Why are Indian people in particular so preoccupied with skin shade?

Question

I have spoken with so many Indian people over the years and the women in particular have this preoccupation with skin shade and being light skinned - e.g Ashwarya Rai is their poster girl - light skin with green eyes.
Is there an aspiration to be white or something? If you go into Asian [Indian] shops in the UK a lot of them sell skin lightening cremes and lotions... i just find it a little weird.
I know this goes on in other cultures but it seems to be especially prevalent amongst Indian people...

tyedyesky... have to disagree with you there!!

Answer 1

Very complex question.Indians are mostly dark skinned and having a lighter shade denotes your coming from a higher class family.Add to that a bit of caste,superstition and luck-that's the perfect recipe they are going after.

Answer 2

Good this question has many thing to be examined, Before independent of india, she was invaded, occupied, ruled by the western country people like British, French, Spanish etc., for more than 350 years note India has not invaded any country for past 5000 years.

This invation has lead to a hars treatment of who disobeyed them
they were sentenced to death without any trails the Judges and the person who in commanding table was white people which has lead the Indian people for a complex which has made them
to have this kinds of feelings in there mind for generations.

Now the time has come reply the western world that the Software skill, Hard Labour, Better Imagnation HAS LET THEM TO A NEW WORLD which has bright feature

Answer 3

I'm not sure, but I think, like many 'strange' behaviours, this one is rooted in practical class tradition.

I once asked an Indian friend why her mother was so concerned that she not get a 'tan' and for her to stay out of the sun. She replied that in India, it is a mark of your class if you have darker skin--the darker the skin, the more time you spend outdoors, therefore, you probably live on the street (untouchable) or you are a trader or beggar. "And we wouldn't want the neighbours to think that you were any of these things, now would we, my dear?"

If you look back in western culture, it used to be fashionable to be very pale and, by our standards today, fat. This was an indication that you were rich--you had plenty to eat and did not need to work outdoors. Similarly, in ancient Egypt, I've read that the condition of your skin (soft and oiled vs dry and callussed) was the criteria for beauty/wealth.

I suppose that if you extend this, it is only the well to do in western society today that can afford the leisure to sunbathe, eat the best low-fat food and exercise to maintain that size 0 and golden tan. . . or so the magazines and television would have us believe . . .

Answer 4

I had an Indian friend who used white powder on his face when he was at Uni, he told me he had a skin infection and I believed him at the time, but it became apparent, he had lovely skin and just did this to fit in - He is a leading civil rights lawyer now and been on the telly and would have loved the make-up girls. I just don't know - mind you lots of white people would prefer to be brown when you think about it.

Answer 5

I remember a fairly black Moroccan friend who told me about an incident when he had called two Indian women black. They objected. He then put his forearm against theirs and compared.
Before it became compulsory to have a coloured passport photo, the Turkish government had a scale from 1 to 8 regarding skin colour.
When Europeans go on holiday to sun blessed countries, they preen themselves on their return when friends say, 'How brown you are.' In India it's different. If you come back from holiday looking pale and washed out people will exclaim, 'You look so pale, have you been in Europe?'

Answer 6

it has nothing to do with being white skinned.... it is just not being happy with what you are..... indian women might like to be light skinned...... people in the western countries go through countless surgeries to get better bodies.... they are not happy with what they have...... everybody is chasing concepts of perfect beauty...... indian women think they will become beautiful when they get a little fair..... other women have their own agendas.....things like being unhappy with what you have.... are not country specific... its universal..... the grass looks greener on the other side..... you also are chasing a concept which someone has put in your mind>...:)

Answer 7

Very good question. But i find it to be the blacks with the problem. They wonder why everyone dislikes them and then they say its cuz of the color of there skin. I say "It's not because your black, it's because they way you act".

Answer 8

they are too skinn shady them selves

and they okupy with others shadyes

slim shadyes and fat shadyes too