Matrimonial Website Face Backlash, Takes Down Bride's Skin Tone Selection Option

A well known matrimonial website Shaadi.com sadly had a feature where the groom or bride could choose a partner depending upon their skin tone. To counter this, a petition was started to make the website take it down and eventually the website gave in after facing much criticism on social media.

The petition was started byHetal Lakhani who lives in Dallas in the USA along with Meghan Nagpal, who was searching for a partner on the site, according to BBC. Interestingly, the excuse given by Shaadi.com was that the filter "was not serving any purpose and was a product debris we missed removing".

According to the users, they were to tell their skin tone while making their profile, to narrow down the look of the partners they were seeking. Meghan told BBC that when she got in touch with the website, a representative told her "this is a filter required by most parents".

Hetal told BBC: "When Meghan shared this on our group, I was really shocked because a company usually has a social responsibility. I wanted to tackle this in a way that could make a difference, so I started a petition. And it just took off like wildfire. Within 14 hours we had over 1,500 signatures. People were so glad we were raising the issue."

Post the petition and the pressure, the matrimonial website did remove the filter.

Meghan said, "It's just one small step in the ultimate goal of promoting equality within the south Asian community on a global level."

"I have my bachelors, I have my masters. But if a skin tone can take that away from me - that would be the worst. People have their biases. But a company should not inculcate that culture,"Hetal added.

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However, the onus is also that of Bollywood celebs who promote fairness creams, and it is very ironic considering they have been putting up posts on their social media handles supporting Black Lives Matter movement.

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All life is supposed to have equal value, but we have seen enough evidence time and time again, that that is not always the case with black lives. 400yrs of slavery has left their communities with little opportunity. The @blklivesmatter movement is all for equality, not preference! The repercussions of slavery have to be undone and that may take decades. It’s the same with the caste system in our country, which has existed for over a 1000 years. It is much harder for the poor and disenfranchised to achieve the goals they want because of the poverty and prejudice they live and grow up in. Hence I used the hashtag for migrants/minorities/poor in an earlier post, so that I could make BLM relatable to us. It would be counterproductive if we take the title of the movement, and replace the word “black” with who we see as the underprivileged in our, or any other country. To join hands authentically would be to find a peaceful way to bring about change in our own society, to headline our own movement. The 1st step we must take in order to do that is in recognizing who is most vulnerable in our culture, why are they so, and what can be done about it. #blacklivesmatter #caste #casteinindia

A post shared by Abhay Deol (@abhaydeol) onJun 9, 2020 at 9:36pm PDT

When the world is debating and fighting against racism and colourism, this filter on a matrimonial website and the ads and products endorsed by our celebs throws light on the hypocrisy of our own homeland.

In the recent turn of events many celebs have been called out, with actor Abhay Deol ramming into them and went all out, exposing big brand names and the unfair practises. He also shared images of those ads along with the actors who were backing it and were the face of it and that included some of the biggest names in B-Town who are otherwise respected for their knowledge and intelligence.

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Overall analysis Fairness creams in India have evolved over the years, from being fairness creams to now using euphemisms like “skin brightening/ whitening”, or “lightening creams”. Most brands no longer want to be associated directly with being termed as 'fairness creams’. So now we have brands selling “HD glow”, “White beauty”, “white glow”, “fine fairness”, and so on. Over the years these companies have turned their attention towards the Indian Men, who are now trying to be "fair and handsome", and have dedicated power white ranges for them too. The hunt for fairness: Neutrogena fine fairness: Could not locate it on their global websites but it is available on Amazon and other sellers:https://www.amazon.in/Neutrogena-Fine-Fairness-Cream-SPF20/dp/B00BSPOXMW/ Ponds have a white beauty range: The range includes products like anti-spot fairness cream which is available on affiliate websites like Amazon and Nykaa. On their own website could locate just the White beauty cream. https://www.ponds.com/ph/products/collection/white-beauty/day-cream-for-normal-skin.html* Loreal white perfect day cream: Apparently reduces the melanin level in the skin, gives a rosy appearance to your skin and is suitable for all Indian skin types. "reduce skin darkening and boost anti-spot whitening for a brighter & younger look"https://www.lorealparis.co.in/products/skin-care/day-cream/white-perfect-clinical-day-cream/ Recently, Procter & Gamble skincare brand Olay announced that it will no longer retouch skin in its advertising by 2021 because it reflects an idea of beauty which is almost impossible to achieve. The statement was made during an event in New York. In March 2019, Olay also came up with a creative campaign #FaceAnything with @masabagupta @kubbrasait , @lilly, @bikewithgirl and @_payalsoni_ #Fairandlovely #prejudice #racism #fairskinobsession #fairnesscreams #kalagora #flawlessskin #hdglow #whiteness #complexion #skintone #shades #pearlextracts #microcrystals #ayurveda

A post shared by Abhay Deol (@abhaydeol) onJun 5, 2020 at 4:39am PDT

The Director of Marketing at Shaadi.com told BBC, "We truly believe that love comes in all shapes and shades. And we are proud to represent a cross-section of India - that's something very few companies in India can boast about."

Just a few weeks back, a matrimonial ad went viral on Twitter which read: "Indian Hindu Brahmin girl working from Jharkhand or Bihar. She should be very fair, beautiful, very loyal, very trustworthy, loving, caring, brave, powerful, rich," . It had many other pathetic demands including that she should be very good at "child-raising"!

Social media went berserk, netizens expressed their outrage. Here are some of the reactions:

Indian Hindu Brahmin looking for a bride who is an extremist yet compassionate, patriotic, powerful, rich, expert in child raising, military capabilities and an excellent cook.

But he himself is unemployed right now.

- Via facebook pic.twitter.com/tvWc6Usg4M

— Jyoti Yadav (@jyotiyadaav) February 16, 2020

Ladies, this is the all India exam of our lives.
Pls call 8521144946 with your CVs and/or hot pix. https://t.co/5fiUEkxM5d

— Anoo Bhuyan (@AnooBhu) February 17, 2020

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