Fairness creams, anyone?

Hi there,

I just read a wonderful and thought-provoking talk by a "dusky" actress about indian's obsession with fair skin. We have all been subjected to the innumerable comparisons (b/w siblings,cousins, in-laws) which forced us to buy different cosmetics which promise us a whiter skin.
Just got me wondering why people favor the minority in their groups. Like, white people groups prefer tanned people and dusky people groups prefer fair people. A rather malnourished country like India prefer "attractively plump" people than lean people whereas it works the other way round in developed countries. Is this an attempt to look different from the rest or is it an indication of how affluent you are. Like in the west, the more tanned you are the more vacations u have had and in a predominanly agrarian country like India the fairer/plumper you are the more affluent you are(which means you did not have to slog in the sun) . Like they say "Khaate peete ghar ke hai". Also, I have read somewhere that fairness indicated purity. Whaaat?? Does that mean all the gori girls in india are all "sacred" and dusky ones have questionable character??
Have you ladies wondered about why this is. Please pour in your theories and opinions too.
BTW. I get "compliments" for becoming fairer mayeb due to the amount I spend indoors(due to baby and stuff) but it usually gets me irritated than making me blush. Not sure if it is the fact that I have been able to make the conscious decision to NOT to judge peole based on thier looks and last of all by the color of their skin.