The dangerous fashion for skin-whitening across Asia perpetuates racism and should be stigmatised as such
Sunny Hundal
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 1 April 2010
"....More worryingly, it condemns a new generation of Asians to grow up deeply insecure about the colour of their skin. Darker-skinned people of the same ethnicity grow up emotionally scarred and completely unrepresented by the media images they are subjected to daily.
Much of this isn't new, except that skin-whitening cream is increasingly being aimed at men. In most places in Thailand, I couldn't actually buy facial products for men without skin-whitening agents.
More recently, this has also spread to the UK. Skin-whitening products aimed at African-Caribbeans, Asians and Arabs fill the ethnic media and are even advertised on the London underground. Even most Asian matrimonial websites ask sign-ups to describe their skintone.
Let's be clear about this: skin-whitening perpetuates a form of racism. It should be stigmatised as such. If you get angry about it, then boycott the companies that produce and market the products. Complain when the ads are shown.
Skin-whitening products are a disease – it's time to eradicate them."
Sunny Hundal
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 1 April 2010
"....More worryingly, it condemns a new generation of Asians to grow up deeply insecure about the colour of their skin. Darker-skinned people of the same ethnicity grow up emotionally scarred and completely unrepresented by the media images they are subjected to daily.
Much of this isn't new, except that skin-whitening cream is increasingly being aimed at men. In most places in Thailand, I couldn't actually buy facial products for men without skin-whitening agents.
More recently, this has also spread to the UK. Skin-whitening products aimed at African-Caribbeans, Asians and Arabs fill the ethnic media and are even advertised on the London underground. Even most Asian matrimonial websites ask sign-ups to describe their skintone.
Let's be clear about this: skin-whitening perpetuates a form of racism. It should be stigmatised as such. If you get angry about it, then boycott the companies that produce and market the products. Complain when the ads are shown.
Skin-whitening products are a disease – it's time to eradicate them."
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