Michael Jackson might have made it popular but as of recently he can no longer be the only celeb known for having an unhealthy obsession with it. I’m talking about skin bleaching people. Its anew wave that is hitting Blacks and Latinoes. Over the last year or so, basketball player Sammy Sosa has been under major scrutiny for his decision to alter his appearance by bleaching his skin. Sosa resorted to the natural celeb reaction whenever their behavior is questioned. He lied. According to Sosa, he has never bleached his skin and we are all simply color blind. Nevertheless, you can now add another celebrity to the skin bleaching craze. Dancehall artists Vybz Kartel recently bleached his skin ten shades lighter. In a recent interview, Kartel linked blacks who lighten their skin to white people who tan.
“This is my new image,” Kartel said in the interview. “You can expect the unexpected. I feel comfortable with black people lightening their skin. They want a different look. It’s tantamount to white people getting a sun tan.”
Plastic Surgery: Is It Worth It?
Word? Hmm.. Okay, so I understand Vybz rationale reasoning for comparing the two. Both are ways for individuals who belong to a distinct ethnic group that have distinct features to alter their look to perhaps look less like a member of said group. I get it. But what Vybz may not be considering is that he is a Black man. A Black man with a darker complexion. As a Black man, he is expected to be Black and proud at all times. Any signs of behavior to the contrary equates to signs of him being ashamed of who he is. It is a sign of self hate. According to Black society it is.
See, Blacks have a different history from Whites. We have suffered through years of being told we were ugly, unfit, unwanted and unloved. Primarily because of our skin complexion. After time, and finally coming to terms with who we are as a people, this caused us to lash out. Hell yeah I’m Black! I’m Black and proud and don’t you forget it sucka! Word to James Brown. So when someone Black decides to bleach his skin, we immediately assume he has self hate issues. We think what the hell is wrong with this negro? Can you really blame us?
However, when a White person decides to spend two hours on the beach half naked, risking skin cancer and sun radiation, in hopes of getting a slightly darker complexion or worst case scenario a red one, then this is considered the norm. There is no uproar about them failing to embrace their European-ness from other Europeans. They are not judged as being against their own “kind”.
Is this right? Is this wrong? Hell I don’t know. I admit that I have commented a time or two in passing that Whites like tanning because they envy that golden chocolate complexion that Blacks have. However, it never really bothered me enough to scream to the heavens. Saying that, I can also admit that when someone Black bleaches their skin it disturbs the hell out of me. I wonder what had to be going through their mind to make them dislike their complexion so much so that they wanted to drastically alternate it. Did something happened to Vybez when he was child to make him feel somehow that he was not worthy? Was he called ugly by the little wavy haired light skin chicks? Was he one of those Blacks with a darker complexion who got taunted and called “crispy” and “blackie” by other Blacks? Lastly are they really under the impression that this obsession with a lighter complexion is healthy? It’s not. These are all questions that I don’t know the answer to because I don’t know Vybz or Sammy Sosa story. Truthfully, even if they were one of the unfortunate ones who were teased, it does not give them a pass in my eyes.
Vybz may have a point. There might be a double standard going on between tanning and bleaching. Is it one that I want to complain about? Not really. Do Whites tan? Yeah. When I see a tanned White man do I assume that he has self hate issues? Not really. When I see Blacks altering their skin by tanning, does it make me want to run up on them and scream WHY! Hell yes. I guess I have to roll with the double standard on this one. Where are you at on it?
Quote From Rolling Out
it's important to acknowledge that we live in a white supremacist world, where whiteness is so often desired by people of color worldwide. skin bleaching is rooted in colonialism and racism, there is no way to separate that from the practice of one or many people. tanning on the other hand has a completely different motivation when practiced by white people. as has been said by another person posting, tanning is temporary (generally) but the motivation isn't to look like a different ethnicity and it is by no means a way to lose one's unearned white privilege, in fact its often the opposite. if a white person is able to have a tan in a climate that doesn't receive a lot of sun like let's say london or seattle, white people are able to give the impression that they are quite comfortable financially to be able to travel to tropical climates to get that tan. it should be painfully clear that skin bleaching and other self-hating/harming practices done by people of color are deeply rooted in european notions of beauty. we also live in a patriarchal and sexists society that targets women at a constant to make modifications to their appearance. this very same toxic (racist and sexist) culture we live in is one that is insanely superficial and wants nothing more than our discomfort and most importantly our money. if we can be consumed with wanting to have his abs, her breasts, their skin color, etc. we will place ourselves in unsafe situations in order to better blend in, conform. one final comment for the author, "blacks and latinos," are not mutually exclusive when you consider that there were more enslaved africans brought to latin america than the u.s., "latino" is a culture, not a race.
- spam
- offensive
- disagree
- off topic
Like