If we were to take an accurate world census to discover the ratio of people with melanin, the chemical that makes dark skin, to people without it, it would be obvious that most of the world’s population is of a darker hue. This is not reflected in the media, movies, TV and advertisements.
In media, particularly media made in the U.S. and broadcast around the world, it looks as though people without melanin are the most attractive, most successful, most trustworthy, most friendly, most intelligent, most powerful people on the planet.
It’s not only media, we should point out, that’s responsible for this type of thinking. Colonialism, the invisible handcuffs shackled on the mind by imperialism and history, is also to blame.
In a few simple steps, a magic bullet in the form of bleaching or lightening cream promises you the success and happiness that’s available to white people. With a little dab, a repeat shower here and a face mask there, the magic bullet promises, you too can be white, rich, handsome, beautiful and successful. If you’re not any of those things, tough luck.
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Now imagine that you’re not living in a slum in India, or Brazil, or in a crowded Asian mega city. Imagine instead you’re in New Jersey and you’re flipping through a magazine and you come across the above advertisement from Dove, the U.S. corporation who, in the last few years, has emerged as a champion of “real” beauty.
What would you think if you see three women of various shapes and colors standing in front of two differently colored walls with the words “Before” and “After” and a Dove product in the foreground? The Black woman is the “Before” and the white woman is the “After.” Sandwiched between the two is some one who looks Latina. The ad tells us that if you have dark skin before you use VisibleCare, you will have white skin after you use it.
“The ad is intended to illustrate the benefits of using Dove VisibleCare Body Wash, by making skin visibly more beautiful in just one week,” Dove said in a statement after the ad ran in magazines unchallenged. “All three women are intended to demonstrate the “after” product benefit. We do not condone any activity or imagery that intentionally insults any audience.”
In short, the Dove statement reads, we don’t mean to be racist.
After the break, skin whitening creams from around the world.
Above: Still from an ad for Fair & Handsome, a lightening cream for men marketed in India.
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An skin lightening ad from the Phillipines.
An skin lightening ad from the Phillipines.
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A L’Oreal Vichy ad in India.
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Skin lightener ad in India.
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Skin bleaching ad in the UK.
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A skin whitening ad in Korea.
