Skin Whitening

Fun fact. Skin whitening products are extremely popular in certain parts of asia, it is a cultural thing.

The reason being, if you are poor you are outside on the street a lot, therefore gaining a very deep dark tan.

So if you can keep yourself white because you can afford to have someone carry an umbrella 24/7 to keep you in the shade or live in nice buildings with UV protection, then people associate you and that with being more wealthy.

Funny how in the west the majority of us want a sun tan and in the east it's the opposite way? :)

When we were in Japan, my wife wanted to buy some skin moisturizer cream and really struggled to find one without a whitening agent. When she was in the store and was double checking with a store assistant the woman actually said to us "but with this one, you will get darker skin!!"

The look of horror on her face when we said yes we know and that's the intention :D
 
It used to be the same in England back in Queen Elizabeth I time. Most pictures show her with a very white face. White skin was a sign of wealth because it meant you didn't have to work in the sun. So all sorts of products were used to whiten it, such as a mix of vinegar and lead, which obviously had some major health risks. She mostly wore it to cover poor skin but it was fashionable back then to try and whiten yourself.
 
Phate said:
Fun fact. Skin whitening products are extremely popular in certain parts of asia, it is a cultural thing.

The reason being, if you are poor you are outside on the street a lot, therefore gaining a very deep dark tan.
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This is so true in SEA.

A vast proportion of the personal grooming advertisements over here promote some form of skin 'lightening' feature.

Female and Male alike.

A couple of male friends I have go to a head massage parlour every Sunday (yes its a thing over here) and get some form of product with garlic and god knows what else applied to their face. They swear by it......I cant notice the difference though.

a lot of parents will plaster their children with sun protection cream, not to ward off burns or UV, because they dont want their children to 'darken'.

My business is based in Ahmedabad, which although very developed, culturally and practically speaking isnt easy for foreigners to adjust to. I am a very average looking white guy, however its a nice ego trip when seemingly half of the population over here deem me to be some sort of Brad Pitt because of the colour of my skin.
 
Weird stuff is weird. I'm pale skinned so I think I'll move to China. Blend in better.

It's popularism or, majoritarianism and it's all rooted in guilt.
 
Phate said:
Funny how in the west the majority of us want a sun tan and in the east it's the opposite way? :)

When we were in Japan, my wife wanted to buy some skin moisturizer cream and really struggled to find one without a whitening agent. When she was in the store and was double checking with a store assistant the woman actually said to us "but with this one, you will get darker skin!!"

The look of horror on her face when we said yes we know and that's the intention :D
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Yeah in Japan etc.. they seem to want to go for the full on milky white. I think in India, the Caribbean they'd be quite happy with more of say a Mediterranean look to their skin and likewise plenty of Northern Europeans try to achieve the same albeit coming from the other direction.
 
Whats scary to me is that it's yet another reminder of how we can be conditioned, or shaped, by our environment including general attitudes and fads. All a bit culty(<-- is that a word?).

I really need to travel some and see some other cultures and ideas.
 
AnneT said:
Well, I suppose it's a bit restrictive only having one colour your entire life! Personally I like all sort of different colours.
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Orange and blue are possible to an extent. Probably not what you're after, though.
 
jsmoke said:
Whats scary to me is that it's yet another reminder of how we can be conditioned, or shaped, by our environment including general attitudes and fads. All a bit culty(<-- is that a word?).

I really need to travel some and see some other cultures and ideas.
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I was talking to a business colleague a few weeks ago about the huge amount of respect I seem to get over here for just being who I am. I haven't earned it, but the reality is that my origins opens doors over here that Indian people would struggle with. Its one of the reasons why IU left the UK and decided to move my businesses to India.

I have contracted on a number of occassions just to represent and present for someone who wants me to give them an edge in a new business venture.

The colleague I was talking to came out with a view that shocked me.

'Slave mentality'

The belief that Indian people have been conditioned through colonization to view white, and especially white British people as individuals who should be respected or revered.

I am not sure what I think or feel about this in any respect, but its an interesting take on it.
 
I think you need to add "male" to "white British" people.

Have a white British female project manager interacting with the outsourced dev team and the "female" bit can override any unwarranted status gained from being white and British. Not in an openly disrespectful way but things like choosing to ignore pretty much everything she's said etc.. after politely going through the motions of saying "yes" to her.
 
Loves Love Island said:
I think you need to add "male" to "white British" people.

Have a white British female project manager interacting with the outsourced dev team and the "female" bit can override any unwarranted status gained from being white and British. Not in an openly disrespectful way but things like choosing to ignore pretty much everything she's said etc.. after politely going through the motions of saying "yes" to her.
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That could just be that she's talking crap.
 
The belief that Indian people have been conditioned through colonization to view white, and especially white British people as individuals who should be respected or revered.
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You make it sound like a recent thing.

India has experienced multiple invasions from the north over millennia. The British are only the most recent of these. Each time a new invader establishes themselves, everybody else moves down a layer. This is the Caste system. The more recent the invaders, the higher the caste. and typically the paler the skin.

High caste Indians could easily pass as European. Those at the bottom of the pile are almost as Brown as Africans

Had the British Empire persisted, British ex-pats would eventually have become the highest caste Indians with everybody else moving down a peg as appropriate.

There is nothing new or extraordinary here. This is a game that has been played over a very long time...
 
Orionaut said:
You make it sound like a recent thing.

India has experienced multiple invasions from the north over millennia. The British are only the most recent of these. Each time a new invader establishes themselves, everybody else moves down a layer. This is the Caste system. The more recent the invaders, the higher the caste. and typically the paler the skin.
High caste Indians could easily pass as European. Those at the bottom of the pile are almost as Brown as Africans

Had the British Empire persisted, British ex-pats would eventually have become the highest caste Indians with everybody else moving down a peg as appropriate.

There is nothing new or extraordinary here. This is a game that has been played over a very long time...
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Not new at all, it was just an interesting take that I have not heard of before.

However with the caste system, unless I am misinterpreting you, the view on caste over here seems to be very different to what you said.

I have no caste over here, it caused me and my Indian wife a massive headache when we got married.

Caste does not equate to skin colour and to much a degree finances. There is limited to no relationship between them.
 
Nothing new, plenty of people from the Caribbean sides "bleach" their skin. I find that weird to be honest, as my cousin does this and likes to be seen as mixed raced when she's is not.

But that's fine, if they happily want to plaster their skin in whenever cancer causing chemicals.
 
Rifte said:
I was talking to a business colleague a few weeks ago about the huge amount of respect I seem to get over here for just being who I am. I haven't earned it, but the reality is that my origins opens doors over here that Indian people would struggle with. Its one of the reasons why IU left the UK and decided to move my businesses to India.

I have contracted on a number of occassions just to represent and present for someone who wants me to give them an edge in a new business venture.

The colleague I was talking to came out with a view that shocked me.

'Slave mentality'

The belief that Indian people have been conditioned through colonization to view white, and especially white British people as individuals who should be respected or revered.

I am not sure what I think or feel about this in any respect, but its an interesting take on it.
Click to expand...
i think the fact you're happy to use it to make yourself money indicates what you do feel about it.
 
wolfie138 said:
i think the fact you're happy to use it to make yourself money indicates what you do feel about it.
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I was specifically referring to the words 'slave mentality'.

Which as I am sure you can agree expresses all sorts of connotations and emotions when its used.
 
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