# In India, pressure to be pale boosts sales of lightening creams for men **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 5, 2008, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-india-pressure-to-be-pale-boosts-sales-of-lightening-creams-for-men/448211 "2008-05-05T23:13:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-india-pressure-to-be-pale-boosts-sales-of-lightening-creams-for-men/448211/1 "2008-05-05T23:13:33Z")
In the US, women feel the pressure to be tan, and go to tanning salons and buy tanning creams. But in India, being pale is seen as most desirable - so much, that they’re shelling out big bucks for lightening creams, which are now being marketed to men. I find all of this (the fake baking in the US and the lightening cream in India) to be utterly ridiculous. Following is an article about this in yesterday Washington Post, then be sure to watch the commercial linked below - it’s hilarious! From [In India, Fairness Is a Growth Industry - Men Buy Skin-Lighteners in Growing Numbers as a Path to Love, Wealth](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/03/AR2008050302146.html): > [@](#): > > The new product is called Fair and Handsome, and it’s among the male skin-lightening creams that are exploding in popularity in small towns and cities across India. While such products are nothing new among Indian women, for whom fair skin has long been a symbol of affluence and status, sales of the product for men are growing at nearly 150 percent annually in emerging markets, according to a recent study by Ernst & Young. > > “It’s all lower-middle-class men who want the product now,” said Ajay Gupta, 52, a pharmacist, who said the creams often sell out. “What it really means is that the young and up-and-coming Indian male wants to look fair and therefore rich. He wants to be smart and good. The cream is now part of many men’s grooming routine and very popular at barbershops.” > > Vinod Kumar, 18, a dark-skinned cigarette salesman, said he buys Fair and Handsome every month. “I want to be rich and fair like my film hero,” he said. “To be pale would make me be so smart.” [Fair and Handsome commercial #1 - be pale and get the hot chicks!](http://video.aol.com/video-detail/shah-rukh-khan-in-fair-and-handsome-emami-commercial/2863560497) [Fair and Handsome commercial #2](http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=MgBevCTBTJw) [More commentary from Jezebel.com](http://jezebel.com/387148/in-india-fair-is-handsome--dark-is-doomed) So sad… ---
**Author:** ![FlyingRat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/59ef9b/32.png) [@FlyingRat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingRat)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2008, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-india-pressure-to-be-pale-boosts-sales-of-lightening-creams-for-men/448211/2 "2008-05-06T01:59:50Z")
Light skin is a big deal here in Thailand, too-- I can’t tell you how many whitening creams, etc. are on the supermarket shelves (often made by Oil of Olay or other international companies for the Thai market). It’s a big enough deal that no matter the heat, when you go out in the bright sun you see people who are COMPLETELY covered up-- long pants, long sleeves (often like long underwear under the regular short-sleeved shirt), sun hats, and even a balaclava to cover up the face… ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2008, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-india-pressure-to-be-pale-boosts-sales-of-lightening-creams-for-men/448211/3 "2008-05-06T02:23:54Z")
Light skin has always been a big deal in most parts of Asia. There’s a reason why cosmetic companies produce whitening lines exclusively released in Asian countries. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2008, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-india-pressure-to-be-pale-boosts-sales-of-lightening-creams-for-men/448211/4 "2008-05-06T02:31:04Z")
Yeah, but does it work? Probably not. [Ingredients:](http://www.fairandhandsome.net/faq.jsp#5) Peptide Liqourice Vetiver Aloe Vera “Peptide complex” is the active ingredient in Olay Regenerist, among other skin creams. Bleaching ability is not a factor in Olay’s current advertising campaign. And, since I notice that for some reason nobody has mentioned Michael Jackson yet, I will do so. …Michael Jackson. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2008, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-india-pressure-to-be-pale-boosts-sales-of-lightening-creams-for-men/448211/5 "2008-05-06T02:58:18Z")
Ever get the feeling that we’re all trying to… _average out_, to a nice _café-au-lait_ colour? ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2008, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-india-pressure-to-be-pale-boosts-sales-of-lightening-creams-for-men/448211/6 "2008-05-06T03:55:11Z")
[QUOTE=Sunspace] Ever get the feeling that we’re all trying to… _average out_, to a nice _café-au-lait_ colour? [/QUOTE] That certainly seems to be the trend for our deities. Didn’t the pope, some ten years ago or so, issue new guidelines about how Jesus should be depicted, making him offically brownhaired and olive skinned? ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2008, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-india-pressure-to-be-pale-boosts-sales-of-lightening-creams-for-men/448211/7 "2008-05-06T04:12:14Z")
Maybe we’re moving toward a nice light Krishna blue. ---
**Author:** ![anu-la1979](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/47e85d/32.png) [@anu-la1979](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anu-la1979)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2008, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-india-pressure-to-be-pale-boosts-sales-of-lightening-creams-for-men/448211/8 "2008-05-06T05:05:18Z")
When I was a kid I totally had the hots for Krishna on account of him being blue. Hee hee. This issue drives me up the wall. Actually, the really hilarious part is that Fair and Lovely is owned by Unilever, the same people who make the Dove “Real Beauty” ads in the United States (at least, as per NYT when they wrote about this issue last year). I’ll admit that my feelings on this are a bit out of the norm, but I prefer darker skinned Indian men. I think it’s totally hot. My sister and I both seem to go for the darker, swarthy ones. My boyfriend told me that I was the first Indian girl who ever told him his skin was beautiful, which makes me pretty sad. It’s even worse if you’re a girl. The discrimination, especially for women in the marriage politics game, can be out of control. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2008, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-india-pressure-to-be-pale-boosts-sales-of-lightening-creams-for-men/448211/9 "2008-05-06T05:54:15Z")
[QUOTE=anu-la1979] It’s even worse if you’re a girl. The discrimination, especially for women in the marriage politics game, can be out of control. [/QUOTE] Interesting -can you tell us more about this? ---
**Author:** ![anu-la1979](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/47e85d/32.png) [@anu-la1979](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anu-la1979)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2008, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-india-pressure-to-be-pale-boosts-sales-of-lightening-creams-for-men/448211/10 "2008-05-06T06:05:56Z")
a) It’s harder to get married if you’re a dark woman. You’re pretty much considered unattractive no matter how beautiful your facial features + figure. People would rather have a pale piggy looking chick than a sharp-featured girl who is “dusky”. Incidentally, Indians think up the most hysterical terms to describe skin colour. Also, by “you”, I may also mean, “your parents who are picking out your bride for you”. b) Worse, if you’re still among those that practice dowry, getting a dusky darkie married off generally means an astronomical dowry. Skin colour has been known to be held over a woman’s head when the man’s side demands dowry. I’ve had some personal experience with this-you are totally fucked if you’re not super light. Sometimes my parents even mentioned it upfront when introducing me to men, like “oh, ps, she’s not super fair”. I don’t want to state what my skin colour is in that self-deflecting way, like “but I’m not even that dark,” or whatever. I like my skin colour whether it’s considered dark or medium or whatever by Indians. Seriously, I genuinely believe the biggest problem with India is Indians. If I hadn’t fortuitously and accidentally met the sweetest Indian man, I would be dating an American with no regrets. ---
**Author:** ![Caffeine.addict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f475e1/32.png) [@Caffeine.addict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caffeine.addict)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2008, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-india-pressure-to-be-pale-boosts-sales-of-lightening-creams-for-men/448211/11 "2008-05-06T13:54:13Z")
So this stuff is basically makeup for men? Doesn’t that look kind of odd? At least it isn’t something permanent that bleaches the skin. ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2008, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-india-pressure-to-be-pale-boosts-sales-of-lightening-creams-for-men/448211/12 "2008-05-06T14:05:41Z")
[QUOTE=Caffeine.addict] So this stuff is basically makeup for men? Doesn’t that look kind of odd? At least it isn’t something permanent that bleaches the skin. [/QUOTE] It’s not makeup, and it is supposed to bleach the skin. Not sure exactly how though. I think some of the ingredients are supposed to suppress the production of melanin or something. ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2008, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-india-pressure-to-be-pale-boosts-sales-of-lightening-creams-for-men/448211/13 "2008-05-06T14:36:09Z")
I tell ya, I’d probably have guys following me if I lived in Asia with how white I am (most ‘lightest shade’ foundations are still too orange on me). ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2008, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-india-pressure-to-be-pale-boosts-sales-of-lightening-creams-for-men/448211/14 "2008-05-06T15:24:14Z")
[QUOTE=Caffeine.addict] So this stuff is basically makeup for men? Doesn’t that look kind of odd? At least it isn’t something permanent that bleaches the skin. [/QUOTE] The stuff Indian women use is usually cream bleach that lightens facial hair rather than the skin itself- it’s remarkably effective, though. As a light-skinned Indian, allow me to echo **anu-la’s** contempt for the “fair is beautiful” attitude so many Indians observe. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2008, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-india-pressure-to-be-pale-boosts-sales-of-lightening-creams-for-men/448211/15 "2008-05-06T17:18:30Z")
While theoretically I feel everyone should be able to appear as they want, this sort of thing just makes me sad. On the other hand, I like dark women and there’s a little voice in the back of my head saying, “Yay! More of a chance for me!” On the third hand I don’t live in India. I’m so mixed up. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2008, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-india-pressure-to-be-pale-boosts-sales-of-lightening-creams-for-men/448211/16 "2008-05-06T19:02:49Z")
[QUOTE=FlyingRat] and even a balaclava to cover up the face… [/QUOTE] I read that as baklava…interesting image. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2008, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-india-pressure-to-be-pale-boosts-sales-of-lightening-creams-for-men/448211/17 "2008-05-06T19:45:57Z")
Well, I enjoyed that first ad with Shahrukh Khan in it. What does he need to hawk skin cream for? Isn’t he like a zillionaire by now? Yeah, I’m going to agree that it’s all pretty horrifying. Also, dark-skinned Indian guys are cute. (Girls too. But see, I’m a straight woman.) ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2008, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-india-pressure-to-be-pale-boosts-sales-of-lightening-creams-for-men/448211/18 "2008-05-06T20:07:31Z")
I’m pretty pale, especially the underside of my arms. When I went to Japan, I received numerous compliments on how white I was. To be honest, it was nice for a change, but I can see how there is the opportunity for abuse. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2008, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-india-pressure-to-be-pale-boosts-sales-of-lightening-creams-for-men/448211/19 "2008-05-06T20:34:06Z")
[QUOTE=Caffeine.addict] So this stuff is basically makeup for men? Doesn’t that look kind of odd? At least it isn’t something permanent that bleaches the skin. [/QUOTE] Yes, like **HazelNutCoffee** said, it _does_ bleach your skin. It is _not_ makeup. > [@anu-la1979](#): > > a) It’s harder to get married if you’re a dark woman. You’re pretty much considered unattractive no matter how beautiful your facial features + figure. People would rather have a pale piggy looking chick than a sharp-featured girl who is “dusky”. Incidentally, Indians think up the most hysterical terms to describe skin colour. Also, by “you”, I may also mean, “your parents who are picking out your bride for you”. > > b) Worse, if you’re still among those that practice dowry, getting a dusky darkie married off generally means an astronomical dowry. Skin colour has been known to be held over a woman’s head when the man’s side demands dowry. > > I’ve had some personal experience with this-you are totally fucked if you’re not super light. Sometimes my parents even mentioned it upfront when introducing me to men, like “oh, ps, she’s not super fair”. I don’t want to state what my skin colour is in that self-deflecting way, like “but I’m not even that dark,” or whatever. I like my skin colour whether it’s considered dark or medium or whatever by Indians. > > Seriously, I genuinely believe the biggest problem with India is Indians. If I hadn’t fortuitously and accidentally met the sweetest Indian man, I would be dating an American with no regrets. Wow, that is seriously f\*cked up. Americans always seem to get the slack for being racist, but this and other stories I’ve heard here on the Dope about other Asians (i.e. Japanese) being blatantly racist against westerners makes me sick! ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2008, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-india-pressure-to-be-pale-boosts-sales-of-lightening-creams-for-men/448211/20 "2008-05-06T20:45:19Z")
[QUOTE=nyctea scandiaca] Wow, that is seriously f\*cked up. Americans always seem to get the slack for being racist, but this and other stories I’ve heard here on the Dope about other Asians (i.e. Japanese) being blatantly racist against westerners makes me sick! [/QUOTE] Huh? Indians don’t have racist tendencies toward Westerners, they just have a bizarre socially conditioned preference for fair skin. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-india-pressure-to-be-pale-boosts-sales-of-lightening-creams-for-men/448211.md?page=2)