It is an expectation in society that women must be “feminine”, i.e.; you’d better not have hair on awkward places (like your arms !!) , your eyebrows must be plucked to appear shapely and avoid the dreaded uni-brow, and you must at all costs avoid the VPL. Don’t know (or don’t care) what that is ? Well, welcome to the club !

Since the last time I wrote an article about this, it seems that things have gone from bad to worse. There are not less advertisements on fairness, there are more. There is this particular advertisement that is quite annoying. It is for Vaseline Healthy White Skin Lightening lotion, and shows a young woman playing tennis in sweat pants and T shirt. Her coach advises her that pants are OK for tennis practice but she must wear a tennis dress for the big game. Well, the girl listens and how ! Since the skin on the rest of her body is darker than her face, she decides to use Vaseline to lighten it’s color to match her face. Here it is :

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7X_UfwKLf3s]

Yup, it’s not like you have to play that match and win girl, your all-body skin color had better match the peaches and cream complexion of your face !Talk about pressure !

I went to Vaseline’s website, and this what they had to say about it :

Vaseline Healthy White Skin Lightening Body Milk

Skin glows when it is in its healthiest condition, even your body skin.

New, Vaseline Healthy White skin lightening body milk works with the skin to reverse signs of darkening and prevent future pigmentation.

Besides the fact that this is faulty logic; wouldn’t you expect the skin on your face to be darker than the skin on the rest of your body, why exactly would it be this bothersome to have it a shade darker ? Trying to be matchy-matchy are we ?

Yes, I understand the issues with protecting your skin against cancer etc. but these ads. are not about your health – they are about “appearing” aesthetically healthy. Also, the ad. implies that the product can restore skin to it’s previous (fairer) state. And what of the women born with darker skin ? Woe betide them, huhn ?

I have problems with this kind of marketing unlike that of regular make-up, because while make-up enhances you for a while, it is understood that you are you, and you will remain yourself – if you get my drift. This push to become “fairer” or lighter or white or more luminous is like telling you that you should grow taller, or get a sharper nose – it subtly denigrates you for what you essentially are.

In this advertisement, we have this beautiful model – and she can only be a model with that face and that body – looking all glum, because hai, the the skin color on her legs doesn’t match the skin color on her face. A normal girl with half the brains would thank the Good Lord for those legs and that body and flawless face and not worry her head about imperceptible changes of skin color. Positive messages for our daughters anyone ?

Note that while this particular ad. airs on desi TV, there are plenty of such ads. on American television too – they hint at “luminous” (yeah, right!) skin.