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MRP FASHION GIVE US SOME MELANIN! SOUTH ASIAN MELANIN DESERVES TO BE REPRESENTED
Crown The Brown: MRP Review. I think I have read every possible article out there on the stigma that surrounds brown skinned Indian females. The atrocities and the negative feedback are astounding both locally and internationally. We are knowingly aware that we are completely misrepresented in so many ways. Even though this has been an ongoing conversation. Here is a few questions that I would appreciate answers to. Have we become complacent? Settling on the fact that this is just the way it is? Allowing our lack of fairness to dissemble who we are as individuals? Have we been too quiet for too long? Have we somehow allowed our surplus of melanin to ironically subtract from creating awareness for ourselves by ourselves?
The Mr. Price beauty launch surely stirred many melanin and representation issues around the country.
What I want to know is why did MRP beauty launch cause such a big inquiry from the South Asian community? Surely this is not the first time we have been excluded from a particular beauty brand? Yes, everyone loves to mention diversity and authenticity while describing their products. But how many brown skinned beauties have actually been on the covers of magazines or graced the catwalks? So I ask the question again, have we become too complacent? You have to understand that from the marketing point of view. Brown skinned Indians didn’t really get their feathers ruffled up when they were excluded from major beauty powerhouses locally and internationally. Now all of a sudden, out of no were its causing a bit of a stir for Mr. Price, which I personally think is fantastic!
Finally the Indian community together with crown the brown is creating awareness of the blatant UNAWARENESS of Indians in the marketing procedure of brands. Why this particular brand from Mr. Price you may ask? Because firstly it’s proudly South African. Secondly the Scarlet Hill brand boasts about how its products are for diverse skin types for all South African woman. We, as the dark skinned Indian females in South Africa would like our diverse skin shades to be acknowledged as well.
We will not be silenced any longer!
Above all, we have been quiet for too long. I am truly hoping that this one act of voicing out our own melanin opinions will have an impact on the way South Africa is represented in the future. Mr Price along with many beauty retailers are almost telling us indirectly that we are good enough to purchase from them. Good enough to work for them. Smart enough to handle their taxes or keep their accounts in order. But we are just not good enough to be showcased on their catalogues.
This is quiet ironic considering that it probably does not have anything at all to do with melanin itself as I have watched how beautiful African woman with an abundance of melanin have graced catwalks and beauty magazines, I’ve admired how they have been commercialized into the marketing system representing different shades and tones of most make up brands.
My point is, are we as INDIAN dark skinned woman not allowed the same opportunities? Let’s not only harp on dark skinned Indians but let’s verify that even fair skinned Indians don’t get as much exposure to the industry as other non-Indians get. We as South African Indians come in so many diverse shades and is it wrong that we want a makeup brand to accommodate these particular shades?
I hope this one misrepresentation refreshes your mind and makes you focus clearly on the past advertising of other beauty powerhouses as well.
Perhaps the notion of a dark skinned woman is not widely accepted due to the fact that we are not widely represented? Indian females with loads of melanin are not even found in adverts. Even woman showing off the latest shampoo which is weird because majority of us have amazing hair. We actually should be hair models for those particular adverts! Have you ever thought about this simple fact that the fair woman has absolutely nothing to do with the hair and shampoo that is being advertised?
Makes one wonder as to what exactly is being advertised, is it the uniqueness of the particular shampoo or the need to once again encourage the average fair skinned female? If so, why not portray a fair skinned Indian? It completely boggles my mind as to how many Indian females were absent from thousands of commercials or marketing brands in the past considering that we are beautiful too, we are unique too and we surely make up a huge percentage of buyers and sellers nationwide.
Does this exclusion only enter the marketing world? Absolutely not!
It has somehow entered the film industry as well. Look at the Aladdin remake that was done this year. As a young girl growing up in an era that boasted magic and enchantment from Disney. I remember watching Aladdin and being mesmerized by Jasmine. Finally there was a Disney princess who was brown and beautiful. When I heard about the remake of this movie I was both keen and excited to see as to which brown beauty would grace the screens as Jasmine.
Alas there was no brown beauty present because for some odd reason. The film industry thought of making jasmine fair skinned in this particular remake.There are thousands of stunning brown actresses that could have played this part but no. The industry wouldn’t have that and so it went in a different direction, you know the direction it always ends up going in! Now I know many people will defend this act. Saying that it was a remake. Therefore they tried to give it a different edge but bear in mind that the original Aladdin was dark-skinned and he was still dark skinned in the remake. So, no edge for him then?
My wish is to see woman of color be embraced and honored for their beauty.
We should not be side lined and absent from certain media exposure simply due to the melanin that we possess. Look at the Indian Soapies. Some of the actors and actresses are actually fairer than most white people in this country. All well and good and we love watching these Soapies but where are the brown girls? like seriously, where are the dark skinned woman in Soapies? If an Indian based entertainment group FROM INDIA does not showcase their brown talent. Then no wonder as to why we are not showcased in South Africa?
Change has to be evident and clear going forward.
Stereotypes need to fall. Brown girls, keep your head up high. Be proud of that magnificent melanin. If there is anything that we have learnt so far, it’s the fact that it has to be that fairness is beautiful. That’s what the media has told us for generations’ right? But if brown is shown in you and outside of you as beautiful well than girl you must truly be beautiful! The problem is the world isn’t ready to accept this irony anymore, not yet but surely soon enough!
MRP Review by – J. Kassra
