The preference for fair skin is a well-known social phenomenon and so is its political dominance over the “colored” parts of the world throughout colonial history. Colored people are considered as those of non-Caucasian descent such as Asians, Africans, and Latin Americans who have darker shades of skin (e.g., brown, black, yellow). In South Asia, products that claim to alter the skin’s pigment (color) and create a fairer looking person abound. Earlier they were only for women but these items have now expanded to include male clients as well. More men wish to become “fair and handsome”. The traditional notion of a “dark and handsome” man as the ideal hero of a woman’s imagination is gradually receding and may soon be restricted to the realm of old romantic novels. Instead, the lighter-skinned man is slowly redefining the concept of handsomeness. The lighter the skin, the more beauty the person is ascribed and hence is more in demand.
Besides the social desirability of fairness, a large part of the attractiveness of fair skin is its close association with power and money. Or so it seems in the minds of people from the developing world. One of my relatives was in China some years ago buying local knick-knacks at a store. The saleswoman abruptly abandoned him at the entrance of a white person into the shop. Outraged, he demanded that she finish with his request before attending to the others. Squeamishly, she obliged. In another incident, at the reception area of a major 5-star hotel in Kathmandu, I stood at the counter and called out to the receptionist who was in the staff room nearby. He walked toward me but promptly changed direction on spotting three white women who came after me and responded to them first beaming with delight. Rather than being infuriated, I had to repress my laughter. The temptation to laugh arose not because the situation was comical. Instead, the inclination to laugh was prompted by a sad realization. It was clear to me that though Nepal has never been colonized and we take pride in it, there is no denying that we are very much colonized in our minds through our subservience to the power, might and money associated with the white skin. In this respect, even countries that have been politically freed from colonization are still psychologically colonized. The incident from China, which is a rapidly growing economic threat to competing nations, strengthens the evidence on the financial prowess connected with the light color of the skin.
I avoid using the term “foreigner” and instead want to highlight the qualitatively different responses that emerge in the following scenario. This situation was related to me by an African colleague. She pointed out repeated instances in her life while traveling to different parts of the developing world. In a restaurant for instance, she would be the last person to be served – the first would invariably be a white person, the next, a slightly darker individual but significantly lighter than her – even though she was the first to arrive at the place. The slightly darker individual could be a local or a tourist. The nationality did not matter. What mattered was the color of skin. She observed this in her own country and continent as well. Lighter-skinned Africans would get a quicker response, a faster service, a better product. The idea that fairer-skinned people deserve better can be interpreted through these kinds of actions as a reflection of the psychological colonization that still persists.
I am reminded of an article by Sushma Joshi sometime ago entitled “The Thamel Factor” where she indicated the self-exploitative tendencies of vendors who deny high-priced merchandise to Nepalis in favor of selling them to tourists. The same assumption that only Kuires (notice that the word Kuire means “white skinned” not foreigner because an a non-white tourist is not called a Kuire) can afford the expensive goodies in Thamel underlies the notion that Kuires should be given quicker service since they are presumed able to provide a higher tip, bargain less, or stay in high-end hotels. Lighter skin equals higher purchasing power, even if the person may be traveling on a tight budget or stopping by the country to spend loose change. But the colonized mind still chooses to serve the color, not the client.
Writer is a developmental psychologist currently working in Nepal in the field of international development and adolescent HIV prevention
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