Recently, Prachi Nigam, a teenager, topped the Uttar Pradesh 10th Board examination. Unlike the other toppers, Prachi Nigam is in discussion not just for her marks but also for her looks. Prachi scored 591 marks out of 600, but unfortunately, her marks could not garner attention, but her facial hair did. Only a few congratulated on the success of Prachi, but many trolled her for her looks. The trolling army rose day by day and passed nasty comments, ki ise apne grooming par dhyan dena chahie, ye muchh wali kaun hai, kya fayda number lane ka jab dikhna aisa ho to. The trollers did not even realise that Prachi is a teenager and that negative comments can affect her mental health.
Prachi’s response: My marks are my Identity
In an interview with BBC News Hindi Prachi said that yadi ek do number kam hi aa gye hota to shayad mere upar itni bat hi nhi hoti (If I scored 1-2 marks less, then I would not be a topic for discussion). Regarding trolls, Prachi said that this is not the first time she has faced mean comments for her facial hair. People often speak about it, but this is the first time she has been trolled at a mass level. But she bravely took all the trolls and said that my looks are not my identity, my marks are my identity.
Prachi’s mother said that those who are trolling her had no idea about this disease, which occurs through hormonal imbalance; instead of focusing towards her success, people are focusing on her facial hair; we were waiting for Prachi’s exam to get over to see a doctor, but her result came, and people started trolling her. Nonetheless, along with trolling, Prachi also received support from netizens; women started posting pictures with facial hair, a shaving company supported her, and YouTubers and media came in support of Prachi.
What are beauty standards?
Not just in India but the entire world has set beauty standards for women. When you talk about India’s beauty standards, a girl should be fair, balanced figure, with long hair, blue-green eyes, tall height, pink lips, reddish chicks, a long neck, a thin waist, big breasts, and round hips and if any girl misses these beauty standards, she is often given advices to improve her beauty. That is the same case which happened with Prachi, where her marks became insignificant, and her appearance became significant.
Because of these beauty standards, Complan, which is a kind of health drink, came into the picture to increase height; Fair and Lovely became the biggest rescue for dark and brown skin girls to become fair; lip balm and lipstick launched to make the lips glossy and beautiful and the so-called beauty standard has created a huge market base for the beauty products like cream, powder, concealer, highlighter, eyeliner etc. This has also expanded its base to surgery markets where many hospitals are opened for breast, hip, lip, and nose surgeries. In which people spend lakhs and crore rupees to meet beauty standards.
Who sets the beauty standards?
Beauty standards are a product of a patriarchal society, which is normalised by our society; the orthodox society never feels bad about taunting dusky and dark skin, overweight and underweight women.
The establishment of beauty standards in India is influenced by various mediums such as Indian Cinema, TV advertisements, Daily Soaps, Literature, and Newspapers. The cinema songs obsession for gora rang (fair skin) has been remained one of the most patriarchal attribute for women. Songs like Gori hai Kalaiyaina, chitti kalaiyian, Dhoop me n nikla karo roop ki rani gora rang kala n par jaye, gore-gore mukhade par kala chasma; gore rang par itna na gunman kar. Similarly, visual media consistently promote fair skin, which is evident in Hindi films romanticising fair complexion as a yardstick for beauty. TV advertisements and commercials further reinforce these standards by showcasing beauty products that align with patriarchal societal norms.
From childhood, women are taught to adhere to these standards, often receiving advice to use turmeric and herbal pastes to maintain fair skin and herbal oils, Amla, Shikakai to keep their hair black and long. This cultural narrative surrounding beauty has been deeply ingrained in Indian society, shaping perceptions and expectations of femininity. These expectations are so high that being ‘gora’ sets standards for beauty and marriage.
Do beauty standards have a caste?
When we look into this question, if beauty has a caste, then yes. Savarna women’s prominence within the visual domain reinforces caste hierarchy, and the archetype of fair skin becomes the epitome of beauty, thereby establishing a notion of patriarchy wherein they dictate beauty standards. Some incidents have been there where urban Savarna women defied orthodox beauty standards and tried to set new beauty standards like ‘Brown is beautiful’, dusky look, plus body size, short coloured hair, going braless, and ‘my body my right’ concept. These standards sound good but possess a caste compartment where standards work for them only. It is clearly explained in the slurs used by these women which clearly shows colour as a matrix of caste discrimination.
The notion of beauty not only hierarchised fairness as a better criterion but dehumanised rural and working women. When we talk about the beauty standards of lower caste women, especially Dalit women, who are segregated in the abuses and are generally perceived as dark-skinned, thin, with black lips, etc. The body of lower caste women is often subject to slurs for upper caste women. If any girl looks messy, then she might hear Kaisi Domin jaisi lag rhi ho (How you are looking like funeral attendant?) or if any girl looks unclean she can hear chamaain jaisa kyu bani ho ( why you are looking like leather workers), if any women just woke up from bed with untidy hairs and swollen face, she often termed as Bhangi ho kya (Are you a sweeper?). These are usual practices within the Savarna where low caste body remained as abuse and slurs.
The irony is that beauty standards are set by patriarchy and promoted by Savarna women and also sometimes defied by Savarna women because of their privileged background. They have this opportunity to think about their bodies, and they also have the finances to set new fashion, but this does not diminish the inherited mindset of caste as witnessed in the occasions where caste slurs are used by them openly on social media platforms. In the case of Prachi, this was the set patriarchal beauty standards within the society, which went to the extent of asking her ‘itne numbers lane k kya fayda, jab dikhna hi aisa ho’. Evidently, this kind of mindset has been promoted by Savarnas, where Savarna beauty standards are above in comparison to Prachi merit. On the whole, beauty does have gender and caste, and we often see Savarna women as representatives of beauty standards; it is they who participate in beauty debates and promote certain ‘gora’ ‘, slim’, and ‘height’ as parameters. Therefore, even the struggles towards clearing the patriarchal notions out of the beauty orders don’t clear caste where ‘brown is beautiful’ became a trend, but the abuses related to the low caste women remained in the mindset.
Ritu, is a National Coordinator, All India Other Backward Classes Student Association.
Vikash Kumar is a PhD candidate, Centre for Historical Studies, JNU.
