Indonesia Green - “It doesn’t matter if you’re black or white”

“How come the ‘bule’ men like to go out with black girls ?” A question I often hear from female friends who are interested in foreign men. (you can find legions of them on Tagged or Facebook – looking for Mr. Right – ‘preferably rich, preferably white’). Well for me, your fairly average Australian bear, skin colour has never been high on the priority list for qualities to look for when choosing a life partner. Call me old fashioned, but I was attracted to my wife because of her personality. She may well have been green or purple for all I care.

Many indonesian women find it extrodinary. ‘How could he choose a black girl, over a white princess like me ?’ Being dark skinned it seems has connotations with working outside ; dirty, lower class, un-educated – ‘Kuno’ (from the village) as they like to sum it up over here. So for many of the girls who are born on the browner side of the spectrum – and it’s a whole lot of many – there is a great desire to change their colour and thus distance themselves from the ‘poor person’s’ stereo-type.

For some this means never going outside when it’s sunny, certainly covering up to go to the beach and never going swimming in a public pool. And for many it means spending a fortune on creams and lotions that will give you a ‘beautiful clean white’ complection , just like the perfect rich people, in a matter of weeks. Except you have to keep using the product, otherwise you might turn back into an ugly person again.

There is another popular phrase often related to advertising ; ‘Korban Iklan’ – victim of adverstising – that i like to use whenever Yayang reaches for the Dove whitening cream. Live and learn to love what the good Lord gave you, don’t fall prey to these nasty companies who sell nothing but vanity and self doubt.

It angers me how these big companies blatantly exploit cultural stigmas and adolecence to such an extent that it becomes ‘the norm’. Nobody questions the morals or ethics behind such a campaign. These products contribute to social and cultural divide but even more sinsterly can even be bad for your health, as was exposed in today’s Jakarta Post. Other companies that produce womens sanitary items try to convince young women that they should be wearing their product day and night regardless of whether they are menstruating or not, because it’s what the intellectual Western folk do and you wouldn’t want to be caught ‘malu’ (ashamed) by any incidental accidental wet marks !

My doctor friend says this behaviour can lead to the harmful spread of bacteria. Next time you are in the bathroom of a female relative over here, look for the bottle of Femina Wash – a leading hygene website says this kills all bacteria in ‘that area’ including ‘good’ bacteria neccessary for maintaining a delicate healthy balance. Girls in Indonesia are encouraged to use the stuff like soap to keep away ‘bad smells’

Should these companies be allowed to dupe the whole of society inflicting potential outbreaks of poisoning and bacterial sickness, for the sake of making a profit ?

Indonesian women choose Western style products in an effort to be more progressive, more sophisticated. There is nothing wrong with such ambitions or drive , but there is something terribly wrong with the companies that exploit that drive and offer disguised poisons and harmful products in place of commodities or knowledge to assist these women.

Yayang is pretty happy with her colour and natural beauty for now. Me, I’m a horrible pasty whitey. I can’t even get a decent suntan in this tropical country, but I’ve learnt to accept my pinkish glow. I’m certainly not going to start rubbing browning lotion on my body.

We’ve just made a new human, who is neither black or white and probably the most beautiful being I’ve ever seen.