07 January 2007
Statistics
Fairness creams advertising on television marks a rise of 56 per cent in the first half of year 2004 compared to the same period in 2003. Hindustan Lever rules the fairness creams category with nearly 84.4 per cent of the advertising pie on television in 2003.
The fairness industry accounts for 60 percent of skincare sales, bringing in $140 million a year.
Universal beauty stereotypes
The European characteristics of light skin color, blonde hair, and blue eyes are the “gold standard” for physical attractiveness in the United States. Eurocentric beauty messages are communicated across the media and, where possible, males and females are transforming their physical appearance to conform to these standards.
Research on African Americans, for example, supports the notion that skin colors that are darker than the “standard” have negative consequences for the self-concept.
Attractiveness, like skin color and sex, is an easily observed status and may serve as the basis for discrimination, which impacts social interactions and psychological well-being. Discrimination is a likely experience for youth whose physical appearance deviates from the preferred. Social rejection from peers and the sorting into social networks because of one’s skin color maybe very stressful and enhance the risk for depression and low self-esteem.
Self-evaluations are formed from the perceptions of the appraisals of others. Youth who believe their skin color is viewed negatively by others may become dissatisfied with their skin color, and consequently develop low self-esteem and depression.
Children who are considered “too dark” or in some cases “too light” in comparison to family members or peers are often taunted, experience feelings of shame, become dissatisfied with their skin color, and wish to change their skin color. They internalize the negative evaluations suggested by their family members and peers and may constantly imagine that others view their skin color poorly.
Due to the pervasiveness of media, it may be difficult for adolescents to avoid social comparisons with media portrayals of skin color. The leading African American females in films are usually light-skinned with European features, while the leading African American males appearing in films are usually dark-skinned.
Overall, the media also perpetuates images of fair-skinned, long haired, Eurocentric beauty.
In Indian cinema beauty is more often than not portrayed by fair to wheat-ish looking women. No dark actress comes to mind immediately. While this holds true also for male actors we can find several popular actors like Hrithik Roshan, Shahrukh Khan etc who are more tanned than most Indian actresses. Also famous Indian celebrities like Aishwarya Rai, Shushmita Sen etc who are fairly light skinned are shown to represent Indian beauty in many Indian advertisements.
Many matrimonial websites as well as matrimony advertisements in newspapers etc show the preference for fair skinned brides. Not only will you find that a smaller percentage of dark women will describe themselves as such rather choosing wheatish in websites like shadi.com but majority of the women who do describe themselves as dark.
Betting that the fairness craze in India will continue, American and European companies are fighting for their market share. Popular western brands Avon, L'Oreal, Lancome, Yves Saint-Laurent, Clinique, Elizabeth Arden, Estee Lauder, and Revlon, offer whitening products. In addition, cheap knockoffs like "Cure and Lovely" are making the rounds.
Two attractive young women are sitting in a bedroom having an intimate conversation. The lighter-skinned woman has a boyfriend and, consequently, is happy. The darker-skinned woman, lacking a boyfriend, is not. Her friend's advice? Use a bar of soap to wash away the dark skin that's keeping men from flocking.
Hindustan Lever Limited, one of India's largest manufacturing and marketing conglomerates, discontinued two of its television advertisements for Fair and Lovely Fairness Cold Cream this month, after a year-long campaign led by the All India Democratic Women's Association.
Its frequently-aired ads typically show a depressed woman with few prospects gaining a brighter future by attaining a boyfriend or job after becoming markedly fairer (emphasized by several silhouettes of her face lined up dark to light). On its Web site the company calls its product, "the miracle worker," which is "proven to deliver one to three shades of change."
Advertisements for beauty products promote the notion that females closest to the “European look” are the most attractive of their group.
For white students, dissatisfaction with skin color may be a response to attractiveness standards related to tanning, wanting brighter skin, or to dermatological problems, such as acne, rather than a consequence of colorism or race discrimination. Evidence that meanings of dissatisfaction with skin color may differ culturally can be observed in the use of skin whitening products and skin whitening advertisements that send different messages to racial groups. Among people of color, skin whitening is traditionally associated with oppression, self-hate, and feelings of inferiority. Skin whitening advertisements directed toward whites suggests that the use of the product is to restore youthfulness and brightness.
In no other developmental phase is skin color so closely linked to attractiveness popularity and self-worth than in adolescence. Research suggests that females are generally more dissatisfied than males with their physical appearance, and males’ self-esteem is not affected by body dissatisfaction.
While both white females and females of color spend millions of dollars on beauty products, many products that target females of color, such as skin bleaches, promote whitening as part of the beautifying process
Today anxiety over not appearing “white enough” among white women is evidenced by increasing sales of skin whitening products marketed to white women as “anti-aging therapy.” These products lighten skin in efforts to remove dark spots and to stay youthful.
Does it affect men?
"Nearly 27 per cent of Fairever's users are men," says a CavinKare official. That amounts to nearly Rs 22 crore in sales, since Fairever's sales are estimated at Rs 80 crore.
Companies claim that nearly 25% of fairness cream users are men. Sales of Fair & Lovely are estimated at Rs 500 crore and men contribute Rs 100 crore. But while Fair & Lovely leads the fairness creams pack with an estimated market share of 55 per cent, CavinKares' Fairever, which occupies the second spot, does better with male consumers.
Increasing public criticism may be initiating a change in cultural attitudes towards skin whitening in India. In a memo to India's National Human Rights Commission, Brinda Karat, general secretary of the women's association, calls one of the ads "discriminatory on the basis of the color of skin," and "an affront to a woman's dignity," because it shows fairer women having greater job success based on their sexuality.
Harmful effects of skin bleaching
All skin bleaching products contain one of the two active ingredients: hydroquinone and mercury.
The long term effects of using skin lightening products are,Hydroquinone or Mercury applied to the skin will react with ultra violet rays and re-oxidise, leading to more pigmentation and premature ageing. More product is then applied in an attempt to correct the darker blotchy appearance. These are the beginnings of a vicious cycle. By altering the skins natural structure and inhibiting the production of Melanin, it’s natural protection, the skin is more susceptible to skin cancer. Prolonged use of Hydroquinone will thicken collegen fibres damaging the connective tissues. The result is rough blotchy skin leaving it with a spotty cavier appearance. Mercury will slowly accumulate within the skin cells striping the skin of it’s natural pigment leaving behind the tell tale signs of gray/ blue pigmentation in the folds of the skin. In the long term the chemical will damage vital organs and lead to liver and kidney failure and mercury poisoning.
Mercury-based bleaching creams contain ammoniated mercury or mercrous chloride as a bleaching agent. Some of these creams may contain up to more than 2-5% mercury that will be harmful to health. Thus resulting in mercury poisoning, especially chronic mercury poisoning, may result.
In the Minimata epidemic in Japan, there were 42 brain-damaged children in 400 live births. Only one of the mothers had no sign of having mercury poisoning. Majority of the mothers had used mercury-based bleaching creams during her childbearing years.
Siblings of mercury-based cream users are also found to have mercury in their urine. These goes to show that second hand poisoning is possible.
Banning products containing Hydroquinone and Mercury will not stop the products from entering the markets and being sold under the counter. The only way we can make a positive impact on preventing this ‘disease’ from spreading is through continuous campaigns raising awareness via the media and the government.
The awareness that whitening products can damage the skin is growing. To respond to health concerns, "Fair and Lovely" has come out with an "ayurvedic" formula, a term referring to a well-known system of Indian herbal medicine. And at an upscale salon in Delhi, at a chain also owned by Hindustan Lever, Puja Sharma stresses to potential customers that her lightening facials are all-natural, using milk and fresh fruits like tomato and papaya. However, at four to six times the price of Rachna Gupta's monthly bleaching, this option finds fewer takers.
References and videos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17fEy0q6yqc&eurl=http://community.livejournal.com/blackcigarette/540354.html
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/789835.cms
http://vsequeira.blogspot.com/2005/07/fair-lovely.html
http://www.der.org/films/a-darker-side-of-fair.html
http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/theses/
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