For decades people have been aspiring to be anything but themselves. In my native Britain, pop into a pharmacy at this time of year and you will notice that half the shop is dedicated to fake tan, tinted moisturizer and sunscreen. Granted, the last one hardly resembles a criminal offense, but let’s be honest, a huge number of people who use sunscreen do so to help them work on their tan.
The desire to be dark (but not too dark) in the UK stems, in part, from the class issues of times past. In the 19th century, the whiter your skin was, the more beautiful you were deemed to be because it implied that you stayed indoors all day and thus could afford not to work. When traveling became possible, however, the more tanned you were, the better. It was a manifestation of your wealth that advertised that you could afford to go on holiday.
Here in Egypt, pop into the nearest supermarket and you can find an array of skin-whitening products that hold promises of making you feel like a regular Lindsay Lohan. That’s where it comes from, right? The American-Arab relationship. On the one hand we, as Arabs see America as shallow and tyrannical, but despite ourselves, we want to spin into their gravitational range. Somehow we are, for the most part, oblivious to the fact that Americans with white skin aspire to have Arab-looking skin.
There is, however, an even darker (ha) side to our never-ending quest to be anything but ourselves. How can “beauty” companies ensure that their customers continue to donate them their hard-earned cash? Brainwash people into believing something as beautiful as skin, is ugly. Skin is amazing, and the color that it happens to be is of less consequence than the size of your toes. But it is a fantastically convenient cover to hoodwink half the globe into submitting to the capitalist morality.
Whatever color you are, the chances are it is the “wrong” color. If we can never be ideal then we will forever be spending money on chemicals that either bleach our skin or dye it, thus becoming one of the cogs that perpetuates the consumerist cycle of today.
The icing on the cake is the fact that companies such as “Fair & Lovely” and “Be White” openly market their products as if using such poisonous swill is the morally superior thing to do. Their marketing techniques include slogans posted around Heliopolis that read “Be White, Be Better.”
Remember the Fair & Lovely advertisment that depicted a failing designer at work? As soon as she used Fair and Lovely, the cocaine of the beauty world, her designs were suddenly fantastic, and, as she then says, she couldn’t have done it without her principles. That’s right. Fair and Lovely is a bastion of principles. Isn’t it obvious from the Fairness Meter that you can find on their website?
To be fair (and lovely), Egypt isn’t the only country to fall prey to this ploy, many Asian, African and Caribbean countries face similar challenges. Wherever there are brown people, you can be sure to find Fair and Lovely. The marketing varies slightly; in the Middle East, Fair & Lovely holds promises of a better career, in all the Indian and Nepalese advertisements I have seen, Fair & Lovely swears that a tall, fair and handsome man will come and sweep you off your little white feet. The same man who didn’t even notice you when you were darker. Shock, horror.
So call an egg an egg. If a multinational corporation is going to exploit the insecurities of millions of women, then they ought to have the decency and the estrogen to do so with transparency.
“Fair” and “lovely” are not mutually inclusive and they are certainly not synonymous. Being white is not better. Or worse. Your intelligence will not mysteriously increase upon putting cream on your skin. The most it could possibly do is increase your self-confidence by preying on an insecurity that probably would never have been born if the product didn’t exist in the first place.
Your skin protects you, so show a little reciprocity. Love your skin.
posted
I hate that the women bleach their skin here. Their skin is so lovely as is, compared to us pale white folks.
It's particularly bothersome in a country that is supposed to be adhering to Islamic laws, as one of those laws has to do with not changing your body and how Allah made you (I don't have the exact source for that at hand).
It's sad to see the girls here trying to imitate the Western world when what they have here culturally is, although different, much more interesting at the very least, and steeped in sometimes wonderful traditions.
I hate that the women bleach their skin here. Their skin is so lovely as is, compared to us pale white folks.
Yes.
quote:Originally posted by LovedOne:
It's particularly bothersome in a country that is supposed to be adhering to Islamic laws, as one of those laws has to do with not changing your body and how Allah made you (I don't have the exact source for that at hand).
Well, what do you expect in a country where a huge number of people believe God commands them to change God's creation, i.e. mutilate females?
This is the verse:
"And I will misguide them and make them desire, and I will command them, so that they will mark the ears of the livestock, and I will command them so they will make change to God's creation." Whoever takes the devil as a supporter other than God, then he has indeed lost a great loss. 4:119
Posts: 2803 | Registered: Feb 2007
| IP: Logged |
posted
Thanks for posting. It was educational because all this time I thought Fair and Lovely was a hair care product. Had no idea it was a bleaching cream.
Posts: 1626 | From: whatever, wherever | Registered: Jul 2008
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by LovedOne: I hate that the women bleach their skin here. Their skin is so lovely as is, compared to us pale white folks.
It's particularly bothersome in a country that is supposed to be adhering to Islamic laws, as one of those laws has to do with not changing your body and how Allah made you (I don't have the exact source for that at hand).
It's sad to see the girls here trying to imitate the Western world when what they have here culturally is, although different, much more interesting at the very least, and steeped in sometimes wonderful traditions.
Nice article.
First off Lovedone aren't you indigenous to North America?
Secondly in ancient times Egyptians prefered light skinned women over dark skin women, long before they were exposed to the "west".
Egypt is a sunbaked nation, naturally whatever is unique or rare and impossible to obtain will be prefered over the mundane.
Posts: 2280 | Registered: Oct 2009
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by LovedOne: That reads like it's been taken out of context as relating to the subject we're discussing here.
Hm ... to me it was, maybe I didn't express myself properly?
The way I understood your posting, you were saying that people should not be changing their bodies (i.e. God's creation) because we are speaking about an Islamic country. I agree with that, but my point was -- if people violate this particular Islamic command in a very obvious and cruel way, you can't really expect them to respect it when it comes to comparatively minor issues, like bleaching the skin.
quote:Originally posted by LovedOne: In any case, we all know you don't agree about Islamic stuff anyways.
Sorry, I don't understand this sentence. I don't agree with whom? And who is "we all"? Posts: 2803 | Registered: Feb 2007
| IP: Logged |
posted
Kind of tiring when such an issue steers to a religious discussion. The last thing these women think about is religion when opting to either tan or bleach their skin.
The grass is always greener on the other side. Repeated tanning even if it is sunless is harmful to the health of people. The dangers are detailed by dermatology associations. There's also great health risks with bleaching the skin. Besides that's old news, bleaching the area around anus is what's in, well in Hollywood anyway.
Pale people tell the tanned folk - your skin is so lovely why are you bleaching your face.
Darker people are telling Pale folk - why are you getting tanned, you look so beautiful white.
It's human nature, people want to look different.
I once told this Egyptian chick “zayak ya samara”, and OMG did she make an issue out of it, she preferred I used this word “(q)ammr [moon as in WHITE moon]. I mean it's crazy because a woman can look gorgeous tanned or white. Beauty is really in the features, everything else is just cosmetic.
Posts: 2275 | Registered: Dec 2009
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by Exiiled: Kind of tiring when such an issue steers to a religious discussion. The last thing these women think about is religion when opting to either tan or bleach their skin.
The grass is always greener on the other side. Repeated tanning even if it is sunless is harmful to the health of people. The dangers are detailed by dermatology associations. There's also great health risks with bleaching the skin. Besides that's old news, bleaching the area around anus is what's in, well in Hollywood anyway.
Pale people tell the tanned folk - your skin is so lovely why are you bleaching your face.
Darker people are telling Pale folk - why are you getting tanned, you look so beautiful white.
It's human nature, people want to look different.
I once told this Egyptian chick “zayak ya samara”, and OMG did she make an issue out of it, she preferred I used this word “(q)ammr [moon as in WHITE moon]. I mean it's crazy because a woman can look gorgeous tanned or white. Beauty is really in the features, everything else is just cosmetic.
If there's something i never wanted to change about myself is my skin color.Boyyyyy,im simply in love with my natural tannish skin color....muuauckkkkkkk! Not even as a child i wanted to be whiter,you know that specially during our chilhood years we can be full of insecurites,however this was never mine.Here on my neck of the woods this is known as the local color by default,similar to the Egyptian one,by the way:Not white,but neither black.Something in between,like when medium white gals get tanned evenly.I call that toasty,naturally tannish without needed to expose to the sun. Yess,i love and im proud of my natural skin color....yayyyyyy!!!! Posts: 3833 | From: here,there,everywhere | Registered: Nov 2007
| IP: Logged |
posted
Your skin protects you, so show a little reciprocity. Love your skin. =========================================
How about "Love yourself", although I suppose a lot of companies would probably loose a lot of money if they pushed this message.
Posts: 53 | From: What goes around, comes around | Registered: Mar 2009
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by Exiiled: Kind of tiring when such an issue steers to a religious discussion. The last thing these women think about is religion when opting to either tan or bleach their skin.
The grass is always greener on the other side. Repeated tanning even if it is sunless is harmful to the health of people. The dangers are detailed by dermatology associations. There's also great health risks with bleaching the skin. Besides that's old news, bleaching the area around anus is what's in, well in Hollywood anyway.
Pale people tell the tanned folk - your skin is so lovely why are you bleaching your face.
Darker people are telling Pale folk - why are you getting tanned, you look so beautiful white.
It's human nature, people want to look different.
I once told this Egyptian chick “zayak ya samara”, and OMG did she make an issue out of it, she preferred I used this word “(q)ammr [moon as in WHITE moon]. I mean it's crazy because a woman can look gorgeous tanned or white. Beauty is really in the features, everything else is just cosmetic.
If there's something i never wanted to change about myself is my skin color.Boyyyyy,im simply in love with my natural tannish skin color....muuauckkkkkkk! Not even as a child i wanted to be whiter,you know that specially during our chilhood years we can be full of insecurites,however this was never mine.Here on my neck of the woods this is known as the local color by default,similar to the Egyptian one,by the way:Not white,but neither black.Something in between,like when medium white gals get tanned evenly.I call that toasty,naturally tannish without needed to expose to the sun. Yess,i love and im proud of my natural skin color....yayyyyyy!!!!
Sash, you should be very proud of being naturally tanned – naturally tanned is gorgeous – every day of the year. More than 40 million Americans use indoor tanning and that speaks volumes for just how much people covet tanned skin.
From my experience I have learned there are three kinds of Egyptian women who want to look fairer/whiter. There are some who want to look white as in a white person(European). These are the pretentious families, where even the mom or grandmother is fake blonde. They'll name their daughter 'suzie” and treat her like the white daughter they never had. This is the sickest kind of white wannabe.
Then you have the larger segment of Egyptian female population who don't know much about Europe or white people (celebs) in general BUT they sure know about every white Lebanese tart out there. These girls are heavily influenced by TV and seeing White Arab models in commercials, music videos, etc. They are also influenced by retarded Egyptian men too, the ones who prize White skin - these are losers in society.
The final group are the innocent dumb women. The ones who want to be blonde and white for a week and then thank god for their natural skin color and natural hair color.
Everything that I have written is my own observation but there is no denying that the passion to be white is instilled in their minds. I've seen it with my own two eyes in a nadi (club) where my MIL scolded my SIL about letting her children stay too long under then sun because they were getting too dark.
Posts: 2275 | Registered: Dec 2009
| IP: Logged |
posted
"...where my MIL scolded my SIL about letting her children stay too long under then sun because they were getting too dark. "
Well,Exiled,i confess it's not Egyptians only doing that.When i was a little girl my mother too,used to frown at me furiously when i expressed my wish to go to the beach. Her claim was that doing so would only give me a huge exposure to the sun and hence my skin would become even darker than it naturally was. Nowadays i try not to do this sun basking thing simply because it's the number one skin aging agent.
Posts: 3833 | From: here,there,everywhere | Registered: Nov 2007
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by Sashyra8: "...where my MIL scolded my SIL about letting her children stay too long under then sun because they were getting too dark. "
Well,Exiled,i confess it's not Egyptians only doing that.When i was a little girl my mother too,used to frown at me furiously when i expressed my wish to go to the beach. Her claim was that doing so would only give me a huge exposure to the sun and hence my skin would become even darker than it naturally was. Nowadays i try not to do this sun basking thing simply because it's the number one skin aging agent.
Ah. Ok. Makes sense, I misunderstood her reasoning, thinking she didn't want them dark, when she just didn't want them darker than their natural skin.
Posts: 2275 | Registered: Dec 2009
| IP: Logged |
posted
I do think it is a case of 'the grass is always greener'. I do find it strange when in a supermarket or chemist here all the products are for tanning the skin while in Egypt the same companies are selling whitening products. The strangest product I saw on sale was cream to make your nipples more pink Posts: 4476 | From: Scotland | Registered: Mar 2006
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by young at heart: I do think it is a case of 'the grass is always greener'. I do find it strange when in a supermarket or chemist here all the products are for tanning the skin while in Egypt the same companies are selling whitening products. The strangest product I saw on sale was cream to make your nipples more pink
I think the pink nipples thing is about appearing more 'virginal' as apparently women's nipples go darker after giving birth?
Coincidentally, I found this link yesterday comparing Dove ('real women') advert to Fair & Lovely (no job if your skin isn't pale enough- advert - both products made by Unilever.
posted
i am as white as a sheet of paper.i love my color thats what i was givin at birth i wouldnt wanna be someone i am not.but i do find coco brown skin exoctic.but alot of black or brown people grow up around us whitties and there for feel kinda left out and wanna bleach their skin cas most their lives they were told its a white world. well people its not any more.....
everyone should be proud of what color they were givin cas it is what they were chosen to carry all their lives. if god wanted them white they would have been born with white skin...
Posts: 9776 | From: You like If only mosquitoes sucked fat instead of blood. | Registered: Jul 2007
| IP: Logged |
posted
I am sick of the Egyptian fixation with white skin, but then again I'm also annoyed with the Aussie obsession with tanned skin. All skin colours are beautiful, accept what you are born with and move on.
I for one, like mine and play it up. No one can rock a white summer dress like a woman with olive skin! Posts: 4446 | From: Egyptian in Sydney | Registered: Mar 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
We are never totally happy with the way that we look. Society & the media has done a great brainwashing job on us, and we have been sucked into it. We are too white, or too dark. If your hair is curly - you wish for straight. If you are a tall woman, you wish for a few inches shorter, and vice versa for a man. You alter your bodies to make yourself "more attractive" - nose jobs, botox, face lifts etc. Then if your are smart, you get older, and realize that all that stuff is just plain stupid. Your friends that sunbathed in their 20's, now are dealing with skin cancer, your hair is getting thinner, gravity is doing a number on your body, and your health is not so good, and you would love to not have to see a damn doctor for whatever, all the time. Appreciate whatcha got while young and enjoy life, and stop sweating the small stuff, cuz it just not important in the long run.
Posts: 1103 | From: 6th of October | Registered: Jun 2007
| IP: Logged |
posted
Speaking of advertising, has anyone noticed the Pampers [?] ad on MBC in which the baby is blonde and blue eyed, and the parents are really quite dark skinned. Cracks me up, I think of it as the 'kidnapped baby ad'. Seriously, hope people don't start aspiring to have the whitest baby.
Posts: 1399 | From: alexandria | Registered: Jan 2002
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by Mo Ning Min E: Speaking of advertising, has anyone noticed the Pampers [?] ad on MBC in which the baby is blonde and blue eyed, and the parents are really quite dark skinned. Cracks me up, I think of it as the 'kidnapped baby ad'. Seriously, hope people don't start aspiring to have the whitest baby.
I haven´t seen it,but just reading your description of it makes me think it has to feel pathetic and sad Posts: 3833 | From: here,there,everywhere | Registered: Nov 2007
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by Mo Ning Min E: I think of it as the 'kidnapped baby ad'.
Might explain why parents in Alex of children who are pale skinned, pale haired and blue eyed are extremely weary of strangers around their kids.
Then again many Alexandrian children of this color pallette end up with darker hair, hazel eyes and slightly darker skin as they grow up. Alot of children in Egypt go through this transformation.
Even my daughter who had a dark honey dark dark blonde (I'd say a light medium brown) now has black hair, her eyes were a light blue now are a dark blue with a ring of near white around the pupils. She might even have hazel eyes by 10 years old. Her father had blue eyes until he was 2, so this is expected.
Posts: 2280 | Registered: Oct 2009
| IP: Logged |
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
![[Confused]](confused.gif)
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
![[Cool]](cool.gif)
![[Eek!]](eek.gif)
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
Printer-friendly view of this topic