Irishtown Park 4

The British tradition of colorism was passed down to countries like India, where fair skin was considered the epitome of beauty. Ads for fairness creams like Fair and Lovely perpetuated the belief that lighter skin attracts men and leads to a good husband. This obsession with fair skin can be traced back to English history, where women had limited rights and their value was based on appearance and the ability to produce heirs. In order to secure a good future, women would go to extreme lengths to meet societal beauty standards. The influence of British beauty trends has had a lasting impact on how girls perceive themselves today. Fair and Lovely, now called Glow and Lovely, continues to promote these standards through its products. And being the world's biggest colonizers of both lands and mines, the Brits of course had to pass down their little tradition of colorism to wherever they colonized, and it still made a lasting effect in countries like India. Whenever I'd visit family in Mumbai, every other ad on TV was for the brand Fair and Lovely, a fairness cream that supposedly bleaches the skin and, according to ads, magically turns an Indian girl with a dark complexion into a blue-eyed, blonde-haired white woman who, being the pinnacle of beauty, attracts all the men. I've had little cousins who say I'm a spy have complained about being too dark to stand next to me in pictures. Aunties would tell my mom to not let me play in the sun as much, and give recommendations for natural ways to lighten the skin—recommendations my mom responded to by signing me up for soccer and having picnics under the sun. Whether it be in movies or ads, the basic gist of the fair skin craze was clear. This is beauty, and beauty gets you a good husband. Although if skin color is at the top of a good husband's list, then maybe he should check out the ladies on the tuberculosis train. But why were these beauty trends so prevalent throughout English history? Why did 17th-century British women put themselves through so much just so someone like Lord Bigginmouth would notice them at the bowls? Well, because back then, that was their only choice. Thanks to the patriarchy, women weren't granted any rights. They couldn't vote, own property, or earn their own money. They couldn't even be heirs to their family's money—the next male relative would inherit it all. So how do they secure a good future? A good husband. Or, more importantly, a rich one. And a rich man would only have the best of the best. A woman wasn't valued for her brains or her talent. Back then, they were judged on presentation, status, and the ability to produce an heir. Beauty was all a woman could rely on to secure a future for herself. So you bet that a medieval girl in dire need of financial support would do all she could to be the best of the best—even if that meant plucking her hairline back, painting her face with arsenic, or using leeches to suck her blood—just to achieve the pinnacle of beauty. So this time, these British issues have deeper, more misogynistic roots. And by forcing their standards on the places they invaded, they forever changed how little girls even today look at themselves. Today, Fair and Lovely has since changed its name to Glow and Lovely, to sound more progressive. But the formula is still the same. It's made of melanin suppressors, bleach, and a long history of twisted beauty standards. That's all for this episode on British Fashioning. Thanks for listening.