Beauty Campaigns in Modern India

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Beauty campaigns in modern India

Beauty Campaigns in Modern India

Modern Indian Beauty campaigns highlight traditions from the past while looking towards the future. Old beauty advertisements in India often received heavy criticism for racism and cultural appropriation. Recently, however, Indian advertisements have been on the cutting edge of the women empowerment movement. Makeup that is used today is more for traditions, such as different rituals like weddings or religious practices. Hinduism is the largest religion in India and some of its ancient beauty traditions are still being practiced and modernized for today’s culture. Advertising has increased in recent years due to the rise in Indian consumerism. Some advertising strategies have received backlash because of whitewashing trends that represent ideal beauty standards in the country. Throughout the years, these trends have been influenced by the famous actresses in Bollywood.

Background

Make-Up plays a big part in the traditional lives of Indians both men and women. Although there is no timestamp as to when it became prominent in their everyday lives we see that they use it for specific reasons, not just enhance their beauty. According to Momi Awana, “to Indians, cosmetics were a means of practicing their religion and culture”.. The use of makeup even went as far as reserving some makeup for special occasions only. But in most cases makeup is worn for; luck, beauty, spirituality and status.

There are four styles in which their makeup categories fall under; Kajal-Rimmed Eyes, Fair as Snow, The Art of Marriage, and The Chakra of Beauty. Each of these categories specify when certain types of makeup is used. The Kajal-Rimmed Eyes are used to enhance the eyes, they apply it to the waterline, the eye lashes and the outer rim of the eye. According to Momi Awana, “Indians applied the resulting kajal regardless of their gender or age. Women would even apply eyeliner to their babies', believing it would strengthen and protect the eyes”. This goes to show that makeup has no gender placed on it in India because everyone uses it even babies specifically for religious use. It was also used not only to enhance the eyes but as a way to keep negative influences away. Kajal is favorable within Indian culture and used for a favorable aim, it is thought to keep away all negative influences. The Fair as snow technique was used to make the skin paler, because in indian culture paler skin was a symbol of high class and status. This mixture was put on regularly in order to maintain paler skin. Another way of using makeup was labeled as The Art of Marriage, this consisted of the use of henna which is also associated with luck. Typically it is used to create patterns on the bride’s feet and hands which is called mehndi. According to Momi Awana, “Before weddings, skilled artists applied henna paste to brides' hands and feet, creating intricate patterns known as mehndi”.

Last but not least, The Chakra of Beauty method. This is the bindi, the red dot that many indians place between their eyebrows, also known as the “third eye” this is an ancient Indian tradition. According to Momi Awana, “Indians believe to be the center of a person's spiritual power. While in modern times, a bindi may be a simple fashion statement, during previous eras Indians of both genders would mark themselves with bindi to augment their beauty and spiritual vitality”. This means that they care about the spirit and not only about how the make-up looks on them but it has a sole purpose besides enhancing ones beauty.

Beauty Trends

Increase in Consumerism

An increase in consumerism has led to an influx in marketing and advertising throughout India. Starting in 1951, India drafted a plan that stated in order to “ensure availability of capital for investment, some sacrifice of current consumption was necessary”. A social cause and effect led India into an economic era that resulted in increased consumerism. Once the economic plan changed from conservatism to consumption, the door was open for more consumerism tendencies in India. “With increasing disposable income and product availability, cosmetic sales in India are expected to surge”. Advertisements for beauty cosmetics first started replacing usual hygiene products in 1993. These beauty products included color cosmetics, perfumes and makeup.

The increase in consumerism resulted largely from new technologies and the increased access and exposure to the internet and social media. The development of material culture comes along with the development of mass culture society, another effect of widespread consumer technology. For women, the changing of gender roles gives opportunity for increased consumerism among the female target market. Entering the labor force, changing family structures and moving to societal roles outside of the household, opened doors for women consumerism.

Whitewashing

Ideal beauty standards in India have been associated with fairness since the colonial period. The widespread belief equates lighter skin to more success and opportunity.. This trend is seen in advertisements throughout the country of India. Advertisers purposely lighten skin to connect to personal achievements such as marriage and job opportunities and also confidence.. The expansion of fairness creams and increased consumerism has also led to the rise in skin cream advertisements. The rapid economic growth in skin-whitening products as a result of consumerism has driven the trend of whitewashing throughout India advertisements.

Advertisements

Historically Indian beauty advertisements have gained negative global attention, but that is changing. Skin lightening commercials have often caught the eyes of first world countries. Old advertisements associate lighter skin with confidence, beauty and success. An example of this type of advertisement is a beauty campaign for Pond’s White Beauty. In this commercial, a woman was dumped for having too dark of skin. Once she started using this skin lightening cream, she was able to catch the man of her dreams. Even Dove, a world-wide beauty brand, received a lot of criticism in 2017 for a racist ad. The global ad showed a black woman removing her shirt to reveal a white woman underneath. Dove claims the ad was meant to show their body wash works well for all skin types, but instead received hate about it all over the internet. Many people compared the ad to old beauty campaigns in India.

In recent years, Indian advertisements have been gaining popularity for empowering women and embracing beauty of all colors, shapes and sizes. According to India Today writer Sunil Sethi, beauty ads are empowering indigenous cultures. “Whether a sign of their growing emancipation or a symbol of high-profile life-styles, the sheer diversity and range of indigenous cosmetics and beauty aids - as opposed to basic toiletries like shampoos and cold creams - available on the market shelves today speak for a tremendous boom for manufacturers.” These ads focus on the acceptance of natural beauty and power. Today Indian advertisements are leading the way beauty products market to women across the globe.

Hinduism Influences

Since nearly 80 percent of India’s population is Hindu, the country’s culture is very much influenced by the religion and its long history in India. Hinduism has many traditions in regards to women’s beauty that have been passed down for centuries and even modernized by other cultures.

Two Hindu traditions that are most recognizable throughout the world are the Sari and Bindi. There are no real laws about what can and can’t be worn according to Hinduism, but the Sari is a traditional clothing piece worn by Hindu women in India. It is typically 6 yards long and leaves the middriff showing. The colors and ways they are draped vary by region, social class, ethnic background and personal style. The Bindi is a red dot between a woman’s eyebrows. Ancient Hindu tradition believes that everyone has a third eye and the bindi is symbolism for that eye which focuses inward towards god. Bindis are also typically worn as a symbol of marriage, but the traditions are not strictly adhered to and in modern times, it can be a piece of jewelry instead of just a red dot and worn as a fashion statement.

Indian women often wear jewelry to activate Chakra (divine consciousness), for personal beauty, to avoid distress, add protection, or receive certain Hindu gifts. Another beauty tradition that honors hindu gods is flowers in a woman’s hair. They are worn on many occasions such as to honor important people, to ward off spirits, for marriage and for worship. The last beauty tradition that came from hinduism is Mehndi. Henna is a more common name for Mehndi and it plays a vital role in Indian marriages. The ink that comes from the Henna plant creates intricate designs that are typically worn on a woman’s hands and feet. It has been modernized and is worn in many cultures for fashion purposes.

Bollywood Influences

The famous Bollywood is also known as Hindi cinema. It is based in the city of Mumbai (formerly Bombay), Maharashtra, India. The first silent film made in India was made in 1913. The movie was called Raja Harishchandra and it was a silent film.

1930’s

By the 1930’s, over 200 films were being produced per year. Although color didn’t become popular until the 1950’s, the first color film was made in 1937.

The Golden Age

The late 1940’s to the 1960’s was considered the “golden age” of Hindi Cinema. Mother India, which was the first Indian film to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language, was made in 1957. The film lost the Award by one vote. The three most popular male Indian actors of the 1950’s and 1960’s were Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor and Dev Anand.

1970’s

A screenwriting duo marked a paradigm shift and revitalized the cinema industry in India. Salim-Javed consisted of Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar. The two began the genre of gritty, violent Bomay crime film. This included films such as Zanjeer (1973) and Deewaar (1975). The 1970’s was when the term “Bollywood” was coined.

1980’s

Bollywood experienced another stagnation in the 1980’s. The turning point didn’t come until nearly a decade later. In 1988 director Mansoor Khan directed Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak. His father, Nasir Hussain, wrote and produced the movie. Mansoor Khan’s cousin, Aamir Khan, stared with Juhi Chawla. Its blend of youthfulness, wholesome entertainment, emotional quotients and strong melodies lured family audiences back to the big screen . It set a new template for Bollywood musical romance films that defined Hindi cinema in the 1990’s.

One of the biggest influences Bollywood has had on India is nationalism. It also influences daily life and culture. The films produced by Bollywood has reflected Indian politics over the years making some of its biggest influence on a socio-political one. Bollywood has used its influence to change overseas perceptions of India.

Body Image

Bollywood has an influence on body image as well. Many women of India believe Bollywood has had a negative and unhealthy influence. This topic dominated “The Beauty Debate” presented by Dover at the Women in the World Summit in India today. This largely has to do with the media. A panel at the debate was asked what happens when just one media is allowed to dominate and dictate what beauty should look like. The film industry sets a standard as well as the definition of beauty.

References

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