Anonymously-run Instagram page Diet Sabya has managed to ruffle quiet some feathers in the Indian fashion industry since its foray on social media. Be it calling out designers’ #gandi habit of plagiarism or propagation of unhealthy beauty trends and ideas, there’s nothing that passes by their scanner unnoticed.

A newly launched Estee Lauder campaign recently fell prey to Diet Sabya’s shrewd eyes as the latter called out the brand for lightening the skin tone of their models by photoshopping their pictures. Featuring Dayana Erappa, Shaleena Nathani, Diana Penty, and Shonali Singh, the campaign soon started attracting scrutiny, especially on the premises that it was directed for the promotion of a foundation line that comes in a vast array of shades in the first place. Ironic, right?

What started as an Instagram post on Diet Sabya’s page soon snowballed into a bigger discussion on skin color and our obsession with lighter skin tones. While people discussed that Photoshop has only messed with the look of all the models featuring in the campaign by meddling with their natural skin color, they also started sharing their own experiences with the color prejudice in the country.

Many women came forward to share horror stories of their experiences with discrimination based on colour that happens every now and then in our country and that too very nonchalantly. “I was told at an audition to try for Laila’s role if anyone remakes Laila Majnu because “Laila kaali thi na, toh woh role aapko suit karega,” a woman shared anonymously on Diet Sabya.

Here are a few more of the testimonies shared by other women:

While all these stories are rather saddening and bring out the sorry state of mindsets in our country, I see a little hope in the fact that at last we are at least being called out for our regressive ideas of beauty. Also, I think it is high time we let go of our unreasonable obsession with unrealistic beauty standards further fed by the fashion industry’s latest obsession with Photoshop and what not.

Picture Source: Diet Sabya