Stereotyping black skin, prejudice and colourism

Is what ensured and enabled the growth of the bleaching industry.
Skin bleaching has never been as prominently embraced, normalised, and celebrated as it is nowadays.  Fair/White/toned/brightened black women have put to shame the ‘Black is beautiful’ narrative which had been
ingrained in a lot of us since forever.


Now, it seems that black is not beautiful after all, as it is reported that one out of every 5 black skinned women have the insatiable desire to be fair skinned. Skin bleaching is today called by many names just so it can be
normalized and acceptable; skin lightening, skin whitening, skin toning, skin brightening, fading etc. Whatever name or title on the cream jar, the intent remains the same; to ensure an even skin color by reducing melanin concentration using chemical substances.

The concept of ‘self-acceptance and confidence’ seem to increasingly
be only a rhetoric as the evident reality of the average black African is the belief that light skin is more beautiful. This belief stems from decades long held traditional and cultural stereotypes inherited from colonisation and imperialism. Sadly, it is still being strongly
perpetuated by the ignorance and prejudice of the black race.


Colourism is the racism of blacks against blacks, and despite the
continuous advocacy against colourism, racism and for blacks to embrace themselves as they are, skin bleaching has gradually taken
deep roots in the African society and black communities.

Skin bleaching is today one of the highest desires of the average
Nigerian woman, and even some men regardless of the medical warnings
about imminent side effects on the skin and general body health including cancer. It is another pandemic that is eating deep into the
fabric of our societies, and unless action is taken may likely explode in our faces in the nearest future.


Globally, it is estimated that the bleaching industry is expected to reach $20 billion by the end of 2021. And the market for these
products is mostly in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, with a statistic of 40% of African women users. As of 2019, the Nigerian
beauty industry was worth over $4Billion, and has had a growth rate of 8-10% in the subsequent years with the patronage of 77.3% of Nigerian women according to WHO (which is more than 60 million of Nigeria’s
population) consuming bleaching creams that sell as high as N200, 000 a unit.


It makes no absolute sense why women go to such great lengths to
bleach their beautiful black skin into white. But then, that’s just me. To a lot of people, the social pressure and expectations are just
too numbing to ignore.  Skin is skin, eh? What exactly is the obsession with light skin? Shingi Metro, – a lecturer at Rhodes University, South Africa said …


“In post-colonial Africa, there is still a premium on light skin.
Whiteness is something many Africans aspire to and light skin still has social capital”
Some few weeks back on Clubhouse, we had this talk in one of the rooms. Young women and men shared their experiences, opinions,
analysis, and beliefs about the expensive and dangerous obsession. The overall and unanimous conclusion was that skin bleaching is the result of social pressures and expectations. Hence skin whiteness remains
what determines people’s value in many African communities and societies.


The African society remains one that puts a lot of value in what is superficial. There is a subtle unconscious bias in favour of black people with fairer skin, than black people with black skin, that is why in some Nigerian communities, more bride price is demanded for fair skinned ladies than for those with dark skin. Some Nigerian banks prefers to employ light skinned ladies, and the entertainment industry is the worst. Dark skinned ladies stand little or no chance at all as actresses or models.


Even though bleaching is ascribed to be a class struggle, but there is no doubt that it stems from racism, and colourism. This is when you
are judged by the colour of your skin, and when your opportunities and even rights are determined by it.


Some people argue that the world has been held hostage by the whites for centuries, that is why women especially struggle to be white because of all the privileges that comes from BEING white/LOOKING white. Besides, men too prefer ladies with lighter skin that those with dark skin, and it is quite healthy for women to want attention from men.

All valid reasons, after all ladies who bleach are just trying to meet up with the society’s standards and expectations. But
are these reasons valid enough to mortgage your entire life, identity, heritage, health, and self-confidence. Is it worth it? Why spend so
much money on changing the colour of your skin to the detriment of your health when you can cultivate the self-confidence to love your
skin as it is, which is FREE.


More women need to understand that they do not have to change
themselves to be accepted by anyone, they are beautiful just the way they are and should be confident about it and unplug themselves from
the burgeoning statistics.


Dark skin is a blessing not a curse, it is the natural adaptation for sun protection; that is why original white people suntan. People who
are lighter don’t have as much melamine which is the pigment in the skin that helps to absorb harmful sunrays to prevent it from
penetrating into the skin and cause damage.  This is the reason why people who live with albinism who have no melamine, are more at risk of skin cancer and that is because they do not have natural melanin
that dark people have.

Keep your melanin. You are BEAUTIFUL.