Black Handsomeness: Does It Exist?
One day I spotted someone's article on the Jakarta Post, which informed me how sick the writer felt about the rampant yet subtle 'white beauty' campaign on mass media. The writer who apparently was a Caucasian expatriate elaborated the moment she visited a village and was shortly surrounded by a flock of inhabitants who just wanted to come and see her. The swarming villagers kept staring at her, saying how fair her skin tone was, how pointed her nose was, and how lucky it was to have such Caucasian looks.
This expatriate highlighted in her eye-opening writing that she was deeply concerned about what opinion Indonesian people have about themselves. Come on people, how many times do we wish to be a tall (not short, plump), white (not tanned or dark), gorgeous, blonde-haired (any hair color but black) person having a smooth face adorned with a pair of blue or hazel eyes (any iris color but black) and a pointed, raised, high nose (instead of flat noses like what are attached to our face now)? It happens to almost all of us, Indonesians. We too often wish to be someone having European looks, American standardized beauty (tall, thin, blonde). We measure ourselves using a set of standards coming from somewhere else. Sounds absurd? Not really. Go to supermarket and observe how many skin-bleaching or skin-whitening skin care products you can find on the displays and ask the clerk how many people have bought such goods. Blame this on the dominant role of Anglosaxon taste in every aspect of our lives and of course, our own inferiority complex. It takes two to tango, doesn't it?
However, it seems to me that things are changing bit by bit. This morning I saw an article on Okezone reporting how Obama's wife a.k.a. Michele Obama has changed the whole perspective. The US first lady is at the moment deemed to be the new icon of 'black beauty' campaign.
Shifting from women's talk to men's talk, I guess men are experiencing the same
'plague' as the one ladies are. This so-called plague makes them think that grooming is indispensable part of daily life and definitely it makes them think that having a fairer skin tone and clearer complexion is a must. It holds true particularly when these men crave more stable and higher career stage and ,above all, maintain their sex appeal to wards women.
The surprising fact I just came across is that 30% of Indonesian gentlemen prefer skin care products that can lighten their skin tone. The 'culprit' seems to be his own higher self-demand to be physically pleasant to look at while his career life is improving. This makes sense as living and trying to get a decent job in the world where everyone is mostly judged by their appearance proves to be almost unfeasible for those who are not really 'talented' at grooming and dressing. Don't deny, gentlemen. That's true.
But why must these men have whiter skin to secure their status, job, and maybe everything they have now? Perhaps I'm a bit exaggerating but we ought to ask ladies. Nowadays, there're more and more girls think they'll be utterly happy ever after once they can have a tall, muscular, fair-skinned husband. Don't believe me? You can see how many male celebrities on TV have the characteristics I just mentioned. Most of them have to be quite tall, muscular, and fair-skinned, leaving some exceptional guys who are chosen as an actor purely due to their outstanding talent. This fact simply reveals the general concept of handsomeness.
So gentlemen, ask yourself : can we stay dark-skinned and lead a better life than those who have fairer skin than us?
(images were taken from sources I failed to remember)
Labels: body image, men's grooming, metrosexual, metrosexuality |
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