skin bleaching
-
Black Lives Matter—but Not Black Skin? Indian Celebs Called Out for Expressing Solidarity After Profiting From Colorism
It’s currently en vogue to declare that black lives matter (and make no mistake: they do), but it’s far less comfortable to discuss how anti-black racism manifests throughout the world. Colorist beauty standards are not only closely correlated to socioeconomic success here in the United States, but are well documented in countries throughout South America,…
-
In Response to a 23,000 Signature Petition, Amazon Agrees to Stop Selling Mercury-Laden Skin Bleaching Products
A major battle was recently won in the war on colorism, with the biggest retailer in the world cracking down on the sale of skin-bleaching products. As reported by the Washington Post, after over a year of lobbying by Minnesota-based nonprofit The Beautywell Project, Amazon has agreed to remove skin-lightening products containing mercury from its…
-
Colorism Isn’t Funny: Japanese Comedy Duo Apologizes for Saying Naomi Osaka Should Bleach Her Skin
It be your own people; that’s what Haitian-Japanese-American tennis champion Naomi Osaka—who proudly plays for Japan, her country of birth—found out yet again while winning her first Pan Pacific Open title on Sunday in her hometown, the aptly named Osaka. According to BBC Sport, Japanese female comedy team A Masso ignored the two-time Grand Slam…
-
With ‘Shades of Black,’ The Guardian Enters the Colorism Conversation
We talk about it. We joke about it. We resent it. We reinforce it. We rage about it. Anyone who has lived this life as a black person—and especially, a black woman—knows all too well the loaded conversation that is colorism. It’s a worldwide epidemic, and not one unique to black people, but the ways…
-
Enough: Rwanda Becomes the 3rd African Nation to Ban Skin-Bleaching Ingredients
Rwanda just became the latest country to take aggressive action against the widespread practice of skin bleaching, now enforcing a ban on products that contain ingredients intended to lighten the skin—most commonly, hydroquinone. In December, Rwandan police told national outlet The New Times the move, in which officials are patrolling markets and seizing bleaching products…
-
Ghana to Ban Skin-Bleaching Products in August
Colorism, which privileges lighter skin over darker, is an issue that not affects not only African Americans but pretty much all people of color around the world. From India to Brazil to Belize, one of the ways in which colorism rears its ugly head is in skin bleaching. We have all seen photos of celebrities…