How Michelle Obama's fashion diplomacy helped erode India's color prejudice

by confuzzled dude Thu Feb 05, 2015 3:27 pm

Days before she shocked Saudi Arabia's royalty by showing up at King Abdullah's funeral sans headscarf, Michelle Obama had become a fashion icon in India, the land of skin whitening creams, and a place that treats blackness as an affliction.

President Obama noted in a speech to a youth audience on his final day in India that there were "moments in my life" in America when he was "treated differently because of the color of my skin." He should have tried growing up dark — especially as a girl — in India.

Even though India doesn't have a history of slavery or KKK-type white supremacy, racism — or, rather, colorism — is rampant. Explanations abound, but the most plausible one involves India's history of domination by lighter-skinned races, starting with the Aryans, then the Mughals, and culminating with the British, whose quasi-apartheid ways formalized what was until then more of an unarticulated prejudice.

But whatever the root cause, the fact is that colorism is now ubiquitous in India. The first thing that parents notice about newborns — after counting their fingers and toes — is their skin color. Pregnant women are routinely advised to start their mornings with white foods like milk or blanched almonds — not tea or coffee — to ensure a lighter complexioned baby. Girls are admonished to stay out of the sun because a tan makes them instantly less beautiful. "Darkie" and "blackie" are terms of derision on the playground. Matrimonial ads grade the skin color of the prospective bride and groom with "very fair" being the most desirable category, "wheatish" — the term-of-art for Halle Berry-style skin tone — being acceptable, and anything darker regarded as a major flaw. Skin-whitening creams such as "Fair and Lovely" to lighten every body part — including the vagina — represent a $500 million industry that growing at nearly 18 percent annually.

http://theweek.com/articles/536424/michelle-obamas-fashion-diplomacy-helped-erode-indias-color-prejudice

by bw Thu Feb 05, 2015 9:32 pm

too much fawning by the indian press over a 3 day trip.

by ashdoc Fri Feb 06, 2015 3:56 am

another 'secular' article proving hindus to be rascist Evil or Very Mad

hindus have become so weak due to the vegetarian food they eat that every author thinks it is easy to take pot shots at them and call them racist and communal etc .no fear of retaliation .

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How Michelle Obama's fashion diplomacy helped erode India's color prejudice

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