WHY DO BLACK WOMEN BLEACH?

I am born an African and raised up as an African. My upbringing led me to act and behave as an African. I have been preached and taught all the good values of the African culture. The great respect, values, norms and culture all was embodied in me and it made me appreciate the true beauty in being an African.

One of the many inspirations I gained as an African was to hear the popular phrase BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL. Indeed, black is certainly beautiful. During my childhood, I never for once stopped to ask why many parents bought fairy white dolls to their kids rather than black dolls. I never bothered to ask if my sister could get a beautiful black doll to play with. It was very pleasant to own a baby doll with fairy hair falling behind its back.  No one searched for black baby dolls at the market. Many of the baby dolls available in the shops were fairy white dolls.

 As an adult, there are many things that intrigue me. In the past, our community respected women with true sense of humour, women who were adored with outward and inner beauty irrespective of their skin colour. In most cases, such women were called complete woman. The idea of complete makes me wonder why most black women bleach in recent times. If black is beautiful, why do black women black?

Most black women I have seen bleach and bleach until it gets to the point when their skin begins to peel off with black spots developed on their cheeks and hands.  Some few days ago at a campaign movement, an elderly woman believed to be in her late sixties showed up. This woman was tall and well built. Taking a much closer look at her, I was surprise to see what bleaching can do to person. Her skin had become very black in some areas and rough in clots. It was as if the skin is peeling off.

 However, it is important to draw our attention to the fact that it is not only black women who bleach; other black men bleach as well. Many black women and of course, black men, spend so much money on expensive body crèmes to make them look whiter. The important question is what factors motivate black people to bleach?  Many people say black is beautiful, yet why do some black women and men want to look white? Are there any health implications for people who bleach?

 Few years ago Merrick Andrew published an article. Merrick shared some interesting thoughts about why black people bleach. According to Merrick, there is a general perception that the fairer you are, the more successful you become, either socially, economically and romantically. For instance, about 7 out of 10 men are most likely to pick up a light shaded girl compared to a dark shaded girl, if both of them stand the chance of being equally beautiful.

If we classify the different colour tones of black women, we have very dark women, brown/ chocolate coloured women, and the fair or mixed race. Thus many men will choose the brownish and fair complexion woman over the very dark shaded woman if they all stand an equal chance of being beautiful.

In a much similar view, Dr. Persadsingh once shared a great sentiment that there is a large segment of the black people who are convinced that the lighter you are in complexion, the greater your chances both socially, economically and in terms of their relationships because they believe that men likes brown girls. 

Many research conducted on bleaching show the percentage of black women bleach could be from Africa, Caribean, and Asia among others. As much as there are many black people bleaching in Africa, hundreds of people in the Caribbean island are known to be using skin lightening creams with low doses of over protective pigmentations which has negative effect on the skin. 

Also, medical experts explain that there are severe consequences for black women who bleach. Many people who bleach are being killed by melanin, the substance that lends skin pigmentation and protects the skin from cancer, causing ultraviolet rays from the sun. Once the skin has been ‘bleached’ it loses its natural protective barrier, making it susceptible to damage by the sun’s rays.

Observation done on many bleaching products show that such crèmes contain either sunscreen, or come with instructions advising people to use sun protection creams along with the product. Prolonged use of these bleaching products can also prevent the formation of melanin in the deeper basal layers of the skin, which leaves the skin lighter, and also make it more vulnerable to damage. Hydroquinone in particular, damages the connective tissue in the skin and cartilage, hence its removal from skincare products. 

People who continuously use these bleaching products often end up with rough, blotchy skin. They tend to be caught up in the ‘bleaching trap’ by using more cream to try and correct the problem, but by doing so; they find themselves causing even more damage to their skin. Alternatively, they may find that because of exposure to the sun, their ‘lightened skin’ gets darker. 

So now, my question is, can we all be fair coloured? How would it have been in this world if everybody was fair? If you walked across the street and each person was white skinned bearing the same faces how would it have been? Would that not have been boring? 

But the interesting thing is that we have variety. Some are black, others are white, and others are Asians. That is what makes the world unique and beautiful. We can make a difference in this world when we begin by changing our mindset. Black becomes beautiful when we accept to be black, and appreciate being black. Indeed being black is unique and beautiful.

Pix from Goggle