There is an apocryphal story of an advertisement placed in the matrimonial pages of a North India newspaper: “Family seeks homely, attractive, convent-educated girl for son. Caste no bar. But must be able to drive tractor. Photo of tractor appreciated.” That is a joke, of course, but the real advertisements are just as intriguing for Westerners. One feature of a desirable “boy” or “girl” is a fair complexion, often described as a “wheaten” complexion.

The industry which has sprung up to feed the demand for lighter skin in India is worth an estimated US$500 million. Advertisements in magazines and on television drum home the message that a lighter skin gets the boy/girl/job. This is obviously perpetuating stereotypes about beauty, class, and caste as well as exploiting anxieties about body image. Is it ethical? That is the question posed by one group of academics in a story below.

An even more serious issue in the same vein is whether doctors should comply with requests for virginity tests. Like female genital mutilation, this is a practice which has spread to Western countries with migration. A South African doctor argues below that national colleges of doctors should declare that this is completely beyond the pale.

We’d love to get your comments on these stories. 

Michael Cook
Should doctors worry about whether they are perpetuating gender stereotypes?
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Michael Cook

Michael Cook edits BioEdge, a bioethics newsletter, and MercatorNet, an on-line magazine whose focus is human dignity. He writes from Sydney, Australia.

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