“Hi,
I am ME(lanin).
I am the sun’s mistress.
Maidens aren’t bethroed to ‘good’ grooms because of me.
Educated women are turned down at jobs because of me.
The sales of haldi and besan shoot up, because of me.
Women become the targets of salespersons pushing fairness creams/anti-tan packs down their throats, because of me.
The society scorns me.
I am a CURSE!
An unsolicited list of Dont’s follows me in every nook and corner.”
This hard-hitting poem is not just Srishti Nadhani’s story but mine and yours too. Srishti is a fashion influencer the Plixxo fam is proud to have. In fact, we all need her on our ‘Following’ list on Instagram for all the right reasons. The above poem is an excerpt from her recent blog post where she has powerfully talked about the plight of dusky girls and how the society has set some rules for us to follow. You know, for being ‘not gori’.
And here’s how she’s dealing with stereotypes that society throws our way, one outfit at a time.
Society: Don’t wear white. It’ll make you look even darker!
You:
Society: Such shocking colours! OMG! How much attention do you want?
You:
Society: You must be out of your mind to wear pastels!
You:
Society: Oxidized jewellery? As if you don’t look ‘dark’ enough?
You:
Society: Red Lipstick? People will call you the ‘W’ word rhyming with the jungle cat’s roar.
You:
“Beauty is skin deep and definitely fairness is no parameter for measuring the same.
An ideal world would be one which is ‘inclusive’ and not based on biases like colour. Here’s to #DarkAndBeautiful”!
Amen, sister!
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