buy such
products, I had become wise to understand the evil behind the ads.
Earlier, for me, to qualify to be beautiful one needed to
be fair. I learned to appreciate beauty beyond skin tones after I traveled to
different places. The prejudice and bias that my society ingrained in me over
the years took some time to go. When I saw people from different regions of
India, I realized that there was beauty in all features typical of regions.
I hope that the younger generation ward off this obsession and become aware of the inclusive concept of beauty and does not think with filters. I also hope that products like the one mentioned above are boycotted for spreading xenophobia and insularity toward different-looking people. We can only grow to a limit with prejudices and biases. With an open mind, we can grow boundless. We should celebrate all colours. Shalimar Paints did a wonderful ad campaign that resonates with the message- “Har Rang Khoobsurat”.
This topic deserves a full post. I will do it some day.
Learnings of the Day
Defenses to Influences of Authority
I am currently reading “Influence” by Robert Cialdini.
Today the key idea learned was how to defend yourself from influences of
Authoritativeness.
The first question to ask is whether the Authority is
really an expert. If a person representing a position of authority is not
himself an expert we should be wary of their pitch.
Do you remember Sachin Tendulkar in the ads for MRF Tyres? Sure, he used Bats with labels of MRF which was a promotional service he gave to MRF which paid him millions. But does he really know anything about the tyres that they make? He is used as an authority to influence people that MRF can be trusted just as he can be trusted for his batting.
It doesn’t make sense
to perceive that MRF is equally reliable as Sachin is for the Indian cricket
team. If a non-celebrity had endorsed the same product (with no change to
quality), would people still believe MRF’s claim? Of course not. So, the point
is that celebrity-endorsed products should not be blindly chosen over the ones
that do not hire them for their promotion.
Now coming back to the point, then who do we trust to buy
our tyres if we have no idea which brand is the best? The answer is to get
advice from the people who use them a lot- Drivers, Puncture shops, or Tyre
repair shops. They would be the ones who can actually give you an idea of the
durable and superior quality tyres.
I recently started cycling in my neighborhood. I had to
buy a night light to be installed on my bike for night rides. I went on Amazon
and saw a few products, but I was sceptical about which one to buy as products
ranged between Rs. 200-2000. I was confused about how to finalize a product. I
remembered that I had become a member of a cycling group in my area. I
contacted the admin and the most active guy from the group. He shared the link
to a product. I bought it right away. It came out to be a solid product. I
blindly followed the Authority but it was a wise decision as it came from an
expert and a keen person. I used the Authority principle to my advantage.
So, we should engage this principle for other purchases
that we have to make- not blindly following the ads but rather searching for
experts who can guide us.
Homework for life
Found no parking around Gallaria Market even after 4
rounds around the block. Then saw the Club opposite which had ample parking,
only that it had entry for members. Felt I should utilize the Authority
principle. Went straight and parked. No questions asked. Problem solved. Face
the fear of Rejection. It pays to face it.
Exercise
Strength: Back Day.
4 sets of Machine Rowing. 4 sets of Lat pulldowns. 4 sets
of Rack pulls. 2 sets of Pull-ups.
4 sets of Seated Calf Raise. 3 sets of Tibialis Raises
Rehab: McGill Big 3 (1 set each). Lock Big 3 (1 set
each).
Cardio: Running
Zone 2-3 Training: 0 mins. For the week 91 mins.
Last week 95 mins. Target 180 mins for the week.
Anything I like to share/ Habit Tracker
Clean for 121 days.
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