Time to take a break from the tourism posts and write about about something I've noticed in my time here that is slightly disturbing and difficult to address.
In England and the Western world we undoubtedly have unhealthy beauty ideals to do with weight shoved down our throats on a daily basis in the media. Achieving the 'perfect' weight thankfully doesn't seem to be a huge concern here, but that's not to say Indian media doesn't have it's unachievable ideals.
From the day I first stepped into a supermarket in Trichy I was stunned by the amount of 'whitening creams' and 'lightening creams' on offer from numerous different brands.
Not only this, but the beauty salons offer 'bleaching treatments' as standard and the magazines are packed with images of impossibly pale Asian women who look nothing like the real women of India. At first it tickled me and I thought it ironic that in England people strive to be more tanned and crispy looking to the point where they pay money to risk skin cancer on tanning beds, whereas in India they are bleaching their skin to achieve the opposite result.
I choose to ignore and make a mockery of the hideous beauty publications in the UK who obsess over who looks lumpiest in their bikini this week or who has achieved the most fabulous beach bod. But I can't help but think that if every one of my favourite movies, which was supposed to be representative of my culture, showcased a female star who's skintone was completely different to the one I saw in the mirror, I would eventually be affected by it.
To me it's sad that the norm is chemically changing the colour of your skin to the point where you resemble a different race. Every skin colour is beautiful and the media should be reaffirming that not encouraging even more unhealthy ideals.
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