Bollywood star - Shahrukh Khan uproar about advertising skin lightening cremes in the UK?

Why this damned fixation amongst Asian people with having fair skin?


I'm Black .. I'm not trying to lighten my skin to look white or whatever. It's weird this whole fixation and what is even more annoying is the absolute denial that it goes on. A news story was just on BBC News 24 about it. This skin lightening thing is a multi million dollar industry in India and although some Black people do the same thing [no one I know] it is nowhere near as prevalent as in India where kids are taught about the need for light skin from a very early age and are then smothered in skin lightening products.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7010...

Bollywood star - Shahrukh Khan uproar about advertising skin lightening cremes in the UK?
I agree, it's really lame.What will people actually achieve through this pointless skin lightening cremes?Apart from boosting their low self-esteem, I see no so-called benefit.A complete waste of time n money.
Reply:i use fake tan sometimes , to get a bit more colour in the winter months


go lighter darker what ever you like its no big deal
Reply:Its a shame they dont bring the kids up to be proud of the skin colour they have.
Reply:My partner is black, the shop we go to for his hair products (and an abundance of cheap cocoa butter and excellent skin moisturisers for me) sells skin lightening creams, some black women are big into it to, its so wrong. People should be proud of who they are, Asian, black, whatever and to introduce that practise to children . . . . ?????
Reply:I don't see what the fuss is about, white people risk cancer to get darker...so what if someone wants to go lighter, a cream callled fair and lovely has been available in the uk for more than 15 years, also from India. Personally its just a hype to give the product more sales. Each to there own is what I say..and yeah it's great that you're not trying to change your colour.
Reply:I have long straight black hair...


So if i have a perm to get a shock of curly locks (that i'd love!), does it mean i'm fixated %26amp; trying to be African???





Of course, it doesn't...


This is more about a fashion fad than about race.


Like streaking %26amp; hi-lightening one's hair...





And its not true that people in India smother their kids with skin lightening products. Every baby is massaged with herbal products that are supposed to be good for the child's skin...not to lighten it...
Reply:The money they spend on lightening products could be spent on educating the children about the reasons to be proud of their skin colour. Like the Asian heritage and things.


But then again, there are so many light skinned and white people obsesssed with getting tans and plastering themselves with fakebake until they are orange. Maybe we should be taught to be at one with who we are, no matter what our colour.
Reply:It's a cultural sign of beauty (and more importantly, social status), and it's nothing new. In Haiti, it's considered more beautiful to be darker. White Americans tan themselves (tanning salons, chemical skin darkeners, etc) purely for looks. And not that long ago, in Western culture people whitened their skin with powder (think Queen Elizabeth) because having darker, tanned skin was a sign of having to work outside (ie, not being rich).


Maybe the people who are rich enough to afford skin lighteners and who don't have to work outside, want to show off their economic and social status?
Reply:What is the difference between this and westerners wanting to darken their skin by tanning?
Reply:racist.

alstroemeria