Aesthetic Norms of Femininity and the Issue of Colorism in India

Abstract

Even after seven decades of independence, the legacy of the British still continues to linger in the minds of Indian. This paper aims to deconstruct the notion of beauty and femininity brought about by colonialism. Both of them are the product of colonialism. However, colonization begins before the coming of the British and colorism happened before them; but the British had propagated the idea of colorism among the Indians. To begin with, the notion of ‘beauty’ in the pre and post-colonialism has turned to be distinct. The idea of colorism grew bigger and effected job opportunities and marriage as well. This paper presents how women are much more affected by colorism such that they are defined by their skin color and needs to have a fair skin in order to be desirable for men.