Nivea skin-lightening ad in Ghana

[gag 22,449]

9 minutes ago, JustaMonster said:

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

In a way, yes. The idea that tanned = pretty comes from the idea that you're rich enough to travel to exotic locations to tan, both tanning and bleaching skin are rooted in classism, but only one of them is rooted in colorism.

When African/Asian people bleach their skin, it is to "fit" into a Eurocentric ideal of beauty, which is pushed onto them by Western countries through years of colonization, they feel like they HAVE to follow these ideals for better job prospects, better love life and higher self-esteem in their respective country.

The whole problem is too nuanced and differentiates too much between cultures and countries that I don't know enough to explain in a forum post but dark-skinned is generally seen as a negative in every single developed country, while white skin is not.

The article @T3ARS posted explains this a lot better.  

[codymonster 8,908]

21 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.

I completely agree that this is a conversation to have! But Nivea shouldn’t have to defend themselves over racism allegations. They aren’t being racist. What’s frustrating me is how people jump the gun and throw the racist word around to try and get people riled up, rather than starting a normal discussion about issues.

[Goosey 3,017]

28 minutes ago, gag said:

But why do they want lighter skin? 

Maybe years of ingrained eurocentric beauty ideals? 

Then why do Euro-folks want tanned skin?

[gag 22,449]

2 minutes ago, Goosey said:

Then why do Euro-folks want tanned skin?

Classism and modern surge of black culture. 

edit: modern surge of black culture in the mainstream*

[T3ARS 4,132]

4 minutes ago, codymonster said:

I completely agree that this is a conversation to have! But Nivea shouldn’t have to defend themselves over racism allegations. They aren’t being racist. What’s frustrating me is how people jump the gun and throw the racist word around to try and get people riled up, rather than starting a normal discussion about issues.

The main problem is that they are contributing to the belief that the closer you are to "white" (not Caucasian, but light-skinned) the better you are. A simple commercial showcasing how using their product makes your skin "soft and glowing" would have been way better than what they did. Reinforcing the idea that you need to change your skin color to be desirable is extremely destructive. 

 

[River 128,963]

Hmm I kinda feel offended but not by this product but by people who assume that dark skin people don't want to have a lighter skin

You have the right to go to a tanning salon so I have the right to buy this product and light my skin.

I don't see it as racism at all.

+ they had to bring a dark skin model because well.. they need to light her skin so a white model wouldn't work.

No racism.

Also.. most important.

It's not the US so that means: different country - different culture.

 

[PerfectIllusion 6,616]

That product will not turn a black person into white so i dont see a problem... Some people just want their skin to be lighter so it is more even. Im white and i would to make my skin whiter whats wrong with that?

[RAMROD 118,107]

I can see every whitening products will caused anger on social media from now on tbh , from nivea to higher end products.

I don’t think people should do this, if you don’t like it don’t use it. There are people who don’t share your views out there and may enjoy these products, it is only a choice, so some people shpuldn’t try to dictate how and what others should do.

 

[MonsterPaws 2,745]

2 hours 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.

Exactly! This is what my (filipino) grandparents always told me haha.

[JGD 12,101]

I can see why it can be a problem, but that’s just the culture and idealized beauty standards in some countries.  Although being an American-born Filipino, I am very well aware of the Philippines’ fascination of European/White beauty and features and all the products and procedures some even go through to achieve them.  Both my parents’ side have Spanish ancestry and their features (light skin, pointed/sharp noses or what they call “matangos”) have occasionally passed down to some of us.  Though they may have skipped a few generations and I was “fortunate” enough (according to my aunts who envy me ) to inherit those features.  When I was young and visited my relatives, they would always comment on how light my skin was and how I look like a “mestizo.”  I have gotten tanner though because I love the sun .  You can even see my natural skin tone when you look at my tan lines/forearm.

Anyways, I myself am guilty of using skin whitening products, but with a reason.  Back in high school when I started breaking out with acne, they would scar and leave dark marks.  My family recommended I use some papaya soap that supposedly lightens and whitens your skin, which really did work and those spots faded away.  However, my face would appear much lighter than my arms and legs.  So, my mom told me to use the soap on my whole body to make it even.  For a while I had a lighter skin tone and appear as if I have never been under the sun   I eventually stopped using it though because it was so strong and felt like it was stinging my skin or whatever.  Fast forward 7 years later and I am a bit tanner in comparison.  It’s weird though - sometimes I’ll look really light, sometimes I’ll look tan.  I guess it depends on the lighting.

I am contemplating on using papaya soap again because I have some stubborn dark spots that won’t go away.  The struggle is real  

[TimisaMonster 31,073]

African/Asian cultures are addicted to these lightening bleaching products

[Qualle1 1,385]

I don't see a problem with the NIVEA product or with the advertisement.

I myself go regularly to the solarium to get tanned - as a white guy.

Why should people with naturally darker skin be forbidden to do the opposite?

[Ryusei 61,502]

at this whole thread

[Fascination 1,130]

It’s so sad that Western beauty standards are so heavy, that people feel forced to lighten their skin. My old friend who has roots in India told me that you have two parts in India with one part people with more lighter skin, and the part where people with darker skin come from. She told me that being light skinned there is like a gift from God, because people are so heavily into the how whiter, how better idea. It’s sad. I wish people were happy with their own skin colour, because honestly I don’t really see the point why you would glorify people with one skin colour and then put down other skin colours. To be on topic - The whole skin bleaching industry is shitty. To me, the skin bleaching industry is like how the tobacco industry was years ago. They had ads everywhere for their brands and products, even though it’s extremely unhealthy and tried to make smoking look cool. The same happens in the skin bleaching industry. They know skin bleaching is bad for your skin. They try to make it look cool with nice ads. They just want to make money until governments do something about it.

[Fascination 1,130]

39 minutes ago, Gagi said:

No white skin is way better.

Are you serious?