There's a new phenomenon, "Skin Whitening." But is it really new? The light skinned versus dark skinned issue has been going on for centuries across all cultures. It knows no boundaries, the Asians, the Europeans, the Latinos, and of course the African-Americans. But are we still so obsessed with the color our our skin and others' skin that we've taken to using unsafe products to lighten our skin? Recent news stories say that it is now becoming a national obsession. But what is the underlying reason for this?
Have you heard of the "paper bag" test? If you were lighter than a paper bag then you were light skinned and had the favored skin tone. And if not, oh well, go stand over there.
Recently on OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network Channel she discussed the plight of the Light Skinned Woman. They were picked on, never fit in, straddled the fence between white and black. Okay, from my experience the light skinned girls were highly favored, were doted upon,and got the most attention. So what's wrong with that? Work with what you got is my motto.
But when we begin to ostracize others because of their skin tone there is a definite cultural problem. We all, well most of us want to change something about the way we look, but be careful what you ask for and how you set about achieving it. Caucasians want tans, African-Americans want fairer skin and blow in the wind hair. I get it. But whatever you do on the outside isn't going to change the inside. Let's just try to celebrate each others' and our own differences. That's what makes us special.
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