Are We Ever Going To Stop Cracking Cruel Jokes On Skin Colour?

We’ve trolled a bunch of celebrities for endorsing fairness creams, a fairness cream changed its name, but nothing has changed!

The ‘skin colour’

So have you ever drawn human figures, in your drawing class at school? That was the time when we were taught what a skin colour is! The bright shade of the crayons named salmon pink or the light orange. We were told to use the fresh tint colour, that this is the skin colour, the bright one, the fair one. Even today we call that colour as skin colour. If we call the fairer one as skin colour, why are we offended with the name of a fairness cream?

Let’s keep the cream aside for now, and let’s concentrate on ourselves! So, what is a skin colour? Is not the colour of each and every skin, a skin colour? Who decided the fresh tint to be the ‘official’ skin colour? Do we teach the children that fair is normal and dark isn’t? Do we teach them that fair is beautiful and dark isn’t?

Many celebrities in India have endorsed many fairness creams, but we have been endorsing fair colour from years! The Quint carried out a survey where they interviewed people on streets and asked them several questions. The answers of the people are evidence of India being obsessed with fair skin.

‘Kala Hai Tu!’ (You’re dark!)

Have you ever called anyone Kala? Or have you heard anyone doing so? Did you stop them? Did you teach your children not do so, did you try to teach your children what a skin colour is?

If you had dark complexion, would you have loved to be called so?

Pathetic jokes about dark skin

Jokes are funny, they are important, they should exist, they make us laugh – I agree to everything! I crack jokes, I laugh at jokes, but are jokes cracked on skin colour funny? If you have fair skin, maybe they are funny for you, but what about the other skin colours which exist, yet we just don’t consider them ‘normal’ skin shades!

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There are a number of pathetic jokes passed on dark skin complexions! Calling them “Aae Kale” (you dark skinned person!) is just so easy, but what is it to be called A Kala person?

“Hum kale hai to kya hua dil wale hai?” (I’m dark but I have a good heart) – this song is sung in many situations or memes are made on this, but using this song as a joke shows that having a dark complexion is ‘not normal’ and yet it is said you have dark complexion but you are a good person! How is even joking over this Ok?

There are a number of phrases and songs used to joke over this. There are ‘comedy’ shows, ‘funny’ reality shows that run on commenting on skin colours and looks. Are jokes supposed be about criticising people? Aren’t jokes supposed to be about making others laugh, making people happy?

Think about the effect on those targeted

Have you ever thought of how the people to whom you call ‘Kala’, on whom you pass jokes directly or indirectly, affected? Trauma, hatred towards one’s own body, depression, and much more, much much more. More than one knows, more than one can imagine. Can we even talk about this if we cannot even imagine the intensity of the pain? Have we ever thought that jokes can affect someone’s entire life?

A dark complexion is as normal as the brighter one! It is beautiful, it’s just that you have a bad perspective!”

I remember a phrase I was taught in my childhood, maybe we all remember it, we just do not follow! “Before blaming others, we should see what we are doing” We trolled many celebrities who endorsed fairness creams. We used social media to its fullest for this purpose, but did we introspect ourselves, our lives, our teachings, our perspectives, our deeds? Did we ever? Is it not high time to unlearn the old man-made prejudices?

Our body is beautiful, our skin has a range of colours, and all of them are beautiful.

Image source: pexels

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