LOVE. IT.

This video is part of the "Dark is Beautiful" campaign from Women of Worth in India (thanks to this post from Phillygrrl on Sepia Mutiny). It's a campaign to build the self-esteem of dark-skinned women and girls, and to counter toxic, mainstream campaigns by skin fairness creams (which are a multi-billion dollar industry in South AND East Asia).

Reminds me of the "Black is Beautiful" movement of the sixties which was based on a similar idea: to create a new aesthetic where non-European features were considered beautiful.

After you watch this video, do click on the link above to see the ad for the Fair and Lovely cream. If you can stomach it. If not, here is a brief summary: doors close on a young girl's future because she is too dark (and, therefore, not "modern"). The father, angry and determined to do right by his daughter, goes to the Ayurvedic files for a fairness concoction. The girl uses the cream and, voila! She is fairer! More modern! She is hired. And the whole world opens up to her.
::shudder::