Now That's Not FAIR, Take Two

The following post was inspired by a previous instablogs post on the efforts of Indian women attempting to achieve whiter skin through advertised products.

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I thought I would inform instablogs readers that such a phenomonum does not only inflict Indian women but also their Arab counterparts. It has become vogue in the Mid-East to have white skin. Women go to great lengths to cover their bodies from tanning during the summer, particularly prior to their wedding. Since what is rare is often sought after, white skin in a majority olive skin region stands out in the crowd. The product of choice is the European brand "Fair and Lovely". In one of their adverts, the product is displaced along side a women who skin is then, in stages, seen to achieve a lighter shade. Just as American Levi jeans promise sex, "Fair and Lovely" promises a successful life. In one television showcase of the product, a Middle Eastern women selling the product spoke about how Arab women "suffer" with Olive skin.

Although the reaction from some Arab circles toward "Fair and Lovely" has been enthusiastic, as can been seen in product sales, by both women and men who prefer white skinned wives; not all voices have been welcoming. Some Arabs have protested "Fair and Lovely" as being "racism in a bottle" and have called for the banning of the advertisement of the product on the grounds that racism should not appear on television. The product encourages stigmatization of black Arabs and olive skinned Arabs without access to the product, they argue. Instead of recognizing the richness of all people, such a product encourages homogeneity. More than "Racism in a bottle" the product is "Extreme homogeneous globalization in a bottle".