The love for fair skin has been a considerably significant undercurrent in the Indian social milieu. Whether it is in the many Bollywood song lyrics or in the portrayal of women on screen, the emphasis on fair skin became something of a norm. This went so far, that a whole industry of fairness creams, bleaching products and skincare pivoting around melanin reduction mushroomed and grew from strength to strength. In the cultural backdrop that was built up around this, dark skinned, wheatish-skinned and brown women had no elbow room whatsoever.
The science behind one’s complexion is very simple: melanin. The actual skin colour of different humans is affected by many factors – but the most important one that lends colour to one’s complexion is melanin, which is produced within skin cells that are called melanocytes. There is a direct correlation between the geographical distribution of UV radiation and the extent of skin pigmentation around the world. In a country like India, which has a tropical climate by and large, it is but common for plenty of people to have a brown, wheatish or dark brown skin tone. This is not to mean that one’s complexion cannot be changed – for bleaching agents and powerful chemicals can wind up cutting the melanin down. However, doing so comes with the unsubtle undercurrent of racism.
Recently, Kangana Ranaut refused to endorse a fairness cream brand on account of the fairness bias that prevails across the fabric of the country. There are plenty of prejudices that pivot around one’s skin tone: many women testify to being considered “dowry burdens” because of their dark complexion. Still other women face a lot of flak for being dark skinned – not only from their families which tend to think that their daughters are incapable of being married off because they are dark skinned. And this, it appears, has been a regular occurrence for many years together. When girls are born, apart from communities that berate the birth of a female child, there are whole communities that ask if the girl was born fair, first, before anything else. Skim through any of the listings in the classifieds’ matrimonial section and you’ll find the prerequisite for brides being fair, more often than anything else.
Against this backdrop, Kangana Ranaut’s stand has come as a breath of fresh air. However, before Kangana’s outright act of defiance of the norm, Nandita Das has been a crusader for the cause of women with a dark skin tone through the “Dark is Beautiful” campaign. The fight against the colour bias and prejudice on one’s skin tone has a long way to go – but with influencers and prominent artistes in the limelight making a strong statement against the mainstream perspective, things are definitely looking up.

References:
http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/kangana-ranaut-turns-down-offer-to-endorse-fairness-cream/article7244344.ece

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