The Whiteness Horror.
The World and especially Asia has a long way to go until the normalization of individual differences begins.
Ridiculing someone because of your own beliefs is a common thing in Asia whether it’s about a common or global issue. Beauty is one of those things too. We are in a better place than we were a generation ago, but still, we have not arrived at the point of complete normalization of everyone’s unique self. Many of the clubbiest ideals of beauty still doesn’t include larger bodies, disabled ones, the individuals who belong to the non-binary community, aged people especially women, and sometimes dark-skinned individuals.
Standards set on people, especially women can be incredibly harmful from a very young age. These often come as a result of the models portrayed on social media and TV as the epitome and standard of beauty, idealizing a size 0 waist, a tall figure, and fair complexion which discards all the mental stability of individuals who fight in such race. The pressure of society about beauty standards is dangerously increasing day by day, one click at a time, and the way they inflict young minds is alarming. These beauty standards have become so accepted that youngsters’ concerns with their own body image which proves to be utterly pessimistic.
Asia’s addiction to whiter skin runs deep in our veins as it is something that has been infused in our minds for generations. This is one of the most dangerous things that our nations have encountered over the decades. The problem of complexions is a grave one in some regions. Asia has an extreme obsession with the whiteness of skin which leads to low self-esteem in many men and women. Not being pleased with one’s complexion and also being bullied for it is alarming for young minds. Many surveys have resulted that nearly 40 percent of women polled in nations including China, India, Malaysia, the Philippines, and South Korea said they regularly used whitening products. In India and Pakistan, 60 percent of the skincare market consists of whitening products.
Marie Dela Torre, a university student in her 20s who lives in the Philippines told in an interview that “At supermarkets, there are entire shelves dedicated to whitening products and they’ve already accepted that being white is equivalent to being beautiful” which is such a wrong concept. In Asia, many women are ridiculed for their color and often are rejected for marriages and even professionally.
Advertisements of whitening products heavily cause skin color complex in young women and men which leads to the usage of a chemical influenced dangerous products. Achieving white skin seems for some women, to be a key to open a door of opportunity to achieve the highest purpose of their lives: acceptance, fame, money, or class mobility, and this standard is so fake and toxic that it sometimes burns the common sense in people. There are some products that burn your skin and are filled with dangerous mercury which causes many diseases like skin cancer and causes the skin cells to disrupt which end in severe allergies but the standards set in society force people especially women to use these products.
A renowned writer Nikki Khanna describes the words she heard as a child about a dark-skinned Indian woman: “It’s a shame. She’s going to have a hard time getting married. No one is going to want to marry her.” She further stated that “In many parts of Asia, light skin is associated with upward mobility and higher classes. The notion is that, if you have light skin, you must be wealthy or you’re successful. Darker-skinned people are seen as the people who work in the fields.”
These unrealistic beauty standards and oppressions need to end! They are not necessary in the newfound world and from now on, we live for ourselves and for the people around us who embrace our differences, not for the world. If we see someone lounging into the fake world of beauty we should immediately stop them and make them feel comfortable in their own skin
Depression and anxieties have shattered the boundaries of our generation where we constantly feel unsatisfied with ourselves and somewhere eventually stop living the beautiful life our God has created for us. We should insert human psychological studies for the young generation to look upon so they learn the differences between beauty and fakeness. The real beauty lies in embracing yourself only. It’s time for us to raise a generation where everyone is unique and everyone embraces each other’s differences and imperfections with a smile and open arms.
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