Where’s the Indian people?
As a communications consultant who works mainly with small and medium enterprises, I do a fair amount of web content. Also, a lot of my work involves online secondary research, so that again means I spend some of my time looking at assorted websites. Which brings me to one question : what’s with this fascination that Indian websites have for white people?
Open up any website regardless of the product/service it is dealing with - IT services, education, craft - what have you, and chances are you’ll see a white person in a suit and tie or skirt and blouse, looking all thrilled and happy to be using the company’s services. Now, I understand if the company is catering to the global market, though even there, why we assume that only white people live in the US or Europe is a little beyond me. Ok, let’s just say its talking to the majority. But, like I said - I am often looking at websites by SMEs which are talking not even to a pan-Indian but a highly specific audience, say Bangalore or Western or Southern India. What’s with the white people then?
I am reluctant to attribute it to a lingering worshipfulness of white skin. Ah, if the white man likes it, it must be good! Can it really be that? I hope not. Maybe its a subconscious feeling that international = white and companies with international ambitions at some stage want to project that (the same reason why a novel set in New York is international but one set in India is Indian). Another explanation is that pictures of white people are simply easier and cheaper to acquire. India-specific images are few and sites like Imagebazaar which offer them charge a bomb. So perhaps that’s what explains the absence of brown faces.
What do you folks think?
p.s. The title was inspired by an old post of Amrita’s, Where’s the Indian baby?
I think we think white man looks international and global. Acquiring images easily could be also a point.
sad but true post. Actually in US also, when they show it multinational concept, they would show people from all over world, including an indian, mexican, african, ….gives the right image - right away…. we can adopt the same instead of just showing a white.
IHM and IWW - I think its true that we conflate international and white. yes, sad but true. and yes, acquiring local images is harder, and few people would want to go the harder way…
Often I think it is just a budget thing - especially those ads made in South East Asia with people from that region (almost all the shampoo ads, for instance!) - ads are imported direct, ergo the white faces? - I am not sure about Indian images being difficult /expensive to procure…
It’s easier and cheaper to use royalty free pictures of the net and use it, especially for websites.
Charu - true with ads made elsewhere, but websites made in India for an Indian audience?
IRR (nice blog and name btw!) - yeah, I think that does play a role though I wouldn’t rule out some subconscious white-mania too. (Charu - look at most of the stock photo sites - very few options that look Indian or brown…)
Apu, I second IRR and your own observation of stock photos. In fact, most of the IT recruitment ads on newspapers used to carry white faces till sometime back. Charu, Indian images from a workplace perspective are difficult to find. You’ll find lots of ‘on the street’ people. And there’s hardly enough time / budget for a shoot.
I suspect it is just as complicated as the explanation that underlies the bizarre phenomenon of Indians, living in India, celebrating Halloweeen and Valentine’s Day.
Can’t think of a reason except that may be they have succeeded in marketing a +ve(read cool/savvy) image of themselves to the Indians.
I am quite happy to visit airtelcallhome.com(an Indian calling card website) though. They not only have an all-Indian crew posing for them, it is updated often in tune with the various Indian events/festivals. But then, since they cater to the indian diaspora, I am not too sure we can use this example in the same context as yours.
Uma - yes, paucity of images and time could be a problem, though I still feel it looks incongruous…
India unfinished - personally, I don’t see the problem with people celebrating Valentine’s Day - the emotion is universal even if the origin is Western; of course Halloween may have some specific reasons quite alien to us. In any case, I don’t think the reasons are the same…
Sparsh - yes - besides the cost, I suspect the ‘coolness’ is one aspect too.
Cost control?I don’t think so.We Indians are obseesed with fairness and any white skinned person is considered superior and godlike.A mother can differentiate between her fair and dark skinned children and in a case known to me the younger daughter who was fair was projected for marriage by the parents but the older one who was smarter and more sought after had to wait.The simple reason - they expected to marry off the fairer daughter for lesser dowry.
Padma-ji, I have to admit that’s probably a factor too, and sometimes I wonder if these things are subconscious. An educated person may just think that they are choosing ‘an international look’ without even examining why they equate white with international. As for the examples you mentioned, disgusting but true. Just the other day, a friend of mine was telling me about another friend who’s having trouble ‘finding a match’, all because of her dark skin.
The ease of finding photos of white people may be one reason, but you must remember that if there is a demand for photos of Indians, the market would definitely create a supply. We have a ingrained feeling, a colonial hangover, that white men are superior to us. And obviously they are more successful than us.
There is another aspect. International clients (that means white in popular imagination) are usually more demanding and would generally prefer to do business with only highly competent companies with certified business practices. Couple that with our general contempt for everything Indian and respect for ‘foreign’ products. These companies are trying to project their competency by appealing to this part of our subconscious mind, telling us, ‘hey even those white guys approve of us, We are pretty good.’ I must say it is a part of brand building.
Saika - yes - I think the last point is powerful and often we may not even be conscious of it.
Hi.. very interesting discussion. I actually came to your blog via google where I was searching for Indian images for my site which is under development.
I have spent a total of 30 minutes so far and I could get only two sites selling Indian images while there are hundreds of them selling global (read non-indian) images. Guess its a bit of both demand-supply and also where our business people who use online as a medium are on a maturity curve..
I would love to use good Indian images and my search continues..
Chintan, that’s interesting:)
I have also been searching actually, and I found that istockphoto has a decent stock - though clearly, not enough.
@apu Hi! No need even to go till the level of websites, it is impossible to find “Indian-looking” people, specially in professional settings for something as frequently used as Office Cliparts… So one has to either make do with “Non-Asian” images or use non-photographics cliparts…
@ Abhinav - so that is a market opportunity I guess!