Nivea skin-lightening ad in Ghana

[Morphine Prince 109,684]

 

[DeleteMyAccount 11,881]

This is such a problem in African/Eastern cultures these days... 

[gag 22,449]

I grew up in a Southeast Asian country and honestly I thought these ads were the norm. I don't remember the last time I saw a mainstream skincare ad that didn't advocate for "brighter/whiter skin" in some capacity.

Colorism and anti-blackness is SUCH a problem in African/Asian countries.

[RadioIsOurs 13,876]

Tbh I would really want a product like that. I got horrible tan lines without even stepping out the door. 

[MonsterPaws 2,745]

21 minutes ago, gag said:

I grew up in a Southeast Asian country and honestly I thought these ads were the norm. I don't remember the last time I saw a mainstream skincare ad that didn't advocate for "brighter/whiter skin" in some capacity.

Colorism and anti-blackness is SUCH a problem in African/Asian countries.

I didn't grow up in a Southeast Asian country but I know exactly what you're talking about lmao. We have/had it in the Middle East too smh.

Though we shouldn't assume this is just straight up racism. We have to keep in mind cultural differences in beauty standards. I know for a fact tanning in Southeast Asian countries (namely the Philippines) isn't looked at positively as it is in the West for example, where people literally go out in the sun to get tanned.

I don't know. I just don't like applying Western ideals to everything w/o context or justification. i think that'd be culturally insensitive imo.

[T3ARS 4,132]

Such blatant colorism. Disgusting 

[sillynate 6,170]

I could use this for my arms  I have a farmer tan 

[codymonster 8,898]

This isn’t racist tho, it’s what the customer wants. I have friends who lighten their skin. I don’t think people should feel like they have to, but Nivea isn’t racist for offering a product for those who want to be lightened. They’re not saying people need it or should get lightened  Why is everyone always so extra about everything 

It’s like saying a tanning salon is racist for making white people darker 

[gag 22,449]

3 minutes ago, MonsterPaws said:

I didn't grow up in a Southeast Asian country but I know exactly what you're talking about lmao. We have/had it in the Middle East too smh.

Though we shouldn't assume this is just straight up racism. We have to keep in mind cultural differences in beauty standards. I know for a fact tanning in Southeast Asian countries (namely the Philippines) isn't looked at positively as it is in the West for example, where people literally go out in the sun to get tanned.

I don't know. I just don't like applying Western ideals to everything w/o context or justification. i think that'd be culturally insensitive imo.

Yes I agree, which is why I said 'colorism' instead of 'racism'.

Racism, in the context of Asian countries, is explained by how homogenous the countries here are. But the anti-blackness and colorism (mostly) comes farmers being tanned after working outdoors, thus darker skin associated with lower class. So yeah, not necessarily racist but it's very colorist and that's still a problem.

Just now, codymonster said:

This isn’t racist tho, it’s what the customer wants. I have friends who lighten their skin. I don’t think people should feel like they have to, but Nivea isn’t racist for offering a product for those who want to be lightened. They’re not saying people need it  Why is everyone always so extra about everything 

But why do they want lighter skin? 

Maybe years of ingrained eurocentric beauty ideals? 

People are "extra" about this because these kind of ads perpetuate the idea that darker skin is undesirable, darker-skinned children grow up thinking they're less - and that's a problem. These companies are playing towards those insecurities.

[T3ARS 4,132]

5 minutes ago, codymonster said:

This isn’t racist tho, it’s what the customer wants. I have friends who lighten their skin. I don’t think people should feel like they have to, but Nivea isn’t racist for offering a product for those who want to be lightened. They’re not saying people need it  Why is everyone always so extra about everything 

http://time.com/4512430/colorism-in-america/

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-20444798

2 minutes ago, gag said:

People are "extra" about this because these kind of ads perpetuate the idea that darker skin is undesirable, darker-skinned children grow up thinking they're less - and that's a problem. These companies are playing towards those insecurities.

1

 

[Yuuri 21,636]

Am I the only one that doesn't see a problem with it? The product claims to "lighten" your skin, which could be by making it brighter or bleaching it. It's pretty weird how no one bats an eye when people want to tan their skin, but throw everything at someone when they want to lighten their skin.

[JustaMonster 4,909]

15 minutes ago, gag said:

Yes I agree, which is why I said 'colorism' instead of 'racism'.

Racism, in the context of Asian countries, is explained by how homogenous the countries here are. But the anti-blackness and colorism (mostly) comes farmers being tanned after working outdoors, thus darker skin associated with lower class. So yeah, not necessarily racist but it's very colorist and that's still a problem.

But why do they want lighter skin? 

Maybe years of ingrained eurocentric beauty ideals? 

People are "extra" about this because these kind of ads perpetuate the idea that darker skin is undesirable, darker-skinned children grow up thinking they're less - and that's a problem. These companies are playing towards those insecurities.

Aren't tans the same except for white people though? JW

[bloody g 31,746]

Isn't black skin way better? 

It sucks that in 2017 this still happens...

[T3ARS 4,132]

2 minutes ago, JustaMonster said:

Aren't tans the same except for white people though?

 

3 minutes ago, Yuuri said:

Am I the only one that doesn't see a problem with it? The product claims to "lighten" your skin, which could be by making it brighter or bleaching it. It's pretty weird how no one bats an eye when people want to tan their skin, but throw everything at someone when they want to lighten their skin.

http://yabablay.com/your-blues-aint-like-mine-bleaching-vs-tanning/

"To be clear, a White person who tans is not seeking a darker complexion in order to reap any of the presumed benefits that come with actually being Black."

...

"A Black person who lightens his/her skin, on the other hand, is attempting to gain access to the social status reserved for Whites. In the context of White supremacy – the ideology that legitimizes the power and privilege of Whites over any and all other racial/cultural groups -Whiteness is invaluable. It has been promoted as the essence of being human, civilized, beautiful and superior—the norm against which all other bodies are compared—while Blackness has been associated with being bestial, barbaric, ugly and inferior. These binary characteristics have been inscribed onto actual bodies to create the systems of racism and colorism we know today; and it is both racism and colorism that fuel the practice of skin bleaching."

[Damon 10,930]

And if white people wants to get darker skin with products is not a big deal  I don't see why this ad is wrong, if people wants to get lightening skin it's their choice. And it's not only for darker skin though, my mom and sister uses something like it when they accidentaly tan their arms