To not get the problem with skin whitening?

[CogitoErgoSometimes]

Just seen a video with a singer Dencia 'defending' her decision to lighten her skin and the interviewer suggesting that it means she's uncomfortable being a black woman. Provided the product is safe to use, I don't see why someone lightening dark skin is any different ethically to a pale person using fake tan, or someone putting a dye on grey hair.

The lax laws around sunbeds piss me off. I live in Glasgow where sunbeds are v popular, people bake themselves for ages in automated tanning booths. So bloody dangerous.

This was debated on channel 4 news last night and Dencia didn't come across very well at all. She was trying to argue that her cream is just to lighten pigmentation spots and not change skin colour all over. It didn't look good that she couldn't even defend her own product and was contradicting herself when challenged

I don't care about other women making themselves 'beautiful', but I do care about the reasons behind it and also the ways in which they do it.

If somebody used foundation which changed the colour of their skin, thereby evening it out and they felt happier as a result, great. I've used a concealer to cover up spots or dark under-eye circles.

If they're using chemicals which adversely affect health, then I think it's an issue (I agree with MrsDV about lighteners and sunbeds, though I'd point out that sunbeds are also used for health reasons for psoriasis sufferers, whereas I'm not sure lighteners have any positives).

If they're doing it for reasons of low self-esteem (and you could argue that this applies equally to women tangoing themselves - frankly nobody looks better bright orange, so you must have psychological issues to do it), that's a feminist issue.

If they're doing it for reasons of low self-esteem related to race, then it's also an issue, but possibly more so (cultural, probably feminist too).

But then, I speak as someone who was given three(!) make-up bags for Christmas but who owns only one concealer as the sole make-up item to put in them. Not because I am supremely happy with my own appearance but because a) I don't give enough of a shit about what others think, and b) I'm fundamentally lazy and don't want to get out of bed any earlier... Which brings me back to psychological issues being a societal problem.

OP you sound completely ignorant and naive, why dont you do a search on google you will get a lot of information on there

MsDevere you comment about relaxed hair being easier to manage is nonsense, this is the kind of nonsense that black women ans people have been fed by society that somehow natural black hair is tough and hard to manage when in actuall fact it is not. And i say that as a black woman with natural hair. Dont make sweeping statements about something you know so little about.

Please Google colourism, this is a serious issue, where in society the lighter you are is sold as being prettier. The straighter and longer your hair is equals being prettier. It is incredibly damaging for young black girls, as i have seen young black girls who are bleaching their skin trying to look like beyonce for example who apparently is the more acceptable form of black prettiness.

Dencia is an idiot. She believes white is prettier, and yet is still too ashamed to come out straight and say it. Dumb in the extreme. The sadness and danger of her being promoted all over the place is, some will believe that the majority of black women want to be white. Its ridiculous. & if she wasnt promoting a cream that says 'white is right', she wouldn't be on tv. I like the way the interviewer dealt with her nonsense last night. When a white woman is telling you as a black woman she sees and knows what your game is and you feel no shame, then you're a lost soul. No, the cream isn't good. What happens is over the years black spots start to form on the skin and they become larger and larger, with the skin on the spots looking wrinkled, ravaged, and old. In time to come Denica will look as ugly on the outside as she is on the inside. The women who do as she does don't care, when they're young. They do care when they're old and either pitied or laughed at.

haku - forgive me, I don't know - but I think this must be related to the way that some places (schools are what I know about but I'm sure there's covert pressure all over the place) ban some hairstyles?

Mistressdeecee hear hear, couldnt have said it myself.

Dragon i dont think there is any point in banning the hairstyles as this would deal with the underlying issues. I think it would be better to tackle the ignorance related to this.

My FiL used to use 'Fair and Lovely' until they came out with a men's version of it. DH and his brother teased him mercilessly. In principle, it's the same thing as putting on fake tan. I believe the chemicals are more dangerous though. It's not pressure from the Western world to look white, it's a standard of beauty within India for millenia. The funny thing is that both (fake tan and lighteners) aim for roughly the same skin tone.

Whoopi Goldberg demonstrates the problem from minute 28 of this video:

I think skin bleaching is very sad and shows a lack of self confidence. Not all singers want to be role models for young black women though. Plenty of white singers have boob jobs showing they aren't feminist role models. Sad but not surprising, you don't have to be bright or confident to be a singer.

It is not the same as putting on fake tan, i totally disagree with that comment and it is not just an issue stemming just from India. In relation to skin whitening in India, this correlates with British colonialism.

It isn't that Dencia isn't a role model for young black women girls it's that she's profiting financially out of their insecurities, whether she'll admit it or not.

haku - WTF? I must have put that incredibly badly!

That's not what I meant at all.

What I was thinking of was that I got to a school (and friends' brothers/sisters have been at that school until three years ago, so if this outdated it must've happened very recently) where hairstyles such as cornrows were banned.

You could have your hair loose, or tied back in plaits or a ponytail.

Now, in that situation, I can see why you might think 'fuck it, it'll be easier to get it relaxed'.

I have also read of women saying that they get a negative response if they do things like wearing braids.

so sorry dragon lost in traslation

McDevere:Relaxed hair is easier to manage and the products now are not as harsh as they once were that was your comment, the fact that you have however many Black children is irelevant. If you yourself were Black i would have pulled you up on the above ignorance that YOU said.

McDevere You made a statement i challenged it, you decided to make your response more personal by talking about your five children who in my opinion were not relevant to the original statement you made or my response.