“The darker South Asian women are, the stronger the women’s
desire for a lighter complexion is” (Chia, et al. 203). In an effort to break this social norm of
longing for lighter skin, photographer Pax Jones created the campaign #unfairandlovely
on Instagram, a play on the Fair & Lovely company, in order for women to
post selfies while embracing their darker skin and sharing it with the online
community. Currently with over 14,000
posts, users continue to share their experiences on the topic and how they have
overcome the social pressures of fitting in and being light-skinned.
This particular selfie is of Youtuber Limitless Bwl, who
posted a video alongside this selfie in order to share her experience of being
a South-Asian female struggling to accept her darker complexion. She touches
upon how many people in her life, from family and friends to strangers, comment
on her skin tone and even result to making jokes. “When the lights turn off,
they’ll be like, oh, where’s Luckiya?” (Limitless Bwl, “Dark Skin Ruined My
Life”). This further confirms the idea that peers can give great influence on
what is deemed acceptable and desirable. As Li, et al. states, “Failure in
following this norm will result in low self-esteem and social status” (448).
This poses a problem because it can potentially direct women to have lower
self-esteem and self-worth, with such norms persuading them to believe that
they do not belong within social standards and are marginalized from their
cultural groups. Limitless Bwl brings this problem to awareness
by uploading a video of herself addressing these issues (linked below) and posts selfies, like
the one above, to join the #unfairandlovely movement in order to bring together
and celebrate skin tones of all kinds, while not having to surrender to cultural standards.