The media and society should stop stereotyping this very narrow standard of beauty
WAH CANTT: Beautiful, fair and successful! These are some of the basic promises made by the manufacturers of skin-whitening cream ads that attract people with dusky complexions to become lighter skinned.
In the rush to become fair, what a lot of consumers don’t know is that many of the products contain harmful and poisonous ingredients that could lead them to life-threatening health problems. Also there are some women and children who associate dark skin with negative attributes, because of the media and even by parents, who tell their children to avoid being in the sun because it will make them ‘dark’
I think the responsibility for the force of using whitening creams is not the individual’s choice alone, but also that of the society that promotes such standards of beauty. If people are lightening their skin to be socially accepted, then it is likely that they have low confidence or likewise, if people are doing so because they want more attention, or love then usually they are afraid of rejection or afraid of being alone. These people may feel that they will not be accepted in their society if they do not fit the idea of beauty that society promotes.
People who are exposed to such prejudices and stereotypes learn at an early age that being fair means being beautiful. The media and society should stop stereotyping this very narrow standard of beauty, as it is exploiting people and affecting them psychologically.
Maryam Noor
Published in The Express Tribune, April 3rd, 2017.
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