Highlights

Calls for ‘Tall, Fair and Handsome’ or ‘Tall, Dark and Handsome’ are not calls for white or black, but for an appreciation of a golden mean – such calls have an economic bias – Attractiveness has many facets – Natural selection is prime motivator – Finally understand who is it that really chooses and on what basis?

Quotations for consideration

“Being happy in your skin that’s what it’s all about.” – Koo Stark

“There is no beauty without strangeness.” – Karl Lagerfeld

“We ascribe beauty to that which… is the mean of many extremes.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Mechanisms of natural selection and genetic drift have led to an increased frequency of particular traits which now we recognize as desirable.” – Anon

Key Concepts

• Indians exhibit preference for being ‘Fair’. Is this indicative of a ‘Racist / Slavish’ mind set or a fetish, derived from centuries of being ruled by the white skinned?
• Since the shade of skin colour seems to be a factor for natural selection globally, and it is not the same everywhere, so could it have some other rationale?
• Beauty is more than just skin deep and is measured differently.

Key Metrics

• ‘Fairness creams’ are the most selling Cosmetic aid even in other Asian Countries such as China – where according to Indian standards people are already fair?
• Rank of Countries in total number of cosmetic procedures, both surgical and non-surgical – according to Business India: USA – 1^st, Brazil – 2^nd, China – 3^rd and India – 4^th.
• Rank of procedures in India: Liposuction – 1^st, Breast augmentation – 2^nd, Hair transplantation – 3^rd. However, complexion care would beat all of them.
• Origins of fairness: it is worth noting that originally all humans were dark skinned with dark eyes and black hair, as are the Khoisan of South Africa today. However, recent genetic studies proved that the mutation for fair skin of the Europeans was spread outward from India about 40,000 years ago. Some Indians are also, quite fair even in the South. They gene for the fair skin of East Asians is different. Ofcourse, climatic conditions cause variation of the effect considerably over time. Also, a mutation spreads rapidly in small population but not so extensively in larger populations.

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