Putih

First of all, I wonder, who defines the standard of beauty? And what qualifies them to set the standard?

I am writing not on behalf of those highly-esteemed people, but on the contrary. I know what it's like to grow up believing that you're NOT pretty. Don't tell me about 'beauty is only skin deep' kind of thing - I've read tonnes of that stuff to comfort myself. Well, sometimes it worked. But most of the times, it didn't. Because at the end of the day, it's always the pretty faces who get away with anything, get every task done first (since they have so many volunteers to help them with), get the job, and so on.. 

As long as I can remember, I was not jealous, But I was upset with how the world works.

But as I grew older, I've come to terms with that reality. That's just how the world works. People will go after what appeal to their eyes first.

And somehow I have this urge inside of me to change that sentiment. I don't know how to do that  but as for now, I'll just write it up first.

I remember when I was 15, I decided to focus on people's 'strength', hoping that people will look at me the same. There must be something unique in a person, even though as a whole, one may not look gorgeous like a supermodel. There must be something special about her. Maybe she has a nice smile, or  dimples, or beautifully aligned teeth, or almond-shaped eyes, nice long fingers, or soft long hair. Or you can go to personality wise; like a good humor, kind heart, pleasant personality, anything, anything at all. If you really look beyond typical appearance, you will find it. It works for me all these while. After I changed the way I look at people, I don't bother so much about my physical appearance anymore.

And I really hate to see that it is now acceptable in our community to promote white skin and thin body as the standard of 'beautiful'. I think in a way, it's a discrimination. I've come across some of my younger friends who commented on those whitening product in FB pages with the intention of buying them. Yes, they are not the 'white-skinned' type, but they are pretty just fine, if only they could see that themselves.

And that's the problem. I feel like we're being brainwashed by these beauty products' marketing strategy, promoting the so-called ideal of beauty. Like, if you want to be beautiful, you have to be putih dan kurus. And to be exposed to that idea 24/7, of course, it will get to us eventually.

And have you noticed our local celebrities who suddenly became fair and white? I really don't think it's such a healthy trend.  

Don't get me wrong. I don't have anything against putih and kurus girls. I think I fall into that category, too, only I'm not the good-looking one. Of course, MOST of them are really good-looking. But my point here is, that is not the ONLY kind of beauty. You can be sawo matang and hitam manis; and still looking good. The problem is the mindset of our community - who doesn't see that, who makes fun of the skin colors other than 'white'. Personally, to me, it's a sick kind of perspective.

But you have no idea how it affects the kids yang chubby, yang tak putih bila diejek-ejek? You have no idea what it does to their self-esteem. Somehow I know that feeling, as a teenager with pimples and scars on my face - it's very upsetting to be ridiculed like that. The insults could do damage to our emotion for a lifetime. Of course, I don't blame the kids yang mengejek, but in the first place, they should not have the idea of 'putih/kurus tu cantik'. And again, who's responsible for inculcating such idea into their raw mind?

Having said these, I really admire Adibah Noor and Sherry Al-hadad so much. They don't fit in our society's requirement of typical beauty but to me, they are wayy more gorgeous than those who do. They are confident, smart and funny - tell me, what's not beautiful about this?

The thing is, when someone wants to be white and fair, that should be his/her personal desire. It shouldn't be generalized. It shouldn't be advertised. It shouldn't be normalized.

If you're born fair and white, it's okay. And if you are not, it's okay, too.

After all, we are a bunch of geo-politically-Nusantara people , why would we want to look like a Caucasian?