Twitterati Calls out Lack of Inclusivity in Femina Miss India 2019

Colorism in Pageants: Are the Femina Miss India contestants really representative of Indian women?

Recently, Times Of India published a collage of the contestants for Femina Miss India 2019 in the newspaper. Soon after, a Twitter user shared a photograph and asked people, “What is wrong with this picture?”

What is wrong with this picture? pic.twitter.com/61B23aYFr6

— LeBrown James (@Naa_Cheese) May 28, 2019

Here are some of the tweet reactions:

‘How Can 30 Women Have the Same Skin Tone?’

Miss India contestants. They all have the same hair, and the SAME SKIN COLOUR, and I'm going to hazard a guess that their heights and vital stats will also be similar. So much for India being a 'diverse' country. pic.twitter.com/L4yXG0WvRu

— labellagorda (@labellagorda) May 27, 2019

Where are the others, are they barred from participating?

— #FreeDrNalongoStellaNyanzi (@ConstantRidah) May 27, 2019

Are you certain this is not the same woman in different outfits?

— Talubezie (@tmkasongo) May 28, 2019

Meanwhile, a former contestant of Miss India shared her views on colourism in pageants.

I was one of 3 state finalists last year and the girl who won was the fairest. It really be like that lol

— Ansh🌻 (@anshsinghxx) May 28, 2019

Fair Representation of Indian Beauty or Just Indian Obsession With Light Shade Tone Cards?

Looks just like @MyNykaa 's foundation shade range.

— debaushery🏳️‍🌈 (@sherinapoyyail) May 27, 2019

Its time for parents to teach young people early on that in #diversity there is beauty & there is strength. We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry & we must understand that all threads of tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color. #MayaAngelou.

— Raman Sehgal رمن سہگل (@ramansehgal) May 28, 2019

I never had a problem with telling the difference from one woman to another until Miss India 🇮🇳 List was released ⁦@DeeJayKace⁩ ⁦@Kybeness⁩ ⁦@KameneGoro⁩ ⁦@Karimi_Karen⁩ pic.twitter.com/XArUjA3LjQ

— Arthur 🇰🇪 🇺🇸 (@Musengii) May 28, 2019

Are they all wearing the same wig?

— Eclectic Investor (@eclecticinvestr) May 28, 2019

And there are few who want these contests to be done away with due to their increasing propagation of euro-centric beauty standards.

Perhaps such contests should be done away with as they keep perpetuating same eurocentric beauty standards that will be validated when these ladies move on to miss world / universe.

— Chirag Wakaskar (@chiragwakaskar) May 27, 2019

When will that day arrive when a dark skinned woman with short curly hair be out there representing Indian women? That would do wonders for every women’s self esteem. That being fair skinned, tall, skinny, with long hair is NOT the beauty standard!

— Anuradha Varanasi (@AnuradhaVaranas) May 27, 2019

Imagine the pressure we are putting on young girls to conform by showing them only such images! And that too when majority of the girls out there are at least 5 to 10 shades darker than the girls in these images!

— labellagorda (@labellagorda) May 27, 2019

‘Inclusive or Exclusive Representation?’

It seems like the girls are not presenting their own states but just the North – failing to represent the diversity in India.

I kinda assumed that each state will be represented by a girl *from* that state, but it looks like most of these girls are North Indians contesting from different parts of the country. 😒

— Apeksha (@apexAARGH) May 28, 2019

there is no variation in complexion (Not a single black women). India is a country with different skin colors but the beauty industry, corporate media, and advertisements only promote white as beauty. This is not a healthy scenario.

— Aadhan (@Aadhan87) May 28, 2019

The Twitterati, after a lot of discussion, have come to a conclusion that this is a representation of India's unfair obsession with lighter skin and a huge failure to represent the dark beauties of the nation. What do you have to say?