Lao Voices

Earlier this year I followed the Thai soap opera, Pleng Ruk Rim Fang Khong and saw something that I bothered me a bit. During commercial break, there were many ads for skin whitening products, in the form of cream or lotion. As a kid in Laos that watched a great deal of Thai TV, I have never seen such commercials and thought it must be a trend now. Even Weir Sukollawat said in an interview on “Wan Van Yang Waan You” that his ideal girl would be “soong and khao” or tall and white.

Apparently, having a fair skin is considered asset in Thailand, Laos, and the rest of Asia. It didn’t occur to me as a kid in Laos that lighter skin is more beautiful and one of the main reason why all my aunts were hiding from the sun the best they can. When my family relocated to the US, I grew up in a different culture, where a good tan is considered beautiful. In fact I would get a really beautiful skin tone from working in the garden each summer or after spending a few days in the sun cutting grass on the farm. Of course my mother would often yelled at me for being out in the sun and not wearing long sleeves clothes to protect me. Many of the elder Lao (women) often made a remark about how I am not “khao” like my mother.

When I went to Laos earlier this year, many of my relatives were telling me to wear my jacket so I won’t get dark. I wore sunblock on my face so I won’t get sunburn (I got sunburn last summer when I was on the farm in Kansas) but not for my arms and legs and did turn dark by the end of the trip. Those same relatives were commenting about how my mother is still “Khao and beautiful” and how I am “dam” like my Papa. But the nice thing is that I am not as dark as I was as a little kid, they said.

After being back in the Netherlands for a few months, these relatives were asking me if my skin has turned light enough. I thought that is a bit out of place. Why should the tone of my skin matter to anyone? Is lighter skin more beautiful? For reasons unknown to me, being “khao” is a craze in Laos and I can only guess how big the business of “make me beautiful” in the country is. When I saw an ads from Revlon, offer whitening products in a Lao magazine, I was shocked and horrified. I saw the ads as an affront to a Lao girl’s/woman’s dignity. The message can’t be more clear with the theme of “Absolute White +” to get that “naturally” khao look.

Does having a fairer skin translate into a greater job success or romantic happiness? I am proud of my shade of skin. I like to think that I have the best skin tone with the “khao” from my mother who is Tai Ban Keun and the “dam” from my Papa, who is Tai Pakse. It’s insulting for any Lao girl to be encouraged to use a bar of soap, cream, and lotion to wash away the dark skin that’s keeping the boy of their dream away, or for a smart, talented Lao woman to have a fairer skin so she can have more success and happiness in her life.

If we are not comfortable in our own skin, then we could pay a high price for trying to be something (unnatural) that we are not. Skin damages anyone?