Creams, Colonization, and Colorism
“Skin bleaching entails the practice of using chemical substances in an attempt to lighten one’s skin or providing an even skin complexion by reducing the melanin concentration in the skin.” [1]. The method of skin bleaching I will be focusing on for my research is the use of lightening creams. Specifically, I will be examining both the promotion and significant presence of lightening creams in various societies in order to interpret the messages women receive about their bodies.
It is through the lens of colorism that I will interpret these messages. The concept of colorism dates back to the period of colonization, where European countries colonized various places across the globe. When Europeans, with lighter complexions, conquered those with darker complexions, they were seen as superior. Therefore, I will also be examining how the prior colonization of these countries is the root of this message, and how that’s what contributes to the strong presence of colorism within these societies to this day.
[1] Tapuwa R. Mubaya and Munyaradzi Mawere, Mental Colonialism, Skin Bleaching, and the African Denial of the Self: Interrogating Skin Bleaching and Make-up among African Women, (GMOs, Consumerism and the Global Politics of Biotechnology: Rethinking Food, Bodies and Identities in Africa's 21st Century, 2017), 237.