Fair and lovely makes me angry. It still drives the notion that success, confidence, and beauty are all synonymous with being fair.
This rant has been prompted by a bunch of Indian bloggers attending and promoting a new Fair and Lovely product. Bloggers are the current influencers. Think deep and hard about the products and brands you promote. What do these brands stand for and remember that anything you promote is a reflection of you as a person. So currently a shitty person in my opinion.
Fair and Lovely is deep rooted in a society that associates fair skin with power and superiority and there's a strong disdain for darker complexions.
I don't know why Bollywood celebrities still show support for these companies by appearing in their adverts (well apart from the money they are paid). The list include Sharukh Khan, John Abraham, Katrina Kaif, Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone, Diya Mirza, Aishwarya Rai, Shahid Kapoor, Venezia D'Souza, and Yami Gautam (not all have necessarily endorsed Fair and Lovely, some have endorsed other brands of lightening creams). Celebrities are influential, whether they want to be or not. Please choose to be responsible.
Whiter isn't better. Your abilities and success and attractiveness and the person that you are isn't based on the colour of your skin. Get past it.
Unilever which owns Fair and Lovely (launched in 1975) also owns Dove which is known for it's body positive approach and for it's inclusion of various body shapes and skin colours. While I appreciate sub brands are treated individually, surely as an umbrella company you aim to have the same overall ethos and principles.
End of the day money talks and Fair and Lovely is the number one selling fairness cream in the world, praying on millions of post colonialism citizens and feeding into the mindset that whiter is better. All I can say to that is fuck off (do pardon my French).
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