The Campaign is about empowering girls with naturally dark skin to speak out against the light skin propaganda that cosmetic companies like Fair & Lovely sell to South Asian and African women. The Unfair & Lovely community was generated by a group of University of Texas-Austin students who were fed up with the concept of fair skin as a beauty standard. They created a photo series which celebrates their dark skin, and the results are powerful. Fair & Lovely Cosmetic Company Fair & Lovely is a cosmetic company which sells its skin lightening products to a largely South Asian population of women. Their main marketing slogan is "Transforming Faces and Impacting Lives".
The Purpose
Colorism
The purpose of this project is explore the impact of colorism within dark skinned communities. Topical skin lightening is a phenomenon that has been marketed to dark skinned communities within recent decades. However, the social pressure to lighten ones skin is a result of structural racism, stemming from imperialism and slavery. This project will explain these institutional contributions to colorism, and also explore how modern efforts like the Unfair & Lovely Campaign are striving to break down the influence of western beauty standards within dark skinned communities.