All me-too ‘products’

There might be some awareness about this need to give up the obsession with fair skin but the fact remains that fair is all that sells and matters. Even someone as supposedly liberal and forward thinking like the Miss India pageant have shown that beauty is only and only about looking fair.

The finalists are currently in the eye of a storm. The Twitterati has gone ballistic with many crying hoarse about how all the 30 contestants looked exactly the same – fair skinned, glossy hair.

India is a hugely diverse country but when you look at these finalists, you will end of thinking that all Indian women look the same. If Miss India was a slice of India, this certainly is not!

But over a period of time, it is very rare that we even remember who Miss India was how she looked. They all do look exactly the same; there is simply no defining personality. Isn’t that what Miss India contest has become all about – an entry into the Hindi film industry?  And given the way majority of the women are portrayed, well, its only fair that they look for fair skin, all lookalike eye candies! Come to think of it, without wanting to sound like a feminist, Miss India is what ‘objectifies’ women. Think about it…