tagged w/ Illegal Skin Bleaching Trade UK
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Certainly, there are bigger, more pressing issues in the world today: the crisis in Sudan, nuclear weapons in Pakistan, George W. Bush in general. The issue Ive chosen to cover, however, is important and meaningful in a more subtle, insidious way.
Ever since I was little, Id noticed the sale of a skin-lightening cream called Fair and Lovely in my local Indian grocery store. I saw ads for it in the Bollywood magazines my mom bought; I saw ads for it on television every time we visited relatives in India. Now, its more than just Fair and Lovely. Loreal has a line called White Perfect skin lotion, and Lux Beauty has also joined the marketing machine with their line of White Glow soaps.
This issue is meaningful because it speaks to generations of self-hate and prejudice within the South Asian community. Its 2006, and women are still using skin-lightening creams to bleach their skin to a standard of whiteness that will make them acceptable to their peers and potential mates. Girls my own age, born and raised in America like myself, are submitting to these racist standards of beauty without questioning them.
I hope to effect positive change with this documentary by asking these questions. When I interviewed my friends and peers, most of them hadnt thought too deeply about why South Asians revere white skin, and yet, most of them had personal experience with this prejudice. I hope the positive change will be self-awareness instead of self-hate.
Certainly, there are bigger, more pressing issues in the world today: the crisis in... more
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A skin-whitening advert featuring Bollywood's hottest talents has reopened a debate about India's obsession with pale skin.
The whitening market in India is worth millions of pounds, with men as well as women routinely buying bleaching lotions in an effort to "improve" their complexion. The new ad featuring Saif Ali Khan, Priyanka Chopra and Neha Dhupia has triggered an angry reaction from some who think the advert is discriminatory and outdated.
"It is strange. There is such a premium placed on pale skin," said Urvashi Butalia, a historian and director of Kali for Women, India's first feminist publishing house. "I am not sure where it comes from. It may have something to do with India's history of being colonised by various people and that there is a hangover of the idea that Aryan people are superior and Dravidian people – those who were already here – are inferior."
What do you think? Is skin-whitening just the same as tanning? Or are there more serious implications?
A skin-whitening advert featuring Bollywood's hottest talents has reopened a... more
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This is an article about the practice of skin bleaching which is going on all around the world. This article focuses on why Jamaicans are using skin bleaching creams, and the damage that may be caused by the use of these products.This is an article about the practice of skin bleaching which is going on all around... more
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Last month a club in Detroit, Michigan, US, thought it "brilliant" to offer a promotion "allowing all-night free admission to black women with fair or light skin."
After receiving numerous complaints, the promotion was cancelled.
To be fair, the club had also planned "sexy chocolate" and "sexy caramel" nights before the controversy erupted.
The black community has always struggled with the issue of skin colour. Women especially are taught to believe that lighter skin, kinkier hair and lighter-coloured eyes are somehow more acceptable.
It is a belief that has also been adopted by Asian and other ethnic communities and is in part responsible for the illegal skin bleaching trade now infiltrating the UK and other parts of Europe.
"Dr. Dele Olajide, a leading psychologist at King's College London, blames consumer demand on the media centering on fair skinned blacks like American pop singer Beyonce and British actress Thandie Newton.
"The image that the media presents about black people is that we are inferior, we are not as good as everybody else. But those who are successful and going places are those who are light-skinned people. So one might say that the desire to be like white people underpins people's wanting to be fairer-skinned," Olajide says."
Club promotion link: http://blackvoices.aol.com/blogs/2007/10/23/light-skinned-party-in-detroit-comes-to-a-screeching-halt/
Last month a club in Detroit, Michigan, US, thought it "brilliant" to offer... more
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