Racist contraceptive?

[BLMquestion]

Name changed because I’ve discussed this in real life and don’t want to link to my other posts.

Recently started on the EVRA contraceptive patch. It sticks on your skin. I’m white (this is relevant). The patch is coloured a skin tone that matches mine, a pinky/beige colour.

Is it racist? Because it makes me feel like it’s been made for my skin tone and that a black woman wearing this would have something very much more visible than a white woman and so be disadvantaged.

AIBU?
YANBU- contraceptive patchers should be available in all skin tones or clear

YABU - it’s perfectly fine to have a pinky/beige contraceptive patch

Do they not come in other shades?

@Merryoldgoat

Do they not come in other shades?

Honestly I don’t know. If they do, the I’m clearly BU. Would love it if there were. So if anyone knows please say!

If you're not white it's just one of a load of ways that society isn't designed for you. It's not that the makers are intentionally racist. It's just that white people are seen as default and the only group worth considering.

elastoplasts are similar, unless you choose the Peppa Pig ones. Flesh tone almost always means white tone.

It's a skin patch FFS. And in any case, they are CLEAR, not PINK.

I always thought they came in that shade incase there's blood/pus and it's easily visable

I saw some internet advert for plasters in different skin tones. Blew my (white) mind. Of course plasters never match my skin perfectly but that’s clearly what’s trying to be achieved. Wonder how many times in the plaster manufacturing board rooms someone has suggested changing that.

@TheEmpressOfUtterBastardry

It's a skin patch FFS. And in any case, they are CLEAR, not PINK.

They aren’t clear. They are pinky/beige. Hence my point.

It’s not racist, no. Racism implies distaste or antipathy. At worst it’s thoughtless.

I was going to agree with you but then thought maybe we're overthinking and overfocusing.
Plasters and some bandages are that beige colour too.

@Twistered

I was going to agree with you but then thought maybe we're overthinking and overfocusing. Plasters and some bandages are that beige colour too.

Isn’t that bad too? Also the impact is greater with a contraceptive patch because you are wearing it most of the time - 3 out of 4 weeks.

I don’t think I’ve ever used a plaster that matched my white skin tone- but I agree that a clear patch would be the best fit for everyone.

Not sure that it’s deliberate racism, but a clear patch would be better.

@flaviaritt

It’s not racist, no. Racism implies distaste or antipathy. At worst it’s thoughtless.

By racist I mean disadvantages anyone who isn’t white.

To be racist is to 'show or feel discrimination or prejudice against people of other races, or believing that a particular race is superior to another'. So no, not racist. They show that there is a gap in the market for patches of a different colour.

I'm white and you can still plainly tell if I'm wearing a plaster. I doubt there are many people that skin colour.

I’ve had a quick google - looks like there are no brown shades.

As a person of colour:

Would it be nice if the default flesh told wasn’t ‘white’? Yes

Are there other things I care more about being addressed? Yes

It’s another indicator that white is the default - no shit, Sherlock! I can’t get that worked up about it.

As a POC, I don't think it's racist. It's more annoying.

By racist I mean disadvantages anyone who isn’t white

Then try to use the word correctly, because it doesn’t mean that.

Thanks for your thoughts @Merryoldgoat and @latheritup. Totally get that’s it’s not the biggest issue POC face. It just struck me as an example of many, many things people have to deal with that are ‘less than ideal’ when they aren’t white.

Perhaps they should just make them blue like the plasters they use in catering.

If you made them available in black or brown they may be less visible on some but like the 'fleshtone' currently used hardly invisible. I doubt manufacturers would want to produce a large number of variations nor pharmacists stock them all.

@Changethetoner

elastoplasts are similar, unless you choose the Peppa Pig ones. Flesh tone almost always means white tone.

I think Boot sell plasters with a range of skin tones

Clear or funky colours would be my go to if I was a designer of this sort of thing. Maybe orange or turquoise.

About 80% of the UK population are white skinned, so its a simple matter of catering for the majority, not some unfounded racist undertone. No doubt its cheaper than making multiple skin toned plasters.

There's a scene in Malorie Blackman's Noughts and Crosses which presents almost exactly this situation in reverse.

It's actually something pretty clearly flagged up as symptomatic of racism. Plasters too. Make up in brown tones not even readily availble in high street stores. 'Flesh coloured' underwear. Ballet shoes. You aren't wrong. Society treats white as the norm and doesn't cater to everyone else.