In 2010, Vaseline launched a skin lightening cream for Indian men that promised "Visible fairness in just two weeks." As we learned in lecture and Evelyn Nakano Glenn's reading, the origins of colorism in India are obscure and may be traced as far back to the migrations of Aryans into India during the Vedic period. Furthermore, they are certainly linked to an associated of darker skin with labor and lighter skin with the types of intellectual and/or domestic labor associated with higher castes within ancient caste order in the Vedic system. Nevertheless, as Nakano Glenn demonstrates, it was during the era of British rule (roughly 1757-1947) that colorism was consolidated and institutionalized and fair skin was turned into a structural privilege. After the fall of the British Empire, the social stigma of darker skin still remained, but more so for women rather than men, since women often few means than marriage to determine social position.
So then why are Indian men now emerging as a market for skin lightening cream in the era of economic liberalization in India under globalization? Do you believe this is the cynical manipulation of racist ideologies by multinational corporations like Unilever (the corporation that owns Vaseline, and that by the way is responsible for some of the racist colonial soap ads we studied from the 19th century) OR is it simply an an acknowledgement of an aesthetic preference in a globalized world dominated by Western media and in which socially mobile Indian men are going to have to move?
Click here to read more about Vaseline's Indian Skin Lightening App for Men
Then read some of the reader comments on the following:
http://jezebel.com/5585906/vaseline-crowdsources-racism-with-new-skin+whitening-app
http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/07/16/facebook_apps_gone_rogue
Indian men are being targeted in the market of skin lightening because the notion of lighter skin makes promises of a better life. Having lighter skin among a man makes him more attractive for females so he will be more likely to be noticed by the opposite sex. As well as beauty, having lighter skin supposedly will give an Indian man an advantage in the job market. Having lighter skin comes with the idea that you are higher and worth more, this concept tracing all the way back to the 1800s. Much hasn’t changed since then concerning lighter skin, it is still seen as more attractive and gives you more opportunities. I believe this notion is still ongoing today because of the Western media that display over and over people with lighter skin in magazines, television, and movies. These Indian men are constantly being exposed to adds, such as the Vaseline one, and other forms of media that reinforces the idea that having lighter skin is just simply better. Western corporations are extremely powerful when reinforcing this ideal and consumers buy into it. Another example of the media influencing these Indian men can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWls3U7ZZ1E&noredirect=1. In this commercial, the opening is a camera crew filming an attractive man who happens to have light skin. An Indian man with darker skin is looking at the man everyone is cheering for enviously. He then gets a text to try a lightening cream and then he comes back with lighter skin and the camera crew films him and cheers for him. It is advertisements such as these that influence cultures into believing that lighter skin is more aesthetically pleasing. Media will always be a powerful source of influence which without a doubt causes people to alter themselves to fit the media’s mold.
ReplyDeleteSkin lightening and the obsession over the desire to be born light-skinned is primarily due to the British colonization period. Since the British ruled India, the men and women (especially the men), were seen as "representing the highest culture and embodying the optimum physical type..." (Nakano Glenn, 172). Therefore, the Indians were able to compare their own physique to the English men. They also desire to be idolized and intelligent (or rather, to appear as an intelligent person), which brought on the idea that being light skinned was (and still is) the only option.
ReplyDeleteEven though colonization initiated the idea, I believe Westernization and media are two of the main reasons for the continuing desire of skin lightening. Having America and the UK as their "role model," India tries to adopt a society based on American and British cultures, especially social and media cultures. This can be seen through their film industry known as Bollywood, where India spends millions of dollars on productions. Furthermore, the industry draws many inspirations from Western films/dramas. With the influence of the West, Bollywood search for attractive actors and actresses, mostly those who have lighter skin. The media's pressure to be attractive plays a big role in skin color insecurities. Having seen lighter skinned models/actors constantly on film and repeatedly advertised on TV, billboards and posters, men women are pressured to look the same. They believe looking like the celebrities will make them successful in life in terms of careers, marriages, etc. I believe skin lightening creams will continue to rise as long as the film industry continue to mass advertise models and actors who are "fair" compared to the average citizen.
Though the media is a big role, I also believe transnational corporations are major players in advertising lightening products. The collaboration of transnational corporations and media advertising is the best strategy to sway the public into thinking that they need to lighten their skin to look "attractive." The corporations utilizes commercials, billboards and posters to trick consumers into believing that they need the product and that it really works. After building some consumer loyalty, the corporations continue to utilize strategic advertisement to attract new consumers by promoting "attractive" models, actors and actresses.
In India, according to Evelyn Nakano Glenn, the only real connection made to skin color and social status was that those with darker skin tones were probably of the lower caste system because they were out in the sun working, and those with lighter skin remained in-doors which meant they did not have to work because they were wealthier. As we analyze the reasons for why lighter skin is more desirable among women and now men, I'd like to point out some of the men who have been on the cover of GQ magazine: Irrfan Khan, Arjum Rempal, Viral Kohli, Robert Pattinson, Liam Hemsworth, Jake Gyllenhaal, Brad Pitt. You probably had a hard time recognizing the first three, at least I did. The first 3 men I listed are Indian but surprisingly fair-skinned. As one of you mentioned above, the media has and will always influence men and women all across the world. I think globalization has opened avenues of materialism for men in India and as Indian business men make business trips to the United States and other parts of the world, they are exposed to that nation's idea of "good-looking" and "successful." Globalization has called for more traveling and more exposure to outside worlds and something different tends to be perceived as beautiful. In Glenn's article, we understand that British colonial concepts may have an influence on desire for lighter skin if we want to relate it back to history. They needed to justify British rule and in turn they began attributing skin color to intelligence and cultural superiority and this applied for their women as well. And so if Indian men and women have historically connected skin color to success and beauty, globalization and business is completely intertwined and associated with why Indian men will subject themselves to skin-lightening products.
ReplyDeleteIndia's obsession with lightening skin pigments is a result of a clash between globalized, hegemonic standards and the culture of caste systems within the country. Both globalization and castes are pushing the Indian peoples to crave lighter skin in order to be on top of the social pyramid. Globalization influences began with imperialism and the colonization of India by the British in the 19th century. These pressures escalated in the 21st century with the expanding capitalistic markets and outsourced workforces. Globalization, in both eras, was driven by hegemonic countries that were headed by a majority of white people. These standards meshed significantly well with India’s ancient caste system. The caste system is essentially a social class system that ranks people higher or lower due to family history, religiousness, and monetary outlook. Changing statues within this system is very difficult and not heard of often, however, changes in human rights in the country are changing this. The people of the highest class are usually of fairer skin color and this has sparked aspiration for lighter skin. To be light is to be powerful, respected, and of higher class in this system and men want this. Indian women have aspired for lighter skin for centuries, and now the men feel the pressure as well. Many companies, like Vaseline, have come out with skin lightening creams directly targeted for men. While I can see how this can be viewed as highly racist, I also see it in another light. Here in the United States, many people aspire for the opposite, darker skin, or tan skin. Women and men go to tanning beds, buy creams, and sit outside for hours just to gain a few darker shades. Pigment alteration and wants is nothing new, and if people want to call India’s creams racist, they have to call the United States racist as well. You cannot acknowledge only one side of the story, that is bias. Personally, I think pigment alteration is unnecessary and people should thrive in the skin they were given, that is not the perspective the world has. The perfect pigment is just another beauty myth passed around the world, like the perfect weight, hair color, or eye color. People who dye their hair blonde are not considered racist against people with darker hair and people who use blue, colored contacts are not racist against brown eyed people. With this trend in mind, people who wish to change their skin color are not racist either. Either all color change to one’s body is racist, or it is not; it cannot be a one way street.
ReplyDeleteThe preference for having fair/light skin in India has fueled the economic growth and expansion of the market directed at skin lightening creams. Whether the notion of preference for lighter skin emerged from British Colonial rule or the caste system from the Northern Indians to the Southern Indians (Nakano Glenn, 171), its significance still remains with the expansion towards male consumers. Primarily females were the major consumers for skin lightening products as the assumption of light skin would equal beauty and desirability. Through media and advertisements, the idea of being fair as desirable is constantly exposed coupling with past connections of lighter skin and social status (lighter skin equaling higher social status due to “sheltered living” the luxury of not working outdoors) (Nakano Glenn, 171), reeled women in. Desirability enables better opportunities a successful life, with the Bollywood actresses as examples who personify this image of the fair, desirable and successful image of a woman. Having light skin (one of the homogeneous beauty norms of western ideas) has become somewhat of a symbolic capital, resulting in higher chances of success and marriage. Not only fair skin, but the homogeneous beauty norms of the west is branching into other areas as the traditional view of Indian beauty moves towards a more western view accentuating a more sexy figure. However, with the focus on skin lightening this aesthetic preference of beauty is gearing towards men, which is probably from the result of the growth of the Urban Middle Class in India (Nakano Glenn, 172). Although before, other factors would overlook the skin color of men more as opposed to women, now having light skin has been added to the criteria of desirability with the rise in competition and with more women working.
ReplyDeleteBy expanding the idea that lighter skin is more beautiful on men, it opens a whole new market for products and consumers. Although the idea of having lighter skin being associated with status, wealth, and power has been around since the British control of India, the increase of technology, globalization, and media reinforce the idea. The men who are seen as attractive to women, are fair skinned men. This is displayed in Bollywood films, as well as Hollywood films. To men in India, having lighter skin means getting the attention of more women. It amazes me that Vaseline released the app where men can digitally lighten their skin, it seems to be reinforcing the idea, that you aren't attractive enough, but with our product you can be. I do think the idea for lighter skin is dominated by Western media, and the force men to move. Globally, we place so much emphasis on beauty and looks, which stems from the west. When the men in India view men in power, they tend to see prodominantly lighter skinned men, leading them to believe that they should be as well. With products like Vaseline's it gives them the tools to reinforce the ideas.
ReplyDeleteAccording to me, this is only an "acknowledgement of an aesthetic preference in a globalized world dominated by Western media and in which socially mobile Indian men are going to have to move"? People all across the world have had this image of lighter skin being more attractive, be it men or women. Women have been in a race to get lighter skin since a long time and now is only the turn of the guys. I am from India and because I have a lighter skin color, people always ask me if I was really Indian. Why? Because people have this image of Indian people to be only dark skinned. So anything other than that does not settle well. This image has led to the increased demands of lighter skin color in the Indian community. I remember once, while talking casually about guys, my mom and I were discussing future potential grooms for my cousin and as soon as she saw a picture of a guy who was darker skinned she went, " Not him, look at how dark he is! Our Sujal (My cousin) is so light skinned! She can do much better!" I did not think of this comment as a racist comment but rather a stereotypical comment any mother would have given living in India. The times are changing and so are the thoughts of people and so it is inevitable for people to move on from the older thoughts to the new era of "what fits best, fits."
ReplyDeleteI was pretty shocked when I read about this. The first thing that came to mind was "cant people just be happy with the way they are???" But then I realized that in today's western culture, NOBODY is happy with just the way they are. I do not think there is anything necessarily wrong with that, in small amounts. In my opinion I feel like the Indian Men should be proud of their skin color, but if they see lighter as more beautiful, how is that any different from the Western Culture thinking "thinner is more beautiful." This can also work oppositely. There is not a single store that does not carry some type of bronzer or tanner. You see people all the time trying to get tanner by laying out in the sun or going to tanning salons. The only difference in this scenario is that it is "unusual", most people want to have darker skin, not lighter.
ReplyDeleteHistory has caused the obsessive behavior for the goal to have "light" skin. Due to the Western culture of the idea of light skin being the ultimate factor in having a better life, there is now a target for another subject in the consumer culture. Vaseline has targeted the vulnerability in the way people regard dark skin by hoping to exploit the ideal image. This type of marketing is definitely colorism at play, preying on those that feel the need for lighter skin to be accepted in a discriminatory world. The skin lightening industry is making a fortune in the shallow values of the world however, specifically the skin tone debate is derived from history. The attitude behind the racist soap ad regarding the "superior" white skin tone still is alive today and is shown through corporations like Vaseline that continue to keep this racist attitude.
ReplyDeleteIt seems now as India undergoes the changes of globalization, the adoption of the Western culture involves the attention on the ideal image of success and beauty. Ads that sell skin lightening creams for Indian men, portray the negative outcomes for having dark skin and the success that follows for having a lighter skin tone. This is racist beyond measure and does not represent any realistic image. Ads like this tell the world that a dark skinned man is held back in their life endeavors and this needs to change.
The origin for our fixation with skin pigmentation may be hard to trace; however, this fascination with linking biology to social caste systems was most certainly brought to the foreground in the nineteenth century through British imperialism. Proto-social-Darwinist ideals were ingrained in British and British colonial societies: one’s birth was thought to determine one’s ranking in life. It was only a short stretch to see physical appearance as a representation of one’s birth and, therefore, social right/privilege. I can definitely see the link between these ideologies and the industry of skin lightening.
ReplyDeleteHowever, we must distinguish consumer from manufacturer and manufacturer from product (i.e. the intentions versus implications of making/selling the product). Holding true to the idea of Marxist commodity fetishism, as consumers, we all yearn for certain socially constructed commodities. Our human-to-human relationships are often nothing more than monetary exchanges. Fittingly, we buy into socially constructed ideas of beauty and identification. Media, marketing, politics, and social climate (among other factors) all come together to make certain trends and commodities seem more appealing. Interestingly enough, companies like Unilever study certain market trends for popular patterns on which they can capitalize.
Where the intentions for profit and colorist implications overlap is in skin lightening manufacturers’ attempted prediction of beauty trends. I believe that like Mattel, who markets the Barbie to underlying social conditions, Vaseline has asserted that Indian men will desire lighter skin. I think that this prediction has in large part come from the increasing presence of western technology and business in India. Areas such as Bangalore that have experienced significant changes due to the processes of (mostly technological) globalization now also appear more western than before. That is, these highly globalized areas potentially have a strong consumer market for all things that look westernized. Thus, manufacturers have discovered a growing demographic: Indian men that hope to fit both the trend and the business atmosphere. This particular reading of the situation is similar to that of Evelyn Nakano Glenn’s in that she views skin lightening “as a form of symbolic capital that affects, if not determines, one’s life chances” (165).
Is this racism or realism? My response: it's capitalism. This is not meant in any way to excuse these practices, since I do not think we can separate the racist implications from this business venture, but more importantly, I believe that modern society has bought, sold, and traded beauty for profit.
India for much of its history was dominated politically speaking with the Caste system which was life sentence for good or for bad. If a person was born into a life of privelege then they could be prosperous in the society; born into the lower classes meant a life of relentless poverty and doing without. Movement within the labor classes did not occur. Reading this week about he coloration of a society reflects back on the ancient ideals of India. A person with darker skin is seen as a lower caste citizen while lighter skin (like the colonial British) was seen as a better attribute to possess. British, who were the imperial masters of India through the late 1940's) could be seen as western spheres of influence. In the Modern Day the west, after world war 2, can be seen as America. In the McDonaldization of the global sphere, many ideals, from fastfood to coffee and lifestyles are being demonstrated by media sources on a global scale. Celebrities are not generally seen as very pale or extra dark in skin tone but rather a golden bronze. Ancient Indian ideal coupled with the west's every growing media reach has placed an emphasis that golden is good; and with good there must be a not so good. The darker skin being that not so good, and the companies that sell the skin lightening products have prospered in the meantime
ReplyDeleteSkin color discrimination has become a big social problem in India and it is believed that persons endowed with fair skin are preferred by the entertainment and other. The reason being, skin color has been given importance in India for a long time. Some people believe that it is because of the British rule in India. Additionally, as referenced in Indian literature, Indians tend to glorify the white skin and the image of a fair flawless skin is construed as a key factor for a person to look beautiful. As I was watching few whitening cream commercials on youtube, I could not believe that these people actually desire to have whiter skin and try to look different from the way they were born, naturally. As seen, Indians might judge others according to their skin color; therefore, too many people had to strive for whitening of their face color. It might be developed from people thinking that the person with dark skin might have worked outside for long term because they do not have any ability to work other than working outside. And the person with whiter skin would have worked inside using their ability or already having enough wealth. This commercial indicates that Indian is going through globalization, moving toward and adopting western culture. However, it also alerts that globalization is causing more racial discrimination and even the natives are accepting the discrimination and desire to become someone else.
ReplyDeleteIn business you hear some variation of the phrase "dress for the job you want, not the job you have" quite a bit. I bring this up because if the current culture has a perception of lighter skinned members of their society being considered to be superior in some way or another then it should not be surprising there is a company there to offer a solution and make a profit. The caste system in India is not just part of their social culture, but it is integrated into religious culture as well. It reminds me of the feudal ages when a person who was obese was considered superior. It was a status symbol that showed they had more than enough to eat and that they didn't have to work with the commoners. It does not surprise me at all that if offered a tangible aqcuisition of superiority in a culuture people will jump at the opportunity. However it is not just about how Indian men are viewed in India it is also their Western relations that we need to keep in mind. India is an emerging market and while our economy is not in the best condition we still a focal point when the global economy is being discussed.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the main purpose for the market for skin lightening is emerging among Indian men due to globalization dominated by Western media. I feel that Western culture plays a large role in the influencing other countries, the media especially. From a marketing standpoint, I feel that Indian men and men of similar color are easy targets. Marketing for these products imply that you will obtain more attractive qualities that will enhance relationships and the job market as well as economic status.
ReplyDeleteI personally believe that the idea of having light skin is focused not only for men but for women as well. In India men are the target for lighting skin creams beacuse we society have come to believe tha having fairly light skin is being better than having dark skin. Many have the idea that the color of ones skin is what actually defines you, and if you come to think about it, it kind of does. Men and women who have very dark skin are usually stared at in jobs, public places etc. mean while someone with light skin is often admired for their color or viewed as more attractive, exotic. This subjetc comes to prove that saying that this is "a white mans world". The fact that men are being targeted to lighten their skin to give them better opportunities, advantages and attention just proves how sick our society is really becoming to be.
ReplyDeleteI think that the emergence of men as the ones who are purchasing the skin lightning creams only underlines how deep we have fallen into the globalization of everything from fashion to knowledge. Men, in this globalized world, “understand” that they are the providers of the family it is their male duty to provide for their families, anything less than that is a failure to their masculinity. And if in this new globalized job market employers prefer those men with lighter skin, then lightening their skin is what they will have to do. In a way the men are acknowledging the aesthetic preference in the globalized market. Yet that acceptance and the need for these men to “accept” this begs the question of why? They have to because unconsciously or consciously societies across the globe have also accepted that light is better for it represents privilege, class, opportunity, and inclusion into powerful structures. And because we have all gone accepting this and not challenging it corporations have profited form our destruction and lack of understanding of the “self” (as mentioned in debate 2) as powerful in of itself.
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