Dear Oprah,
Why does your magazine only touch the tip of the iceberg in Freida Pinto’s article, “Skin Deep?” Her discussion is only a glimpse into the biased Bollywood standards of beauty.
Reading Pinto’s article saddened me. Her entire life, painted by her “dark” complexion shows her “investment into whiteness” (Possessive Investment in Whitness, Lipsitz)and “fear of blackness” as she attempts to “accept” her skin tone.
Crystal G. Martin (the writer of this article) may be unaware that while many in India might consider Pinto “dark,” she is still light enough to, “make it” in “the business.” I have many other Indian friends of darker complexion that still consider themselves, “lighter,” so Freida’s opinion’s need some clarification or comparison.
Freida mentions one unfortunate contradiction after another:
She claims to be from a “culturally rich and diverse nation” saying, “We speak many languages and have unimaginable variety in our traditional cuisine.” Is this all diversity entails: food, language and religions?
She then switches from speaking of cultural cuisine and language to physical attributes, when she says, “People in the north look completely different from those in the south - sometimes it’s hard to believe we all come from the same country.” That’s not a very, “diverse” comment that she made. I do not know of many “diverse” people that have a hard time believing the above statement, unless they are “not very diverse…” How can she say this after claiming India is “culturally rich?” Does culture to Pinto not entail the people themselves, but just their byproducts, such as cuisine and entertainment?
Freida continues to call out India’s color complex claiming, “light skin is more attractive than dark.” I believe this statement is true according to various cultural traditions, but without any support or examples her comments sound emotional and self loathing rather than enlightening.
How does this article depict Freida’s ability to engage with the horizontal discrimination (racism) she encounters, when she says, “Some of the most beautiful dark skinned people I have ever seen...” While she is trying to make a point that it is “dark skinned” people promoting the skin lightening products (and they are in positions of power in the company), she is actively engaging with India’s “color complex” or “fear of blackness.” Why are the individuals not simply the “most beautiful,” regardless of their skin tone? Why are they only behind the camera creating the negative images?
Would they ever have a chance to be in front of the camera with their “dark skin?” Freida misses the fact that the darker skinned individuals marketing various products are making a living and would never be able to be “in front of the camera” in any lucrative situation. They are working within the color hierarchy India impresses upon them.
Why does Freida find it “strange” that dark skinned people are promoting the negative skin lightening advertisements? For centuries (thanks to colonization) lighter skin has been donned as “better,” because most of the time people in power had a lighter complexion...Indian marketing and sales industry profits off of this age old concept (as do other countries and cultures).
Why did it take Freida being complemented by a lady who was, “Pale as pale could be” to FINALLY validate her skin complexion? Had she not heard positive comments on her skin or beauty before this lady in Los Angeles decided to comment? Has Freida honestly made it this far in the Bollywood,
British and American film business without any support of her skin complexion?
My point is, I have seen and experiences far more hostility and discrimination from individuals based on skin color and this article is not only applicable to India or Indians. Pinto ends the article saying, “I've seen that self doubt is not just an Indian problem.” I commend Pinto for bringing to the forefront an issue that many Indians deny, but I also believe this issue needs to be discussed further in order to make Freida’s comments sound valid and not just a deniable case of “low self esteem,” or a “rare case.”
