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Oscars, beauty, whitening creams...
Mar. 5th, 2014 11:49 am
There were a few fun moments (for me) watching the Oscars. Disclaimer, neither my hubby nor I watched any of the movies nominated. We just watched for fun. One was of the now ever famous selfie Ellen took with all the other stars! It just reminded me so much of my own high school years! And we did it back in the day with film cameras and no self-timers, etc. I guess we stay the same, just technology gets different.(I am not in the photo, I took this one!) Just a lot of reminiscing of high school days it seems!
Recently all the talk about college savings seems to have made us more aware of the subject in news media. We find more examples of those who dropped out of college and discovered so many things or did something with their life! Like Elizabeth Holmes. But the Asian gene in us just can't fathom not pursuing a degree. If D turns out a genius and can do something in life, of course, we would support her, but yeah no way we can just brush it off! And at the Oscars, Ellen goes around the audience picking out stars who are successful and dropped out of college.
Not nice to hear after just sinking a big chunk into college savings! lol..
Favourite acceptance speeches were by Cate Blanchette & Lupita Nyong'o. And didn't know Yale had a School of Art! ;)
But joking aside someone shared the following on FB and I had just read the transcript but finally watched it today. It brought me to tears. I remember moving from Hawai'i to Malaysia, one of my biggest shocks was when I went to the beauty aisle of any supermarket/drug store. I was looking for face cream. Thankfully sis was there with me to help me calm down. All I could find on every aisle and in every brand were whitening/skin lightening creams! It was crazy! I couldn't find a single face lotion that didn't come with some label that it would help me lighten my skin! It was the same story in India, where this is advertised even for men!
It never bothered me that I had dark skin. Sis and I always grew up thinking that fair skin meant you had smooth skin. Mom never bothered to correct us that it meant the color of skin. Sometimes ignorance is bliss. I remember the only reference to color of skin was when I visited family in India in 1999. My grandma noted how dark I had gotten (yay for all the time in the sun at the beaches in Hawai'i!). All I remember telling her was that, that's what happens when you are enjoying the outdoors.
It's sad that we have gotten so superficial. The beauty industry is of course, taking advantage of our insecurities. It's gotten a little better that it's easier for darker skinned people to find their shade of foundation now. And yet it has gotten worse in so many other ways!
And this clip should be shared all over India and wherever else. This was from another awards program, where Lupita Nyong'o was awarded for Best Breakthrough Performance at the seventh annual Black Women in Hollywood Luncheon hosted by Essence magazine.
