Rebranding ‘Fair & Lovely’: Performative Activism Doesn’t End Colorism
Glow and Lovely (formerly Fair and Lovely) is a skin-lightening cosmetics brand, primarily distributed in South Asia and exported to the West to be sold in Asian supermarkets. Introduced to India in 1975, Glow and Lovely has become a household name in many South Asian homes, for, what I consider, the wrong reasons.
Why is the world so infatuated with fairness? What is it about lighter skin that makes girls more desirable? Colorism is rooted deeply in India and other South Asian countries’ past. Typically, those of lower class toiled in the sun, which led them to have darker skin than others. In the media, the most successful faces were fair. I can speak to the rampant colorism in South Asian communities from personal experience: it’s common to meet relatives and have them go, “Oh, you’ve gotten so fair and pretty!” or on the other hand, “Oh my, you’ve gotten so dark!” This is why whitening creams were, and somewhat still are, so popular. We want to be fair, because fair means successful, fair means happy, fair means beautiful. Fair means lovely.
Often associated with Glow and Lovely are their advertisements that promote anti-blackness. There’s one in particular that stands out to me- the Airhostess Ad. In this, a man wishes he had a son instead of a daughter. Hearing this, the daughter is in despair. She wants to apply to be an airhostess but feels too dark for the job. With the help of the whitening cream, the daughter is now multiple shades lighter, which means she successfully gets the job. Her life has turned around, and she has made her family proud. This ad, and many others like it, engraved anti-blackness and colorism into the heads of all those watching.
Fair and Lovely had received criticism before, but in light of George Floyd’s murder and the consequent resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement, there was a much stronger push to ban the product. While Hindustan Unilever didn’t do that, they changed the brand’s name to Glow and Lovely and removed every mention of the words “fair”, “white”, and “light”. Unilever beauty and personal care president Sunny Jain stated that the words “suggest a singular ideal of beauty that [they] don’t think is right”. I’m glad they took this step. But to be completely honest, it doesn’t make a difference.
The main active ingredient in Glow and Lovely’s product is niacinamide, which is used as a melanin suppressant. Unilever is removing all mentions of fairness, whiteness, and lightness, but has shown no signs of removing their main ingredient which still promotes these ideals. This is performative allyship at its best: changing names and making promises, but not addressing the root of the problem.
Despite the name change, the damage has already been done. People with darker skin have repeatedly been told that the shade of their skin makes them unattractive and will make them less successful than their lighter counterparts, and skin whitening brands play a large role in enforcing this stereotype. This is not to say that Glow and Lovely’s reputation cannot change. It can, but the impact they’ve had is so severe that it will take a long time to undo. There’s no way to take it back, but it’s important for Glow and Lovely to admit what they used to represent: anti-blackness. They’ve promised to evolve their advertising and promote a more inclusive standard of beauty, but they cannot move on without addressing their faults. Changing their name won’t affect what they currently represent and what their legacy is.
So, what should the company do about it then? The first and most important step is to issue an apology. They need to apologize for their colorist advertisements and sentiment. They need to recognize how harmful their product was to so many people of color, specifically young girls who were raised thinking that they needed to be lighter to be better. They need to show humility by actively condemning skin whitening and telling people with dark skin that they are beautiful the way they are. I mentioned earlier that the main ingredient in Glow and Lovely is niacinamide, a melanin suppressant. The easiest step is to get rid of that ingredient — no better way to promote loving your own skin than to get rid of this melanin suppressant. If they are genuinely creating products to solely rejuvenate and brighten skin, then they should have no problem letting go of niacinamide.
As much as I can talk about how detrimental colorism is, and as much as people can break down stereotypes in their own minds, it is no secret that the people with the most influence are those of enormous brands, like Glow and Lovely. It is not enough to just change the name and be done with it. I want to see companies actively fight against the idealization of fair skin.
Colorism is a wretched thing. It tells young girls that they are too dark to be pretty and that the reason they’re not prospering is because of their skin color, something they were born with. Just as much as we need to fight against colorism and anti-blackness in our own communities, companies like Glow and Lovely need to do their part to rectify what they’ve done in the past. Changing the name was only the beginning.
Because, in the end, it isn’t just fair that’s lovely. It’s every shade, every color, every skin tone that we come in. That is lovely.
Aarushi Gupta (15) is a rising sophomore in the IB program at Richard Montgomery High School. She loves music, writing, and talking to her friends. She’s also very passionate about politics. You can find her on Instagram at @aarushigupt.a or email her at aarushigupta300@gmail.com.
Originally published on August 14, 2020 at https://yellohmoose.org
