dark skin

The beauty standard for fairer and lighter skin in India has grown deep and unfair

Written by: Jasleen Bains, SFU Student I grew up watching light-skinned Indian actresses and models on television, believing that my darker skin made me subordinate. Comments I received throughout those years — don’t play outside in the sun too much; lather up with sunscreen so you don’t get a tan — seemed harmless. However, I see now that many of these comments were deeply rooted in the cultural norm of colour shaming. The preference for light skin is one that numerous women internalize, especially in India. There, skin-lightening products such as Fair and Lovely, designed to whiten one’s skin, form…

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