Bleaching: my perspective

I am sure we all have at least once felt like outsiders. We might have felt like the people around us do not really understand what we are going through and why we make the choices we make and you wish that they get to live your life for a day to actually understand you. If you have felt this way, then you might relate to my topic.

If you do not know my stand on bleaching, please read my previous posts. I strongly believe that it is a wrong practice and we should love ourselves the way we are created. However, I was thinking long and hard about what I could say to anyone indulging in bleaching. I thought of reasons why I would not do it and failed to give any tangible reasons except for the unhealthy part. For me it just did not seem right. So I thought to myself that if I couldn’t give any reasons why not to do it, then why not do it? I hence tried to play the devil’s advocate and this is what I came up with.

First of all, we shouldn’t start judging and shaming anyone for bleaching. It is purely human, to desire what you don’t have. While some part of the world would kill to look darker and show they can afford vacations in exotic places, other parts want to bleach or tone to look good. It is known, human kind is never satisfied and we always go after what we cannot have. So please stop casting people out, it is their choice and their bodies. Besides bleaching is not only a black thing, it is also practiced in China and India, it is just that it is more severe in black communities.

I realized that the lines between what is reasonable to change and what isn’t are blur. Can we play the “love yourself” card on them? In a world of fake eyelashes, makeup, fake booties and boobs…? If we loved ourselves as much as we claimed we wouldn’t need fake accessories to feel pretty. Of course I can argue that those things don’t really change us, it enhances our beauty not dismantle the whole perfection that we are. I only have one thing to say, if you show the world the fake you 24/7, what is the difference? What I think is that for women who like toning or bleaching, changing skin tone is like changing nail polish or putting on makeup. It is just a mean to look prettier, just like any other.

It is also a way to feel accepted and feel beautiful. Not solely because they don’t like their skin, but also because most men prefer lighter skinned women. The unspoken truth is that lighter skin is associated to beauty and wealth, most famous, important and fashionable ladies have toned-like skin. Apparently the richer you become, the lighter your skin should be. Taking care of the light skin demands more resources than the darker skin and is somehow associated with wealth. So for some girls out there, it is a show off to be fair meaning they have more money and men find them more attractive.

I am not suggesting that I know it all about bleaching and the reasons but what I can say, is that the society is also to be blamed for those girls’ choices. Society shares part of the guilt. If we stop associating lighter skin with wealth, we would give a chance for this practice to slowly go away. It is our responsibility, all of us not just the girls or the cream sellers.For the girls who choose bleaching over their skin there are two reasons why I am upset with this. 

I cannot believe that you are risking your health over something as natural as your skin color. Unlike makeup or fake nails, you cannot have it all back again. Once it is gone, it is gone.

Secondly i feel betrayed. I feel you are giving away the very thing that make us who we are. Black people are black. Changing it is kind of shooing away from everything that we are. A line of differentiation you put between you and we. A line that draw you think closer to white people and away from us. I feel you are ashamed to be like us “black”. And after all we have gone through, this is one of the few things that we can claim as ours, our skin.

As much as I do not want to judge, it would be nice to have you on our side. Our journey is still long and we need each one of you to make the continent better.