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I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but I am genuinely shocked that I've gotten several replies like this in response to a comment I made about Mew approving - or maybe even requesting - the whitewashing in the most recent MSS pics.
Let me explain how I came to my opinion. + https://twitter.com/mewkeita/status/1359502276017025027
Let me explain how I came to my opinion. + https://twitter.com/mewkeita/status/1359502276017025027
For starters, Mew is the CEO of MSS, a company he created for the express purpose of helping him manage his career. Yes, he's extremely busy, but I highly doubt MSS tweets anything without Mew's approval or suggestion. This isn't even the first time +
MSS has posted whitewashed pics of Mew. Go back and look at all the pics they've posted over the last month or two and see how many are whitewashed. If Mew wasn't OK with it, he would have put a stop to it after the first time they did it. +
Image is everything in the entertainment industry, and a big part of MSS's role is to manage Mew's image. A big part of that includes what pictures they put out into the world. PhD candidate Mew isn't going to let MSS post pics that present an image he doesn't approve. +
The role of MSS is more than just making sure he gets from place to place on time and helping him get through each day. They're like an advertising company, promoting Mew as a brand, and part of any brand is their image. Plus, we've seen how Mew likes to manage every detail. +
So I'm not really sure how anybody thinks MSS would go rogue and post whitewashed pics without Mew's approval or even suggestion. Isn't that sort of insulting to Mew, to think he has so little control over his employees? +
So then the big question becomes WHY? Why would MSS tweet whitewashed pics of Mew? More than that, why do SO MANY companies that both Mew AND Gulf work with whitewash the pics? Let's face it, we see them both whitewashed all the time, it's just more startling from MSS. +
In western standards of beauty, tan skin is preferred. Tanning beds, creams, and sprays are all the rage in America and Europe. The rest of the world doesn't maintain that same standard of beauty. In much of the world, especially Asia, fair skin is preferred. +
This is one problem with being an inter fan. There's more than just a language barrier - there are cultural differences some of us aren't even aware of and may never understand. +
I was a big Bollywood fan for a decade before discovering MewGulf, so I'm already familiar w/the Asian preference for fair skin. I discovered that skin lightening cream is very popular in India (and the rest of Asia) because light skin is considered to be more beautiful. +
One of the most popular skin lightening creams, formerly called Fair & Lovely, now named Glow & Lovely, makes $317 million in annual revenue. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-53182169
And it's not just India where skin lightening creams are popular. "Light skin tone implies a higher social status in Thailand, and so whitening products have flooded the multi-billion-dollar Thai beauty industry for the past decade...+
"...accounting for approximately half of the overall market, according to research firm Nielsen." + https://www.dpa-international.com/topic/white-better-thailand-light-skin-craze-shows-sign-fading-urn%3Anewsml%3Adpa.com%3A20090101%3A180603-99-560358
I could do a whole other thread on WHY fair skin is preferred in Asia, but it's not entirely relevant here.
The point is that we, as inter fans, don't have the right to impose our own standards of beauty on the rest of the world. I think and I hope that Thailand +
The point is that we, as inter fans, don't have the right to impose our own standards of beauty on the rest of the world. I think and I hope that Thailand +
will grow to love and accept the golden hue of Mew, Gulf, and everybody else's skin. I personally believe that all skin tones are beautiful, but that isn't the most popular perception in Thailand right now. +
Mew is obviously aware of Thailand's standards of beauty. I don't know and won't speculate on whether he uses skin lightening cream, but it seems fair to assume that he would approve - or yes, even request - that MSS whitewash his pics. +
Could he tackle and try to change Thailand's idea that fair skin is better? Maybe. Is that at the top of his priority list right now, with everything else he has on his plate? Probably not. In the meantime, I think we need to respect the fact that Mew knows what is best +
For his image and his career, even if we don't like or understand it. We are going to see plenty of whitewashed pics of both Mew and Gulf, because that's just Thailand's (and most or all of Asia's) current standard of beauty. And as interfans, we need to respect that, +
Even if we don't like it. Do I hope there comes a time when MSS and all other media outlets no longer feel the need to whitewash their stars? Absolutely. But do I respect Mew's decision if he thinks that's what's best for his image and career? Yes. +
As inter fans, we need to remember and respect that there are cultural differences in addition to just the language differences. Whitewashing is just one example, but it's the hot topic of the day. It's OK to hate whitewashing, but don't hate MSS for doing it.
