4.4 Skin Bleaching: The Complexion of Identity, Beauty, and Fashion

The article starts off by discussing the incident that occurred when basketball star Charles Barkley was making degrading comments about baseball star Sammy Sosa for bleaching his skin. On the TNT cable show, Barkley mocked Sosa by putting white makeup on one side of his face and referring to Sosa said “I know you want to get in the Hall of Fame, but going white ain’t the way to go … Stop it!”

Skin bleaching also called skin lightening is an old practice that is now used all around the world. It is an expensive and formal skin bleaching procedure that this offered by dermatologist, however, the article explains the non-medical bleaching of the skin by discussing it within different aspects of that relate to the body. The article talks about colorism which is defined as light-skinned people of color having better opportunities and higher statuses over their darker-skinned people. In the European colonization of Africa, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East they have darker skin, and there it is said that the Caucasian race is superior to other races and that is where colorism stems from. Racism ties in with colorism, but it is different because racism is based on race whereas colorism is based more on complexion. Back to skin bleaching, the non-medical definition is the lightening of skin through the use of homemade, cosmetic and dermatological products. Some people bleach only their faces, while others bleach both their faces and bodies.

The obsession with skin color is not new. The ancient Egyptians used white lead on their skins as well as those in Ancient Greece. In more recent history, the Japanese Geishas also did, by covering their face in nightingale feces. Nowadays, it is called a Geisha Facial and it is said to whiten and balance the skin tone and it can also treat skin with hyper pigmentation, acne, and sun damage. Skin bleaching when used unsafely can cause neurological problems, memory loss, glaucoma, and chronic skin problems. Despite the major health problems it can cause, people still choose to do it, like plastic surgery. There are many reasons people choose to bleach their skin, and we will now get into how it ties into identity, beauty and fashion.

Identity: colorism influences the sense of self for some non-whites. There are four types of modes; buffering, bonding, bridging, and code switching. Buffering is the discrimination with their identity to protect the self. The bonding occurs with people one knows and for whom one has an affinity. The identity of people’s bride with strangers by using their interpersonal skills in new social interactions to find common ground. During the stage of code switching, a person downplays on identity and shines the light on another identity because the situation requires it. 

Beauty: during this part, beauty is described as acombination of qualities, such as shape, color, or form that pleases the aesthetic sense, especially the sight. Women do not just bleach their skins to become whiter, but also to acquire some sort of beauty. 

Fashion: this is where all the ideas of an ideal image come from. Ads grab the visual attention of young women because their eyes are fixated on the model. With the use of ads, consumers engage with the ads to transport to identity, to immerse, to feel the ads, and to act the ads. 

Skin bleaching is not just in the American culture. It is something being seen all around the word. For an example, in Japan, the Geisha’s paint their face white to be more attractive. The reality is that its caused by an economic status. People with darker skin color is consider someone who works or worked in the fields. Which lowers their economic status.