Is India’s Obsession With Fair Skin Encouraging Racism In Relationships?

Racism In Relationships: The obsession with fair skin has been existent in our society for long. Women have to face such stereotypes existing in our society and it affects various aspects of their life. A large part of the problems comes with the mindset which has erupted from patriarchal thinking. Men show preferences towards women with fair skin and all those who don’t meet this
criteria face racist behavior from men. The situation has become quite problematic.

Fair-Skin has become a standard notion for labeling women as beautiful. Even in educated classes, we could see that women who are not fair-skinned, they face racist attacks in day to day situations. A recent survey states that majority of women don’t feel confident in their skin. As a result they use cosmetic products to look more presentable and in the past few years, we could see an upsurge in the rise of cosmetic industries

Demand for Fair Skin Encouraging Racism In Relationships

Most women today want to look fair-skinned that tends to encourage racism in relationships. The innate prejudices that have been sown in the mind of women have given rise to this phenomenon. From a very young age, they are taught to look beautiful, and being beautiful is equated to getting fair skin. At an impressionable age, when such ideas are transferred in their mind, it impacts their confidence. Once they grow up and mature, they often look for the status or attention that comes with being fair-skinned. All those who are labeled as dark-complexioned suffer in their personal lives with such prejudices in our society. It impacts to lead racisim in relationships and it also affects their mental health as a result.

Even though we could see feminist voices in our society, we have not moved past the notion of attaching beauty with fair skin. In the wake of feminism, we could see many women questioning age-old prejudices in our society. The notion that only beautiful women are worthy was popularly debunked by feminists. ‘Brown is beautiful’ is yet another movement that was observed across various spheres in our society. Women started recognizing the need to accept their bodies whether it was fair-skinned or not. Body shaming of women in the name of being fair-skinned or not came into question. It gave confidence to many sufferers and they shared their personal stories. It resulted in creating a network where women could openly come out with their vulnerabilities and provide support to each other.

Although we have seen a rise in voices associated with feminist opinions, the reality on the ground is somewhat different. A large proportion of men still prefer females whom they call ‘beautiful’. Many married women have to listen to taunts in their personal spaces if they are not fair. It badly impacts their relationships and affects their confidence adversely. To get past such old notions, we need to come together as a society and work collectively on it. Getting over our innate prejudices is just one way through which we could fight it and move towards a balanced society as a whole.

In any relationship, if people don’t have mutual respect for one another, it becomes difficult to sustain it in the long run. With racism faced by women due to their skin color, they feel insecure with their partners. They feel that their counterpart would be attracted to those who are viewed as prettier than them. It often results in tensions in their families. If we look around us, then we could see that women are often discriminated against at various places on such grounds. They have to face insensitive remarks from everyone.

Not feeling happy or appreciated feeling racism in relationships makes it a cause of concern for them. Unhappy relationships make them feel unfulfilled. Feeling secure with our loved one is what we strive for. But such stereotypical thinking disrupts the happiness quotient of relationships. This gives rise to anxiety in women for unnecessary reasons. The discrimination faced by women on the basis of their skin color is a result of our ideas which we have associated with a women’s identity. For generations, women’s bodies have been objectified and racist tendencies in relationships are an example of it.

Looking around the advertising banners, one can observe that many products claim to make women’s skin flawless or fair. It all boils down to the notion of achieving the status of being beautiful with the perfect skin tone. When men show their preference towards women with flawless skin, it also affects their self-esteem. Many women feel that they are not appreciated by their male counterparts if they don’t fit in such societal standards. Often it leads to dissatisfaction in them and their expectations are impacted in their love relationships. Under such circumstances, the appreciation which could emerge from their individualistic personalities takes a backseat. Overall, when men look for women for romantic relationships, they judge them on the basis of physical features and this cycle continues on.

For getting over such gendered notions in our society, one of the most important moves would be to question our innate assumptions. Judging women on the basis of their skin color has given rise to racism and impacted them adversely. Old-age stereotypes should be cross-questioned by us. Moreover, if women start accepting their bodies, then it might help them to lead their lives with confidence. In the battle of gender equality, both women and men need to come together and work mutually for a balanced society.

The idea of being perfect or flawless should not be accepted by us altogether. Children should be given training about how to deal with such prejudiced notions. This will ensure that the upcoming generations don’t deal with such old notions of facing racism on the basis of skin tones. A gender-balanced society could only be maintained when we stop behaving on such lines and work towards mutual trust and respect. Also, acknowledging that these problems exist would be an important step in this journey. So, both men and women need to come together to bring change, be in their personal relationship, or in society as a whole. It is important to debunk colorist tendencies so that no one suffers under such pretenses.

Ankita Singh: