The Tsunami of Colourism in West Africa

Image: Bettina Tianah

Introduction

Skin bleaching has become a global phenomenon. But the reason why I am focusing in West Africa is because of the health and financial implications it has in West Africa, as equally important to also discuss remedies for the practice. West Africa is a place where people live on less than a dollar a day, some families can barely afford a meal. A report published by WHO in 2011 shows that skin bleaching products are reportedly the fourth most sought-after household item by African women, alongside essentials like soap, milk, etc. (Stears Business, 2018). Furthermore, a study which was conducted in Senegal, a neighboring country to my country The Gambia, implies that the use of lighting creams is a common practice. The women who participated in the study expressed that they wanted to obtain the so-called ”teint clair” meaning to achieve lighter skin appearance, which is considered elegant. The article also mentioned previous studies that were done in other parts of African countries by various researchers, the data gathered shows the similarities of the practices in other countries such as Kenya, Gambia, Mali where 25% of the women use bleaching creams, Togo 25% and Nigeria 75% which are very alarming rates. (Giudice & Yves, 2002)

Many of the bleaching and lightening products used in West Africa, ranging from creams, soaps, pills and injections, all contain harmful ingredients that are sometimes not even listed on the packaging, such as mercury, high-dose steroids and hydroquinone. Research has shown that these ingredients can cause kidney failure and other illnesses. Further research has identified mechanisms by which hydro-quinone exposure from skin bleaching products could cause psychosocial health, brain damage in fetuses and cancer. (Benn, et al., 2019). Knowing how dangerous these products are why do we want to change ourselves at the expense of our health? I assume that, we were brainwashed to make us feel that we are never good enough by being dark skin. Nevertheless, we have options and solutions to bring an end to the practice and to put an end to the trading of bleaching creams.

Firstly, involving designers, lawmakers, and social media campaigners should be the first step,  anyone who can influence, can make an impact. We should use the powers of design to educate the public about the dangers of the practice, and the medical effects it has on our health, awareness campaigns on the issue needs to be done starting from the bottom up, which is from very young girls to adult women since the older generation had already been brainwash so much that skin bleaching had been integrated into our culture where it has found a home. We should start to work on re-education that stresses changing the mindset and mentality of the people, especially the children to accept their skin and to show them that having dark skin is not a bad thing, our differences are what make us unique. Children’s books and cartoons with characters which looks like the typical West African child should be designed. Programs that enlighten children about the dangers of skin bleaching should be introduced in the school system and also to teach the children about loving and taking pride in themselves. Lastly, lawmakers should introduce higher penalties and fines for the importation and sales of bleaching creams. Moreover, strict controls should be done when goods are getting in the countries, anyone who is found importing bleaching creams should be given longer jail sentences.

Is it greed or has design actually failed us?

To uncover the background of the complexity of the issue, I conducted an extensive research which confirms that large multinational corporations are the major players in the industry, they spend tremendous sums on research and development, and much more on marketing and advertising strategically tailored for African consumers. Furthermore, they hire design experts that are good at creating appealing images and messages which make light skin fashionable, this indirectly portrays blackness with primitiveness and lack of civilization, just for a motive driven by economic greed. ( Glenn 2008, as cited in Jean Michel Massing 1995, 180) argues that advertisements which are design to brainwashed people of colored had been seen dating back to 1930, when a French poster for “Dirtoff” showed a drawing of an African man washing his hands with soap, which then became white, and the declaration was ” Le Savon Dirtoff me blanchit” meaning the Dirtoff soap whitens me. Such dramatic messages showing the black person losing his or her color by using cleaning products has always existed, so the reasons why West Africans are not accepting their skin color is deeper than our subconscious mind. This is because design is a very powerful tool that plays a huge role in influencing the mentality and lifestyle of society, be it in the form of a campaign, images or products. So, the notion of West Africans accepting black pride will not favor the producers of bleaching products, they will do anything to see the business flourish.

My traumatic experience

When I was younger, I had dolls that were white, slender with silky blond hair, which was the opposite of how I looked. As an African child I had different features which are dark skin and afro-kinky hair. And I didn’t know why I couldn’t look like those dolls. I remember asking my mum that if I wash myself with bleach will my skin peel and look like my doll? All I wanted was to look like those dolls. Thinking back, I believe that our experiences as children can influence how we view and perceive the world as we grow older. Judging from my experience as a teenager, I had everything that I wanted. The necessities which were problems for the average teenage girl like food and clothes were not the issue for me. But there was one thing which was missing inside of me, I didn’t know what it was. But one thing I knew was that I hated being black with every fiber in my body. So, I started bleaching my skin, and did so for many years. I wanted to look European. I used to think that being white was extremely beautiful, but today I would rather be two shades darker than a shade lighter.

Psychosocial Motivation

Why are skin bleaching creams continuously raping generations of young women who are entangled in a mentality where there is a sense of importance played on being lighter, how sad could it get when the dark skin woman is no longer deemed beautiful even in the place she calls home when we are part of the continent where more than 76.4% of the population is black. Is the reason why people don’t accept themselves beyond aesthetics?

There is also the psychology of white people tanning their skin to get darker and risking skin cancer along the way whiles black people are bleaching their skin to look whiter and risking their health. The other day, I spoke to a European friend who said that on many occasions she was being told that she was too pale and she should get a tan or apply fake tanning creams, but she didn’t want to do it, hence that’s how she was born and she is happy with her skin, but the constant reminder of her whiteness from people make her feel embarrassed. Should she conform to society’s standard of beauty? Which is what we see on the media, defined as tall, slender and tanned.  Why should we run away from who we are?  We have become so dilutional to the extent that colorism is still a topic in this day and age. Our skin color shouldn’t define what the standard of beauty is. We are all different and special in our way. Moreover, if we want to fight this epidemic, we need to be comfortable with our skin and define beauty by ourselves.

Imagine being ashamed of your skin color

I  met a friend whom I  had a lengthy conversation with, we haven’t seen each other for years, but to my dismay, I didn’t even recognize her when we met, because she changed her skin beyond recognition, she was so light that the veins beneath her skin were visible. I asked her what was the reason of this drastic transformation, and her reply was not surprising, because growing up I have heard the same reasons thousands of times, which was having a lighter skin makes her have access to the privileges in life, like easy access to economic and social status. Moreover, most men have the perception that the lighter a woman is the more beautiful she is, so women who are in the hope of getting married turn to bleaching creams because they believe it gives them a higher chance of getting married.

To conclude, It’s time that we take matters into our hands and it should be done now! Making a change is never easy, but we should work hard to stop the powerful economic forces that are creating the yearning for lightness at the expense of our health. The continent has been exploited for decades, so skin bleaching issues should be treated as a national emergency for every country. We should work on changing the mentality of the people with regards to skin bleaching, it will be difficult, but the conversation about beauty and colorism needs to be open.

 

Refrerences

Giudice, P. D., & Yves, P. (2002). The widespread use of skin lightening creams in Senegal: a persistent public health problem in West Africa. International Journal of Dermatology, 41(2), 69–72.

Glenn, E. N. (2008). Yearning for Lightness. Gender & Society, 22(3), 281–302.

Rao, P. (2019, April). Paying a high price for skin bleaching | https://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/april-2019-july-2019/paying-high-price-skin-bleaching