nileflow network

 

Three weeks ago, I came across something that shocked the life right out of me. I saw a cream in the cupboard of a neighbor's place. Never have I come across such despicable promises. As cute as it was- pink with a before/after picture of a woman, I came to hate it as soon as my eyes caught sight of the words on it. The mixture promised the miracle of making women look “shades lighter”.
Shocking off all is, knowing there is demand for these products from African women. How can a cream in a jar promote the idea that whiter skin is the key to all life’s problems? The happiness you crave, the perfect relationship you had given up all hopes of, the dream job you never seem to score, and the aching heart that wants to beat rest. All these aspects of a women’s life, that ‘naturally’ would take a lifetime to achieve, are all bottled up in this plastic jar.

These however, are miracles that in reality never happen. The women who fall prey to theses big-bucks making beauty industries, find themselves back at square one- only this time: BURNING.

Whitening creams have been in the American market since the early 1800s, and have become a hit amongst Asian, Middle Eastern, and African women in the 1900s. However, it is the nature in which these advertising campaigns have changed overtime that is of most concern. It is one thing to want to ‘patch up’ your skin complexion, but another to ‘peel’ it off.

That’s exactly what modern day whitening creams sold on the streets of South Africa does to your skin. The chemicals in it are so harmful that doctors in these African countries are asking for them to be banned. But what you don’t get from the pharmacy you can get on the streets. In Britain, these products are banned for the sole reason that the chemicals they contain are deadly.

The concerning reality is that it has already got out of hand in Africa. African women are ever defiant against doctors’ orders, and continue to find ways to get the products. In a recent article written in The Daily Mail, one of the ingredients hydroquinone was described as the “biological equivalent of paint stripper”. What this does, is peel away the top layer of skin. Experts also stress that the bodies natural defenses are stripped away, contributing to health risks such as skin cancer.

And there are equally concerning side effects which are thought of as less harmful. The African woman with the burning skins, the African woman with blotches, the African women with ulcers, the African woman with patchy skin and the African woman who looks like a MESS.

tragedySo what is it that makes African women feel insecure about themselves and turn to ‘scientific’ chemicals to feel beautiful?

“Beauty to no complexion is confined, is of all colours, and by none defined.”

Lord Lansdowne George Granville.

Very few people would agree with Granville, to the full extent. Fair enough!

Today, African women are bombarded by images of what ‘beauty’ is believed to be. Every corner you turn, there’s that image staring back at you: long straight hair, light skin and thin figure. But why is it getting to us now? Why is the fact that the colour of our skin, which is black, getting even harder for us to accept?

For centuries light skinned women have been portrayed as the objects of desire, from Marilyn Monroe to Nicole Kidman. And we import this cultural racism game over to our very continent. African women with lighter skin are believed to be more beautiful than those of a darker tone. You walk into a salon, go to the movies, flick through the magazines, and they’re filled with light skinned women.

Research confirms that men play a big role in how women perceive themselves. The majority of African men find lighter women to be more desirable. The likes of Beyonce, Halle Berry, Tyra Banks are what women aspire to look like, because without doubt every African male sees these women as the ideal image of ‘beauty’.

The colour of your skin is not something you can peel away. Being an African woman should be celebrated. We should be doing everything in our power to preserve it, because as African women our people’s history is read through our eyes.

“If you seek the soul of a people

Look to its women.

For it is at their bosoms that

The seeds of love, compassion and courage

Are first planted and nurtured.

Look into their faces and see what was and what will be.”

Jerry Taliaferro, Photographer