Hari Kondabolu on "Unfair Skin"

Comedian and WORLDcompass video blogger Hari Kondabolu on the South Asian diaspora's obsession with all things fair and lovely. It's BAD, it's bad, you know it.
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[@rennywilder9062]

I'm Indian American and you're the first time I heard someone else bring up not staying out in the Sun too long. My parents told me that too

[@yunglynda1326]

I'm a gujarati-american woman and I'm embarrassed on her account. It's a shame that she did that to you man. It's almost a manifestation of self-hatred. wonder how she would have felt if she had a white bf and he said the same thing to her. like trash, that's what. -_-

[@SilverSkitty]

Fair and Lovely has the creepiest commercials. That comment about Michael Jackson was too accurate

[@richarri]

This is hilarious, but so true! I'm a NZ Cook Islander and it's like this in the Cooks. Especially for women.

[@kinky2002]

This issue is prevalent throughout the world, especially where slavery and colonialism has its claws

[@VSM101]

ACTUALLY IT CAME FROM THE ARABS THEN REAFFIRMED BY THE EUROPEANS THAT INVADED

[@VSM101]

Galileo Galilei india became indpendent in 1947 and was invaded by racist arabs for 500 years and the Portuguese and British for 300 years so STFU and our Deity's totally contradict the entire concept.

[@Kriskazam]

colorism predates european colonialism it's just that they exacerbated already existing hierarchies present in our communities tenfold. Punjabis and higher caste groups for example happily collaborated with the British in exchange for reinforcing their economic privilege, the legacy is still seen their descendants inherited, live off, and sustain their wealth with new investments and capital projects

[@tonym9428]

People should remember that this isn't just a problem in India, and that when people immigrate here to the west from India they brings those cultural values and continue to perpetuate these notions of fair skin being superior. I was born in the US but my parents are from India and they still believe in all those ideas about skin color even though they've been here over 20 years. Hopefully, in a generation or two younger Indian Americans will have rejected these backwards aspects of Indian culture and be more fully integrated into American culture.

[@loveisvolatile]

THIS IS SO REAL! MY GRANDMOTHER USED TO TELL ME THAT ALL THE TIME.

[@mwanakazi]

skin lightening is damaging skin in Africa too, so sad

[@gladitsnotme]

I am so glad I'm a black person born in America. I fucking love my skin tone, caramel latte with amber undertones, GORGEOUS if I do say so myself. I feel bad for people who have issues with skin color, that must suck to constantly feel ugly or inferior.

[@DembaiVT]

So South-asian women want to be white, while black women want the Indian women's hair, and white women want to be orange. I'm so glad I'm not fashion forward. I just don't fucking get this.

[@jedidkj]

+Dembai For prom, straight-haired girls get their hair curled, and curly-haired girls get their hair straightened. White girls want to be tanner. But dark Indian girls want to be lighter. Weird indeed.

[@mrsidhuptdv]

Very true! I hope people who actually live in India have this awareness.

[@jedidkj]

Colorism is real.

[@nsanthan]

" ... unless ireland is off the coast of Punjab" Love the guy, keep it coming :).

[@KevUrbie]

Only the truth ilicits a response full of rage. Thank you for validating my point.

[@matthewdeepblue]

Thanks for posting this. When I was in India, almost a couple years, I had a coworker who wanted me for nephew-in-law.... Because I was white & American only. It's really kind of strange. I have read a lot about India after I came back, and before. I really don't understand it. there were people there that did not like me because I was white. a few of those people thought I was English and when they discovered that I wasn't then they were okay with me. Some people really liked me because I was white, I honestly think that's the only reason. I was way more respected at work that I really should have been. And yes I went to a fairly good school, but they kind of imagine American education is like the best. And yes I kind of do think it's better than some of the Indian universities, but there are absolutely some that I think are on par with ivy league. And I didn't go to ivy league, I went to a "old college". I honestly do not understand to this day. Many people in India seem to dislike each other on the basis of ethnicity, caste is still a thing in places to and I kind of think it's something that is kind of beneath the surface, but there's caste and ethnicity and economic class and religion. not to mention you always have those individuals which are somehow an exception to the rule. I always like to describe my time there as an "important outkast", because I honestly felt that way most of the time. However I should say that I never really felt like I was incredibly discriminated against, mostly I was treated too well. I can honestly say that I came back from India with more questions about India that when I sat out. Kyle and don't even get me started on talking about the Bengalis. They were treated like garbage, a lot of people are treated like garbage in India. But they also have their own little social class system built in. by the way for those of you who don't know a lot of the servants and India are Bengali now. And their minds I was much much higher and social class than most people, I'm kind of didn't understand why wasn't always treated that way. and I was kind of confused why they were treated the way they were treated. Basically I was confused, that's the thing, I was just confused all the time when I was in India.

[@redblugranada]

i really feel you on this as a Pakistani, though most of my family are relatively fair-skinned, some of my cousins are a bit darker and even the elders will discriminate them.

[@TheReddances]

This was a good video and funny too, tackling a sad subject. ...I once went on holiday to south Asia (Sri Lanka) with my at the time gf, from Finland - very blond, sapphire-eyed. When the effect of general presence became clear I began to enjoy messing with the locals's racist attitudes (not absolutely everyone was obviously so, of course) in a variety of contexts of meeting us; eg let her walk into a room first before joining her: you should have seen the contrast in the "greeting" expressions! But the games became seriously old very quickly (especially as much of it flew way over my my partner's head, she never having experienced racism or thought about it prior to meeting me....). This skin colour concern is SUCH nonsense. MJ ultimately did good work in making it look so utterly ridiculous.

[@rmd231]

I am really glad this video is up. I am Filipino and get it all the time from my family. Why must I stay out of the sun? I love the sun and its heat.

[@helemundo]

Really good stuff.

[@noronahahaha]

hari--you got my feels, if that makes any sense.

[@Kinnykins]

I really needed this I am an african american girl and i always feel self conscious about my skin because of family now i know its not ok to feel uncomfortable for something i was born with i refuse to bleach my skin... thank you hair

[@LackingInGravitas]

Oh my god Hari Kondabulu I love you

[@daniyellowjello]

My experience is that this happens everywhere, especially in Asia. I know as a fact that Taiwan puts whitening cream in their foundation. And I know several words that people in Japan and China use for "darker" people. People all over have an affinity to darker skin..regardless that more pigment is a proven sign of health. Probably because it may be a sign of someone who is a working class citizen, which people seem to despise for some reason.

[@rebdalmas1]

Thanks so much for this video. Exposing the ridiculousness of our culture of limited values needs exposure for what it is. A limited and stagnant design of judgement and abuse and ignorance of the variety of life as life. It is only the limited mind of men that ignore life. Who would want to be with someone lacking the ability to perceive the depths of life?

[@karansena]

Iam tanned man. they tell me don't go out n play. be fair by my best bud to get promotion in job. as all whites skin are mgt. sad reality of life. worst part is I have to just digest to my gut

[@11FBA11]

this guy speaks the truth.

[@GeneralKenobiSIYE]

"Unless Ireland is off the coast." HAHAHAHAHAHA!

[@TVwriter23]

Have you seen older issues of Ebony/Essence pre- black is beautiful movement. You had the same types of ads for skin lightening creams.

[@acmevideosociety]

They have these types of products and this type of stigma in Korea and Japan as well... though it seems more prominent in Japan.

[@marcdacey4183]

I have heard this from Canadian-born Indians where there is a "colour-range" among siblings. Lighter is culturally better, it seems, among even the second generation. I am personally amazed at Bollywood's standards: everyone looks vaguely Mediterranean, whereas if you go shopping in areas patronized by South Asians, that level of pale shows up in maybe 1 out of 200 people, and usually they've got to be from way up in the mountains or something. The irony of citing Ireland as the homeland of pale people is clear, however, if one knows the Irish language and a few simple phrases in any Sanskrit-derived dialect, like Punjabi: the culture of the Aryans in India is strongly linked to that of Ireland and the Celtic fringe of Europe, and, as in India, skin tone doesn't have a lot to do with it.

[@alstevens7060]

Many of those Bollywood actors use makeup and lighting to appear lighter. Tell me more about the connection between the Celts and the Aryans. Also, it's weird how white skin is viewed as being superior yet the Irish, some of the most pale people on earth, were viewed as inferior brutes by the English for more than a thousand years.

[@hvrtguys]

If one of those models on the cover of Cosmopolitan robed a bank and was put in a police lineup with other models from previous Cosmopolitan covers. I would not be able to identify which one robed the bank because they all look exactly the same.

[@PerlaGiselle]

@wildcatste Same in the hispanic community... I've seen people show preference over others within the same family because of their skin color...

[@The00Archer]

@CssAfc the same thing goes for almost all Latin american nations and parts of the African american community, the mentality is reminiscent of the colonial era when to be lighter was to be closer to the European, thus being higher on the social and economic ladder

[@k.aburto5749]

Unfair skin: Same goes for Latin America, unfortunately. Just look up or talk to a Latino about "mejorar la raza."

[@jenniferschmitzkatze1244]

i have exactly this skin ... white and translucent. You can see every vein ... in my childhood in Germany I was bullied for something like that ... zombie, witch, etc. you can see the people are stupid and insecure. I don't care what others think of me now.... I just want to say don't minde the outside the inside is mutch more important

[@zboy123]

hmmm that's correct, other than Smita Patil can't recall any old bollywood actress to be dusky skinned

[@kingdom-wf2kt]

same perceptions in China too - it's difficult to find any lotions that don't have some kind of skin bleaching/lightening stuff in them and all the girls talk about being afraid of 'getting too black' :( there's differentiation among the different peoples as well as along socio-economic lines

[@KenmoreT]

I thought this was really strange when I was living in Nepal. I made friends with a woman who owned a small shop, and I'd go drink tea with her. I'd say two or three times a day she would break out her moisturizer with skin-lightening formula. As a n'th generation white Canadian (where n is a sufficiently high number that we don't know what boats they immigrated on) it was a very bizarre experience/discovery.

[@shanesullivan460]

It's tragic, the way some people can't feel comfortable with their natural appearance. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go drink a bunch of colloidal silver to make my skin turn blue. Smurfs are so hot...

[@Ok_Sorbet-824]

Shane Sullivan Totes hot. Just look at Karason.

[@enzomthethwa5861]

This is an issue within African American culture too. The TV show black-ish addresses colorism in an episode.

[@uruhammers]

this happens in east asian cultures as well; fair skin is always equated with beauty and there's an obsession among women to protect themselves from the sun so they don't tan. while of course this may stem from more ancient beliefs (nobility didn't have to work out in the sun so they remained fair, peasants did so they were tan, etc), this internalised racism is totally exacerbated by our modern euro-centric culture. great video, hari!

[@MariaV0071]

Omg, you are so right!! And michael Jackson, I laughed, but exactly understood what you meant. Well to be honest, I have seen a lot of darker skinned people in my life, even Indians and frankly they were attractive to, like other people are. I am from Indian origin, we don't have this issue.with skin color, but than again, I was born in the west.

[@ramaramaram1]

is that a YSS shirt??!!!?

[@abeljl3]

Kattyc, I think that is a correct assumption. (Not disagreeing that we don't always want we don't have.. gosh I curl my hair everyday and my sister straightens her's)

[@jamjiggler]

It saddens me to understand this idea. Though I am a white Canadian, I really don't care about one's skin colour but have been accosted many times by both the white culture as well as other cultures. In essence, condemned for not hanging around my "own" kind. Even in my family, there was shock to find I called Native Indians my friends. This saddened me and I was confused as to why so many people on both sides are so afraid to reach beyond skin borders. It's the heart that truly matters. :)

[@lisainatree]

He was honest and real. Apparently you are not familiar with real manliness.

[@pmebeesh]

Anyway, I'm a photographer in South Africa, and I've worked with at least 30 white girls that have worked in India, and they always play the role of a fair skinned indian girl! The last one i spoke to actually played the lead in a lightening cream ad!!

[@2wheeledGypsyQueen]

Turns my stomach. Her loss.

[@GeishaDevi]

not only is this in the indian community but pretty much any race where people come in shades from dark to light. as a dark skin black woman myself this issue has been in the black community (thank goodness not as bad as "back in the day") but the mentality still isn't completely gone. personally when i was younger i wanted lighter skin but as i got older and more mature i realized that dark skin is equally beautiful as light. i wish there were a wider range of dark indians in bollywood too.

[@paintitjazzy]

I know for sure what ever shade dark or light most American blacks have had to deal with the staying in the sun to long and even going to the pool(growing up in the 80's and 90's) (which would really temporarily darken your skin) was something to be feared a little. sad to see it plagues other communities and that it's still a major problem.

[@yerk3]

@oleanderbrew I don't think it's glossing over the subject. Skin color biases are older than interaction between Europeans and other races. Standards of beauty have always been all about status and wealth. Look at most images of what was considered beautiful throughout history, in ancient art from all different cultures around the world. Until recently, the image was invariably pale and chubby, indicating that the person could afford to overeat and avoid menial labor.

[@CarebearCountdowns]

Being a white person, this amuses me, as, where I'm from, most of us want to be tanned, and end up getting skin cancer because of our desire to darken ourselves. Seeing both sides of the spectrum has shown me that we all need to be happy with what colour skin we've got, because it really does not matter

[@veilkrand]

Sadly this is not only happening in India. In Mexico (for sure this is happening also in others latin american countries) girls use body lotions with skin bleaching components. In media success and beauty is always related to people with light skin and european appearance, darker skin is related to poor and indian (indigenous) people.

[@avastacia]

this type of problem is in the black community as well. my grandmother once told me that i was "a catch" because i have fair skin. she's also wouldn't let my younger sister (who's darker than me) go outside and play when we would spend the summer at her house as kids; she's say "there's no need for you to get even darker than you already are. think of the kids you might have!" the whole thing was really disgusting/disturbing. i blame my grandmother for the complex my sister still has to this day

[@jokifka]

It breaks my heart to listen to that...I would date you in a heartbeat and wouldn't be ashamed to tell my parents about you either so call me:))I love your humour and intellect...

[@gentilegrief]

THIRST

[@marxreader420]

bitch....what

[@DD-mx9ts]

Veronica Nuttelingu how kind of you. Blesses

[@DrOliolioxenFord]

Light skin use to be a status thing for example if you were tan you were a Field hand if you were lighter you would not have been exposed to the sun so much so you would have been distinguished

[@thebreakfasther0]

I'm a quarter Mexican and the rest of my heritage is "white" - and I'm not exactly fair, I'm actually olive in complexion, so I'm not dark either. but you would not believe the amount of people who have told me I'd be "much prettier" if I tanned a little more or if I was whiter. I burn in the sun, so I wear sunscreen/avoid extended periods in the sun. I like my skin tone. I don't know where the whole "dark = bad" thing came from, but it's not true. there are just as many pretty "dark" actresses (Indian and non indian) who are just as beautiful as any fair actress.

[@AwakeinAlbany1]

totally agree with you. I just have to point out that MJ had a skin condition. He didn't bleach his skin because he wanted to be white

[@alstevens7060]

Taken in conjunction with his nose surgery, and his straightened hair, I have to disagree.

[@TheJahlani]

I went on vacation on last summer to Cali, so of course, I was hitting the beach and chillin and stuff. Went to that theme park thingy, I forget the name now. Anyways, I get back and it's on a thursday so tommorow is jumu'aa (i.e. to all non-muslims who'll prolly read this this is our sunday basically, we go pray and listen to a service). So I go to the masjid and this Aunty is like "OH! You got SSOOO dark!". I'm like reallly??? Self-hate is killing all of us as people!

[@nullunit]

Only time I get fair and lovely is when I get all ashy from lack of lotion. Not sure that ashy counts as fair or lovely.

[@pmebeesh]

I'm Indian, and about your complexion, but my wife and sisters are a lot lighter, so doing anything outdoors with them is always such a chore! "No, it's too sunny outside! We're gonna get dark!" My wife bought a convertible because she'd always dreamed of having one, but i'd always find it funny that the top was always up.

[@loversrockpaper]

it's not just a south asian thing-- i'm of chadian/central sudanese descent and the whole dark skin/light skin dichotomy is real in east and north africa as well. all of the women in my family spend tons on fair&lovely and hydroquinone creams and lightening lotions, and these women are clearly black africans! turning a quarter of a shade lighter isn't really going to do much for you, but those eurocentric beauty standards are poison to everyone else in the world i suppose.

[@simonaris]

Isn't it a bit ironic that modern Indians would try to get whiter when Hindu gods are usually depicted as being dark skinned? I.e. black skin being a sign of divinity

[@mrbillkills]

Totally there with you Hari.. We Indians are still suffering from the "Colonial Hangover".. Sab but True and them "Fair and Lovley" ads make me wanna puke everytime it's there on TV.. Bollywood too has to take the fair share of the blame for propagating this nonsensical fascination with "fair skin".. I mean WTF.. grow up already!!!

[@abeljl3]

"Are Indians the only people in the world that think Michael Jackson looked better at the end of his career?" (that line is classic). I knew that being light was common among Asians but was not aware that it was common among Indians also. (Until I stumbled upon Jezebel's site) This is very sad and I hope that young Indians will stand up for themselves and their loved ones recognizing the beauty in everyone. (Americans finally nixed tanning beds as a result of the skin cancer break out)

[@Shaekadem88]

yeah, i'm arab and I'm pretty light skinned but I still get "warned" by my mother not to spend too much time in the sun because I got from very light olive to dark medium olive skinned. I love the summer because I get darker and i'm more comfortable in my skin that way but it makes me feel uncomfortable when my family "encourages" my fairness and discourages me from being dark. it's some racist shit.

[@coffeekoneko]

Oh my god. I had no idea this was a problem with other cultures. I'm very light skinned black and I've had to deal with this "high yellow" crap all my life. Thought I've really got the longer end of the stick. Dark skinned blacks (especially women) have such an awful time here in America.

[@DMCpawn]

Sadly, this is also a thing in Japan, Korea, the Philippines, China, and probably a few more countries I can't think of at the moment, because the whole "dark skin = ugly" thing makes me sad.

[@Starvingwriter82]

A lot of Koreans have the same obsession. :(

[@nsaxe001]

POWER DYNAMICS let's realize they exist?

[@illiteratellipsis]

Somehow I ended up white enough to get the jokes about blinding people with my legs while my brother gets greeted with a cheery "Amigo!" whenever we go out to eat at a Mexican restaurant. Life is strange, yo.

[@suledrake]

For the record, not all Indian people have this belief. My parents and family certainly don't, but it may be because we are South Indian and have lots of shades in the family so it's all good. Also, it's not just Indians who are this way about color, East Asians, South East Asians, Haitians, Mexicans, some African Americans etc. also have these hang ups. It's a fucking shame...

[@kattyc]

Would it be more accurate to consider it "upper class beauty standards"? From what I understand, many Asian cultures want light skin because it traditionally means you're upper class - that you're not a manual labourer outside in the sun. Assumably the same with bygone European cultures - ie. the aristocracy with white face powder (and wigs). People in wealthier countries now want tans because it means you have money and leisure time to vacation in sunny locales.

[@hot0tentation]

its like tanning cream for white ppl. or worse, instant tan lotion. works both ways imho

[@GeishaDevi]

yeah exactly it's ridiculous

[@piricarmen]

Awesome vid. Keep it going! Dark skinned people are just as beautiful as light skinned people and vice-versa. You have some veritably brainwashed folks out there. It is time to take action and promote dark skin to level the situation.

[@geekymarianne]

(also your simile falls flat in that I didn't say anything like "well obviously all white people are gorgeous, but occasionally a black or dark skinned indian person is kinda cute too, so I don't see the problem")

[@TreJahVu]

I've had nightmares about the white micheal Jackson .... Like scary fucking nightmares, white micheal was a very creepy person to just think about when u didn't here his music, just White Micheal and Silence....shit is sinister.

[@svetaswan]

(contd.) For ex., there are hardly any U.S. blacks who would use those lightening creams- it's just not considered "kosher" or safe. Someone who did what Sammy Sosa did would be laughed at or pitied. And among the younger generations of U.S. blacks- it would be rare for the scenario that Hari recounted in this vid to occur. At the very least, it wouldn't be that blatant. The remnants of colorism that exist in black America are generally more covert.

[@Kong-se5ht]

Its not just the diaspora obsession. It's across the whole indian subcontinent. Its a remnant of the prehistoric domination of the ancestral south indians by the ancestral north indians. This is proven in our genetic make up. ALL indians whether north or south are a mixture of fair skinned invaders and black skinned natives. The further north you go, and the higher the caste system, the higher the proportion of ancestral north indian genes. Furthermore, it seem that the invasion process was male driven, as in male invaders mixed with female natives and likely drove out or killed the native males. A common occurrence throughout the world.

[@tingtang9302]

AIT has been debunked, my guy. Definitely a bit of truth to admixture being intertwined with discrimination, though.

[@alstevens7060]

You are spinning tall tales. The most orthodox Brahmins come from the South. Much of what makes India, India ie the apex of Aryuveda, yoga, mediation, vegetarianism, is found in the south.

[@markheadroom]

He didn't finish the story. What happened to the girlfriend?

[@orangeiceice12]

That sucks my brother.

[@freelancergin]

unless like ireland is off the coast of punjab, lol

[@MXOtaku]

@avastacia but your grandmother got those ideas from her society

[@Rudra108]

Now everybody can be Michael Jackson.

[@kattyc]

It may have been exacerbated by European contact, though. I'm sure the addition of another "whiter" upperclass did nothing to reverse the standards.

[@passionlily]

This is also something within the Black community. Ever heard of the paper bag test? And just watch a lot of these rap and hip hop videos, the girls are fair skinned most of the time.

[@paintitjazzy]

before i was going to type a comment on how this same thinking plagues the african american communities and most black cultured communities( west indian, south american, Latino) I scrolled down to find a lot have already said everything i wanted to say.

[@gopiparikh2497]

Im guju nd my parents would prefer fair skin too cuz like im north(east) indian nd thats how our old folks roll. So sorry yaar but ur better off marrying in ur own community.

[@nsaxe001]

Um to be a decent human being? Just a thought.

[@ClassicRoaste]

You got to be fucking kidding me. Fair is a word generally used to describe lightness. In such context, it is synonymous with "pale". Yes, fair is also used to describe beauty and ethics, but in this case it isn't.

[@geekymarianne]

I've never been able to understand this bizarre obsession India and some other Asian countries have with skin lightening creams. I mean, I'm a white girl myself, but I've had female friends who were black, and friends who were Indian and dark skinned, and they were absolutely *gorgeous* women.

[@sophienoor1959]

Unfortunately the whole world except northern europeans want to be fairer, and this includes Africans, Japanese, Chinese, Indian, Middle Eastern, SE Asian, African Americans and Caribbean . The skin-whitening market is sadly huge and dominated by Japanese products. Just for the record, I'd definitely date you.

[@MrAlekzD]

Not sure if you're jealous or really making a point on this.

[@ACTionismeforever]

this problem is in the black community, along with many other ethnic communties. and japanese and chinese people. indians are not alone.

[@svetaswan]

Yes, colorism does exist in the black community- but among U.S. blacks it's not as bad or as blatant as it used to be. Colorist attitudes among U.S. blacks have faded considerably over the past 2 or 3 generations. The progress has been such that places like India appear to be some 80 years behind black America. (contd.)

[@TheNationalfilmbored]

This comment is not racist, genius. It's merely pointing out that beauty standards in the black community favor light over dark skin, and that this reflects internalized racist values that black people themselves carry.

[@SteveWilliamscongi]

hes right but in all brown black or deep colored skinned people there exist the need to break or even mimic the white society we were served so in Indian black or other circles Asian we feel that being white or fair skin is better then are natural he which ironically white men find so enticing if u look at the role of light skin women there always playing the Seductress

[@wildcatste]

This type of thing exists in the Black community too, it's called colorism. Damn Eurocentric beauty standards!!!!

[@alstevens7060]

It took him until his 20s and dating an Indian woman to realize India has a huge colorism issue?