Fair Skin and Beauty: A Christian Response
-Gilbert Choondal sdb
The front page of the Hindu MetroPlus of September 12, 2005 took me by surprise. The
article speaks volumes of the existing Indian psyche as regards beauty and fair skin. The article
cites racism at home as the primary cause of yearning for fair skin. Often victims of racists’
remarks, impressionable youngsters are under tremendous pressure to succumb to the TSF (tall,
slim and fair) complex, which often leads to depression and mental disorders. This western ideal of
beauty (TSF) is slowly but surely conditioning the Indian female psyche.
People spend a substantial part of their salary on skin tone and fairness creams! The
fascination for fair skin is used, quite unethically, by the cosmetic industry to rake in sizeable
profits. The discrimination against dark-skinned children, especially girls, starts right at home. It is
often the fairer child that receives more affection and attention. What we are doing to our girls is
undermining their self-confidence and violating their sentiments through racist endorsements.
The author of the article (Husna Mohammad) deserves to be lauded considerably for having
dared to reveal such dark but undeniable truth to the commoners. “Cleopatra’s nose… had it been
shorter, the whole face of the world would have been changed,” said famously the mathematicianphilosopher Blaise Pascal back in the 17th Century. Michael Jackson underwent a series of plastic
surgeries to erase the traces of his racial characteristics! Hollywood star, Demi Moore, now in her
40’s went through several courses of facial injections, breast implants, liposuctions and lip
corrections a few years back (costing around Rs. 2 crore) to look younger and ‘beautiful’!
Since the dawn of globalization in India, the cosmetics industry has grown by leaps and
bounds. (The fair skin and beautification industry attracted largely women. We call them fair sex!)
The fair skin enhancing and beautification industry has largely lured women towards it – and we
call them the fair sex! But, what does it mean to be fair? Does it imply the colour of the skin alone?
That beauty is skin deep is something that is loaded with irony today. What is beauty? What is
Christian response to the issue today? These are the some of my concerns in this article.
Indian Situation: David Hume has said: “Beauty in things exists in the mind which contemplates
them.” The white aesthetic predominating the West has come to rule our subconscious too. Just
switch on the television and you will be bombarded with commercials and statements by
fashionistas reinforcing these concepts. Since most of these commercials target women, most of the
Indian women are going through a low-self esteem- syndrome due to their dark skin! Have a good
look at our commercial film industry and you will realise that all our Indian heroes and heroines are
fair skinned! Can you recall watching a commercial Indian film where the actors are all darkskinned? The commercials on cosmetics advocate the superiority of the ‘fair maiden’ over the
‘dark-skinned loser’! The media too pays special attention to the fair skinned stars, be they in the
world of films or of sports, resulting in a media-savvy a-la-Sania holding sway over a Sania-mania
as over the lack-lustre commercial prospects of people like P.T. Usha or I.M. Vijayan. The
fascination for white skin has become a national obsession. Flip through the matrimonial ads and
you’ll never see anyone asking for a dark bride. As for dark brides, they are white washed into
‘wheatish’, so says the author of the article, Husna. Hence, she opines that most of our Indian
women are perennially discontented with their evolutionary physiology. What is beauty after all?
“Beauty is finally in the soul. And if that shines, it shows through the face”. So says a facial surgeon
in India!
The fair skin drive among Indians is also conditioned by the caste formula. The Sudras were
always vilified as a black race in the ancient writings: After Prajapati (ie. Brahma) created the
beings, “The colour (Varna) of the Brahmanas was white, that of the Kshtriyas red, that of the
Vaisyas yellow, and that of the Shudras black” The vedic concept of the Varnas has affected caste
discrimination on the lines of skin-colour.
Indian Christian Situation: Indian Christian Scenario is not free from this ugly fair-skin complex!
Glance through a noted Catholic magazine in India (approved by the local episcopate), and you will
be surprised to see matrimonial columns with requests from Catholic families for a bride with fair
skin or a bride with a ‘wheatish complexion’! Does it imply that we Catholics too prefer fair skin to
dark-skin? Can Catholic magazines promote such attitudes? If so then, how do you understand the
Catholic principle that stands for the dignity of human persons, respect for any form of life, which
is not just skin deep? Doesn’t it indicate that we are not fair to all our Christians? Adding to this, the
Indian Clerical and religious world is not completely free from this fair-skin complex! Exactly as it
happens in many families in India, discrimination against dark-skinned religious, especially women
religious (fair-skin complex is more among women), starts in religious communities themselves. It
is often the ‘fairer religious’ who receives more attention and affection within and outside the
religious communities! Hence, the most accomplished religious is often ridden with insecurities
regarding her looks and body! At times, fair-skinned clergy and religious are preferred in certain
elite Christian schools to please the locals and maintain the ‘standard’!
Christian Response: What is the Christian response to this issue? The Christian response is clear in
the Bible and Christ’s teachings! We have a collective responsibility to see that our children, lay
Christians, religious, formees, and all Indians grow up in an emotionally, physically and
intellectually healthy environment. In essence, we quite resemble the coconut; brown on the outer
side but white skinned within. We cannot have a better Christian analogy than this! Christianity has
a positive anthropology – a benevolent understanding of the human condition. Catholicity focuses
on the sacramentality of life – that there is always “the more” to be found in the ordinary and
everyday. Its emphasis on uniqueness and preciousness of every creature, respect for life,
relationship and community – the conviction that humankind is “made for each other” and not
“made against each other”! The beauty of things is in their imperfections and differences. What
makes one beautiful is one’s uniqueness, and not one’s perfect appearance! We, Christians, accept
differences, not discrimination. Recognising this unique difference in spite of one’s colour, caste,
language or culture, thus seeking beauty in all of God’s creations, should be the driving force for us,
Christians.
Christianity points to a beauty that is more internal than external. Everyone is called to be
lovable. It is upto us to be unlovable or loathsome! Created in the image and likeness of God, we
are beautiful in the eyes of God, reflecting the beauty of God, portraying God’s smile on our face.
This is beauty! It is again upto us to make our selves ugly within! The first letter of St. Peter speaks
of inner beauty as over and above external beauty. “Your beauty should not be an external one:
braiding the hair, wearing gold jewellery, or dressing in fine clothes, but rather the hidden character
of the heart, expressed in the imperishable beauty of a gentle and calm disposition, which is
precious in the sight of God.” (1Pet. 3: 3-4)
However, it would be wrong to say that external beauty should be ignored all together, that
is not Biblical either. Many of God’s creations are beautiful on the outside and are noted in the
Bible for it. God made the whole universe beautiful! In fact, after every act of creation, he saw that
it was good! (Gen. 1: 4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31). Christ admired the beauty of the meadows and lilies
of the field! Thank God beauty exists in the world. It points to an infinitely more beautiful Creator!
But outer beauty in the end will fade as opposed to the inner beauty that lasts forever. Christ himself
said that the lifespan of a flower is short though beautiful! Aren’t we more worthy than grass
flowers? We all know the age-old axiom, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. Bible says the same
slightly differently but with a deeper significance for us: “Man looks at the appearance but God
looks at the heart.” (1Sam.16:7)