Fair and Lovely

I have realised that I am currently in the middle of a social experiment/ research project, with myself as subject matter and researcher. As I am performing both roles I cannot claim to be impartial so my findings will have to be taken with a healthy dose of salt and certainly will not be publishable.

The topic is: Integration and Alienation - A study of skin colour and other impediments to societal integration. Thoughts? Bit wordy? I agree, but am happy to take suggestions from the floor.

Since the beginning of our little adventure, I have been feeling somewhat "distinct" from those around me. This has been compounded by the different cultural norms here associated with being female (more later) and the necessary adjustments I have had to undertake. But I have also come to realise that it's far more than that.

For the first time in my life, I am experiencing what it is like to be a "minority", based purely on my skin colour. Nothing to do with me, who I am, what I say or think - only the colour of my skin. And it feels strange - as if somehow, I'm no longer "me". Instead of being part of "the norm", I now represent the "abnorm" (no comments please!), and it is very unsettling.

So in the interest of science, I have decided to "put myself out there". No hidin gin the almost exclusively Western enclaves of 5* hotels, embassy do's and "accepted" watering holes, no sir. I'm in the markets bartering for veggies; on the streets feeding stray dogs; walking everwhere I possibly can, and the response is surprising. Wherever I go, people stare at me. Small children come and stand next to me, transfixed by my appearance but too scared to touch. And it doesn't stop with looking different. Because of the distinction of my skin colour, an assumption is made about other things i.e. my wealth. Whenever I try to purchase something, there is a momentary hesitation as the shop assistants try to work out what price to charge me. Should they double, or triple it? Tuk-tuk drivers quote ridiculous prices to you, and when you tell them that you live here, they respond with "you can afford it, you rich, me poor", which of course by comparison is true.

It doesn't always work against you, either, but "affirmative discrimination" doesn't make me feel any better! Yesterday a Sri Lankan doorman held back his countrymen to let me through a door first, even though the Sri Lankans were there before me. I tried to let them go through first and they wouldn't .

Coming from the West, a big shock was to find that this situation is also sanctioned by the State. Hotels and even restaurants, give one rate for locals and one for "foreigners". Foreigners pay to enter national monuments, locals don't. There are casinos in Colombo that advertise on their front wall, "Foreigners Only"! (I nearly fell over when I saw that sign). State run bus and train travel is not immune either.

Many nations around the world hold light or white skin up as a representation of "beauty", even in countries where the citizens are not white. In China, Japan, Thailand and Vietnam for instance "light" skin denotes not only beauty, but a certain social status. If you have "light" skin, you are less likely to be a field, or "low" worker. It is no different on the Indian subcontinent. But this obsession has a darker side (pardon the pun). On one of the many huge billboards used here to advertise products I recently saw a poster for: Fair and Lovely, a "multivitamin that will noticeably lighten your skin in just one month". Advertised by the Bollywood phenomenon, Aishwarya Rai (famously described by Julia Roberts as "the most beautiful woman in the world") who is notable for both her acting prowess and her fair skin and light eyes.

Somehow I don't think I'll bother writing this "research" up, but I'll let you know if and when the "lab rat" sensation wears off ....