I wrote a book on the white-skin obsession

Dec 22, 2015 Letters

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Dear Editor,
This is something touched on from time to time by columnist Freddie Kissoon. I was tempted to put in my two cents in response but thought Freddie had said it all already.  On reading Mr. Harry Hergash’s response to Freddie I felt compelled to voice my opinion on this since this has been something that began troubling me ten years ago when I watched several Indian movies on TV.
I must admit I grew up visiting every cinema in Georgetown except Liberty and Empire.  Those in the know would correctly conclude I was not a fan of Indian movies.  The few I had seen were “HaathiMeraSaathi,” “I’ll Die for Mama,” and “Sholay” (the theme song of the latter still one of my favorites to this day).  Lately I’ve become a fan of Indian director Mera Nair and saw her “Mississippi Masala,” “The Namesake,” “Saalam Bombay,” and the wonderful “Monsoon Wedding.”  But Ms. Nair is not of the House of Bollywood. Except for Saalam Bombay, her movies are set in the western world.  Now that we got the listing of Indian movies I had seen previous to a few years ago, on the meat of the problem.
Five years ago I happened to watch several Indian movies on TV.  What struck me was that, in all of them, without one single exception, the lead females were always two shades whiter than chalk.   Even the sprawling extravagant dance sequences were littered with what appeared to be powdered females.  Anyone, if any, with a chocolate complexion was banished to the back lines of these numbers.  The only time a dark female would briefly appear in a speaking role was as a servant or some evil character.  After viewing the first few movies, I thought it was a coincidence.  Then I noticed most of the dark male characters were shady or full out evil.  I’m not sure how many movies I watched but this was definitely a pattern, as though it were a formula for casting.  Now here is where it got very disturbing.
I then imagined myself in the place of a young dark Indian girl growing up in Guyana and being fed a steady diet of Indian movies. What is a girl to think of herself when she sees this regularly?  Then I wondered how this affected the psyche of Indian males growing up watching this.  What I do notice is 90% of the Indian weddings I have seen, whether it be in person, video or photos, the dulhin is always fairer than the dulhar.  I could be wrong but from what I have observed, for the most part Indian men in Guyana have a preference for fair girls just as portrayed in the Indian movies.  What will become of the beautiful dark girls who are discriminated against based merely on their skin pigmentation?  Why Mr. Hergash is critical of Mr. Kissoon’s assertion that Bollywood movies have contributed significantly to this distasteful practice of valuing a woman by the fairness of her complexion is beyond me.  His citing of Muslim directors or film makers is irrelevant. The fact is such movies are churned out by Bollywood regardless of director and lapped up by the Guyanese public.  I remember reading an article in which one South Indian actress, a dark beauty, was lamenting the lack of positive roles for actors of her hue.
However, I do differ with Mr. Kissoon who, if I understand him correctly, states that this “skin game” has nothing or very little to do with the institution of slavery.  Take Jamaica, for instance.  I’ll stick my neck out to state that nowhere in the Caribbean is this “color stigma” more prominent than in the Land of Reggae.  Sure, Jamaica is viewed by most of us in the Caribbean as the cultural capital of the West Indies.  From movies to music to folk songs (although Guyana can hold its own in the latter) Jamaicans are by far the leaders in the West Indies. Yet, for all their rich culture, Jamaicans are neck deep in the skin game business where “pretty” and “fair” are synonyms.
I’ve personally witnessed beautiful dark Jamaican girls assault their skins with various bleaching agents to lighten their shades and, hopefully, elevate their status in society. The artificial brown in the face and the dark shade in hard to reach places like the crook of the arms or parts of the hands usually give them away.  It is sickening how a brain-washed society can force some people to think this low of themselves.  Google the list of Jamaica’s Ms. Worlds or Ms. Universes for the past few decades and you can count on one hand the number of dark girls that pops up.  On the other hand, Google a list of Ms. Farm Queen or some local small-fry Jamaican beauty pageant and you will behold the bevy of dark beauties.  As one Jamaican spectator exclaimed when a dark beauty stepped out on the stage during a Jamaica Ms. Universe competition, “Ah whe’ she ah go! She nuh know ah Ms. Universe pageant dis?”  And would you believe the heckler was dark herself?  I’m just perturbed to this day this ugly practice still continues.  This is the white elephant in the room that none but a few (Thanks Freddy) is prepared to address.  Before Freddy mentioned it, I did notice the number of ads in the newspapers featuring lily white faces.  Don’t we have skilled enough persons in our beautiful Guyana to come up with girls of the kind of hue that represents the masses?  This had troubled me to the point of writing a novel with this being the central theme. (See “Roll Over” ISBN-10: 0615137180) Maybe Freddy has a point that this is one of the things that has always been and will always be. I hope he is wrong on the latter.
Malcolm Alves

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