The Importance of Being Fair and Lovely in Singapore

Nylon Singapore January Issue Cover

Grammy award-nominated British songstress M.I.A. graced the cover for Nylon Singapore's January issue.

But you may have noticed something different. She looked many shades lighter than usual.

So yes, Nylon Singapore did a whitewash on her. South Asian cultural magazine The Aerogram questioned 'why did this time around, in a post-Nina Davuluri age, Nylon's Singapore staffers feel the need to whitewash M.I.A.?'

It's a fair point - now that we have a darker-skinned Miss America, why would beauty magazines want to whitewash women? Except, we still do live in a world where lighter skin epitomizes the ideal of beauty. This Elle cover featuring Mindy Kaling shows that even in a post-Nina Davuluri America, white skin still holds more appeal.

Asia's obsession with fairness

I'll let you into a dirty little secret; all over Asia, fairer skin is a passport to better service, job opportunities and higher pay.

Growing up in Singapore, there was a palpable difference in the treatment I received when I went out with white friends vs. with other ethnic Indians like me. When with caucasian friends, I'd get excellent service. With Indian friends, we'd often get asked 'what's our budget,' as if we couldn't afford to be there. Shopkeepers at beauty counters would also ask me if 'I needed something to lighten my skin.'

The prejudices were so subtle that unless you lived there, you couldn't quite put your finger on it. But my white friends would guiltily enjoy the better treatment. Us of the darker-skinned variety would seethe quietly, with no real outlet to express it. I grew up in the pre-social media era of the '90s.

All over Asia, the bias towards fair skin has likely come from a colonial hangover. Prejudices are so deeply ingrained in the society that we're nowhere close to a mindset of equality. Much of Asia may not get there even in the next century. As the West continues to grapple with the ideas of race and beauty, the East, I'm sad to say, is still years behind even addressing those conversations openly. In India, skin lightening creams like 'Fair and Lovely' are a billion-dollar industry. Where Singapore touts itself as a multi-racial society, and it is in many ways, the ideals of beauty are still geared to favor fairer skin. Any real conversation about race gets quickly brushed under the carpet.

The case for diversity

As my home country continues to rank high in lists of best vacation spots, places to do business or live, we are all responsible for holding Singapore accountable to its claims of an equal society. To stay competitive, embracing diversity at more than just face value will define Singapore's continued successes. Allowing people of all skin colors to thrive is what will differentiate Singapore from the rest of Asia.

The country's founders strived to create a harmonious society at a time that much of Asia was separated under religious and ethnic grounds. But on the ground, racial prejudices still persist to the day. Singapore cannot afford to alienate people of other nationalities and skin colors. For a start, not all of the 174,000 millionaires that live in Singapore, are fair-skinned. Singapore must also crucially address the issue of race; one that has been brought to the fore since the Little India riots. The consequences of not tackling race head on could lead to dangerous consequences, where one ethnic group gets profiled and targeted, not unlike post 9/11 America.

Back to the M.I.A cover. The fact is, Miss America Nina Davuluri, would not be crowned a beauty queen in Asia. I'm just excited to see a woman of a darker complexion represented in the Singaporean media at all. It certainly wouldn't have happened in the Singapore I grew up in. Next cover, I'll hope Photoshop won't need to play a part. Baby steps.