A few days ago, three students from the University of Texas joined forces to start an online campaign to question colourism across the world. Called "Unfair and Lovely," it has quickly grown as hundreds of women come forward to share their experiences.
It began when black photographer Pax Jones shot a photo series titled "Unfair & Lovely" featuring fellow students, Sri Lankan sisters Mirusha and Yanusha Yogarajah, to highlight their common experiences of colourism. After it went viral, the three decided to evolve the series into a hashtag on social media.
The campaign invites dark-skinned women from around the world to post their photos on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook using the hashtag #unfairandlovely. Since then, hundreds of women have been sharing their stories.
#unfairandlovely | art by @prettymuchkavi A photo posted by Unfair & Lovely (@unfairandlovely_) on Feb 27, 2016 at 1:50pm PST
It gets its name from Fair & Lovely, a skin-whitening product sold by Hindustan Unilever in India, Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and other parts of Asia. In India, where it has been sold for the last four decades, its popularity is attributed to the close connection between South Asian ideals of beauty and being fair-skinned.
In India, these conventions have been questioned through campaigns such as "Dark is Beautiful" by actress Nandita Das. In 2014, the Advertising Standards Council of India banned ads that perpetuated the notion of dark skin being inferior and undesirable.
Yet, numerous beauty brands continue to run aggressive advertising campaigns for products that will lead to lighter skin tones. This may be the reason why the campaign has resonated powerfully with numerous women of South Asian origin.
I'm not palatable to many and that's okay. #unfairandlovely #reclaimthebindi pic.twitter.com/2tPfpyLf07— shahrukhquan (@browniverson3) March 10, 2016
Yet, the campaign's importance also lies in its ability to provide a common platform for women of colour to share their experiences everywhere. Jones describes the project as highlighting "the intersections of colorism" and rejecting "one-dimensional cultural expression."
#unfairandlovely is ESPECIALLY for dark folks who r queer, womyn, dif abled, poor, fat, etc bc white beauty standards r over-imposed upon us— Pax Jones (@misspaxjones) March 9, 2016
A Black woman & a Tamil woman created #unfairandlovely. We created this for Black, Asian, Latinx, Indigenous, etc. POC.— Pax Jones (@misspaxjones) March 9, 2016
The founders have also tied up with the "Reclaim the Bindi," a campaign against cultural appropriation of South Asian symbols, to celebrate the week from March 8 to 14 as one of celebrating their beauty irrespective of colour.
#reclaimthebindi #unfairandlovely As a dark skinned person 'kaali hai' is a word that I hear on a daily basis since time immemorial. To everyone who go through what I do ,be proud of your skin colour #BeProud #BeBrown Thank you @unfairandlovely_ and @reclaimthebindi for this amazing activism A photo posted by Jhukhirtha (@jhukhirtha) on Mar 10, 2016 at 6:30pm PST
Kali tikka for a kali girl #unfairandlovely #reclaimthebindi #selfie A photo posted by Lincy (@lincyshroom) on Mar 9, 2016 at 11:11am PST
Dusky girls. #unfairandlovely A photo posted by Abirami Ravichandran Pillai ☺️ (@abiii_18) on Mar 10, 2016 at 3:19am PST
You're all beauties. #unfairandlovely #indianwoman #illustration #sari #brunette #flauntit #dubaiartist #desi #doyourthing @shahrukhquan A photo posted by Hi, it's Maria! (@mariabluelines) on Mar 10, 2016 at 11:16pm PST