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

Where I live at the moment is a v racially diverse area, so I guess my opinion is biased by that. Or something along those lines.

Fair enough. I don’t disagree at all that this would be a minor irritant for me, but I suppose if I lived in Ghana or India I wouldn’t expect white plasters. 🤷🏻‍♀️

It will to do with price clear or white is cheapest to make other colourcost more .like most things colours cost money

I'm sorry but what are some of you advocating? That we have plasters and contraceptive patches in a range of colours so that you can have the exact same colour as your skin? Sorry, dears, the NHS doesn't work like that. Wear a long-sleeved top and nobody will see it!

Maybe they are brown coloured in Africa, in which case, if you were living there and were only offered a brown patch would you cry racism? Even though the vast majority of the continent are black/brown.

I've better things to worry about TBH.

UntamedWisteria

Could you quote the racist bit of my post?

ffs.

Where do you wear your patch, on your forearm? Presumably most people wear them under clothes so it doesn’t matter what colour it is.
And what about blue plasters that people wear if they work in catering?

If you want your contraceptive patches in an array of colours then you’d have to pay for them, which currently, you don’t.

I’d be interested if anyone has the figures for say women under 45. I imagine we are a more ethnically diverse group than average British people in general.

Racist is obviously a provocative term but isn’t structural racism basically lots and lots of unintended, on the surface ‘minor’ choices but added together they represent a society where it’s harder if you aren’t white?

Why is it harder to have a contraceptive patch that doesn’t match your skin?

Speaking as a POC, the fact that is an issue that’s occurred to anyone drives me mad. Everything is not racist. Feel free to imagine racism about everything.

Clearly there’s nothing I can do, not paying for a TV licence seeming to be the only action I could take.

@goldenharvest

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.

I can't find access to the current stats, but even if yours are right, a 20% non-white market is ENORMOUS for a supplier.

There can only be, what, 5% vegans in the UK, yet we fall over ourselves in Oat, Almond, Coconut & Hemp milk despite the vast majority happy with cows.

Racist is obviously a provocative term but isn’t structural racism basically lots and lots of unintended, on the surface ‘minor’ choices but added together they represent a society where it’s harder if you aren’t white?

No idea. Racism is racism. You might need another term for “structural racial disadvantage”, but I don’t think that has anything to do with the availability of plasters to match one’s skin tone, frankly.

You don't know if black women would be given darker hues?

So you thought you'd start a thread anyway?

Just for info... Some black people find the term POC racist OP.

Maybe ask the question on the black mumsnetters topic?

@paintmywholehousepink

Just for info... Some black people find the term POC racist OP.

I’m sorry. I didn’t use it initially but someone earlier used the term about themselves. Will be more careful in future.

And aren't we all different shades anyway, white or black? There will be few people who match the colour of the plaster from blue/white red heads to those of a Mediterranean heritage (especially in the summer!) Does anyone with dark skin care?

Wow this had never occurred to me before! Thank you for highlighting this. Also as someone else said about 'flesh coloured' items! I feel ashamed I've taken all this for granted as a white person! Yes its absolutely clear now xxxx

@MagicSummer

I'm sorry but what are some of you advocating? That we have plasters and contraceptive patches in a range of colours so that you can have the exact same colour as your skin? Sorry, dears, the NHS doesn't work like that. Wear a long-sleeved top and nobody will see it!

The OP has raised her query around an NHS product, @MagicSummer, but her point is about having access to products that are intended to match (near) to your skin tone.

If you chose to even do the most high level google, you'd know that this has been a key point for many years, around items referred to a 'flesh' / 'nude' coloured being pinky coloured only.

Having worked in pharmaceutical supply chains, I can assure that they aren’t snubbing women based on race, but are being cheap. Opaque will be cheaper than clear. Having one colour will be cheaper than managing additional SKUs.
This is one if the inconveniences of not being a member of the dominant group. In my mid 20s I worked in West Africa. Lots of things around fashion, beauty, grooming weren’t designed for me. It was a downer, but no harm was intended. Merchants and beauticians were just being commercially minded.

@paintmywholehousepink

You don't know if black women would be given darker hues?

So you thought you'd start a thread anyway?

Yep. I googled but I accept that isn’t full proof.

I can't find access to the current stats, but even if yours are right, a 20% non-white market is ENORMOUS for a supplier.

The non-white population of Britain is about 14%, and hardly homogenous. It could range from, say, Indian women who could pass for Italian or Greek, to Chinese women, to very dark skinned African women. So having just one 'brown' shade wouldn't work either.

In any case, do we know for a fact that the patch is not available in other shades? It makes sense that the OP got offered a light shade as she is white, but that doesn't neccessarily mean other shades are not available.

No-one has ever been at a disadvantage because their plaster was a different colour to their skin. FFS!