Category Archives: Race and Ethnicity in the Modern World

Skin Lightening in South Africa

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by Yutaro Nishioka

The trend of skin lightening, especially among women, is getting increasingly common all over the world, including South Africa, where the major part of its population is black. According to a study from the University of Cape Town, as many as one in three African women use bleaching products to lighten their skin.

Skin lightening products often create serious medical complications; many patients suffer from diseases caused by a combination of use of lightening products and sunlight (africa.com).
The World Health Organization (WHO) has also mentioned the negative effects of some skin lightening products. Mercury, one of the common ingredients in lightening creams, is said to have harmful effects and could also lead to kidney damage, as well as other side effects such as “skin rashes, skin discoloration and scarring, as well as a reduction in the skin’s resistance to bacterial and fungal infections” (africa.com).

Why is skin lightening becoming so common in South Africa despite its negative health effects? Professor Lynn Thomas, co-author of the book Shades of Difference: Why Skin Color Matters, mentions the history of South Africa being colonized by Europeans. The Europeans and South Africans were not treated equally, and there was the notion that light skin was somehow better, not much unlike Hitler’s idea that Jews were inferior. More recently, apartheid, the government policy of racial segregation against black Africans in South Africa, was renounced officially only in 1992.

The effects of the history of discrimination can still be seen in the current South African society. For example, Nomoto “Mahoza” Mnisi, a famous South African musician, is known for her extensive use of skin lightening products. She says, “I just want to be light skinned… I was tired of being ugly.” She is assuming that dark skin is “ugly” and light skin is not.

People that have heard of this news have reacted differently, but the majority of the comments on the internet do not seem to approve of her changed appearance: “she was so much prettier before; her husband must be blind”, “God created her black and she looked so pretty. She looks pretty now but she looked better before”, “She is insecure and that’s bad.”

As there is a difference between Mahoza’s view and that of her fans, it is questionable to say that the history of the colonization and discrimination is the sole cause of the contemporary trend of South Africans’ skin lightening, but it is probably one of the factors that have contributed to the trend.

Reference

“Not Happy Being Black?” – Posted by Africa.com Editorial Staff. http://www.africa.com/blog/not-happy-being-black/

Thomas, Lynn M. 2009. “Skin Lighteners in South Africa: Transnational Entanglements and Technologies of the Self.” Pp. 188-210 in Shades of Difference: Why Skin Color Matters, edited by E. N. Glenn. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

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Color complexes in the Philippines

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by Lulu Maginde

In ‘Filipinos and the Color complex,’ Joanne Rondilla questions the reader, especially readers here in Asia, what the ‘ideal’ concept of beauty is, and how different people within Asia perceive beauty. As Rondilla focuses specifically on the Philippines and how skin whitening is utilized, or rather highly emphasized, it was interesting to find how skin-lightening products are marketed and sold as well as what these products are saying about beauty.

Rondilla claims that this concept of having a fairer complexion/lighter skin, stemmed from the Philippines’ deep history of colonization, after having been occupied by Spanish for over 300 years. This history most indefinitely influenced the way of life, culture and traditions, not to mention language and the concept of what is deemed beautiful.

After the departure of the Spaniards, then came the Americans, and many Filipinos will claim that until present, the Philippines is still a colony of the US, as most of the way of life in the Philippines has been greatly structured around a more Western way of life. Of course the country still has its rich culture and heritage, as well as its strict religious value system, however it is not hard to deny that US presence has greatly affected life in the Philippines.

This ties in perfectly to my next point of how Rondilla compares standards of skin color between Asian immigrants to the US to Asian Americans born and raised in the US. The main difference between these two groups is that while Asian Americans chose to tan, as it symbolizes wealth and a more luxurious life, Asian immigrants, for instance the Filipinos who immigrate to the US, are more likely to use skin lightening products in order to assimilate  into society. In the Philippines, having darker or more of a tanned complexion immediately reflected what social class one belonged to. If one had a fairer or lighter complexion, they belonged to an a higher social class, simply because they were not as exposed to the sun as working-class laborers.

This notion of a ‘relatable ideal’, or the claim that a certain type of beauty is the shared/common ideal amongst women in the Philippines is what is striking. Consciously or unconsciously, these women buy into an industry, in conjunction with certain media institutions, that greatly influences what may be deemed as beautiful. Thus, they buy into the idea that, due to capitalism, ‘everything can be bought and exchanged’.

Reference

Rondilla, Joanne L. (2009). “Filipinos and the color complex.” Pp. 63-80 in Glenn, E. Shades of Difference: Why skin color matters. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press

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The trend of Japanese whiteness

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by Yusuke Shiga

For women in modern society, whitening the skin by cosmetic products is so prevalent, and this trend is becoming more significant in terms of racial discrimination today. The influence of colonialism on not only developing, but developed countries is incalculable in various aspects. Still today, one’s appearance, especially skin color, plays a tremendous role in one’s access to essential stuff, from necessities for life such as housing, food, and clothing, to social security and social welfare. By lightening the skin color, people can more easily get these kinds of advantages and live more comfortably in a society. This social structure promotes the preference of whiter skin, however the skillful advertising and marketing strategies of cosmetic firms also affects this social inclination to white skin. Evelyn Nakano Glenn (2009) argues that the giant multinational corporations have grown by meeting the needs of women in each nation, thus the market for cosmetic products has expanded. When you focus on the Japanese case, the complicated contents can be seen.

Recently, Japanese women have sought white skin, as they think that white skin is beautiful or healthy and they persist in trying to to have whiter skin. There are some arguments about the reasons for this tendency, and some claim that Japanese ideal image of women is almost Caucasian because of the advertisements of media and companies. They insist that in most cases, whites are chosen as the models of cosmetic companies, and regarded as beautiful women, and therefore Japanese women try to mimic Westerners. On the other hand, others claim that whitening one’s skin color is part of Japanese traditional culture, because even in the Nara period, people already had customs to whiten their skin tone by using “Oshiroi” (White powder). However, in my opinion, these arguments neglect some important points toward this question “Why do Japanese women seek white skin?”.

Of course, we cannot define the main cause of Japanese preferences for white skin, since there are lots of causes and all of them are associated with each other. Through the discussion of my class, many of the interesting, persuasive ideas are came up and I consider this issue deeply, then I came to the conclusion.

In my opinion, we Japanese all share the misleading idea “Japanese must have nearly same white skin tone naturally”. Therefore, we sometimes discriminate against “Jiguro people (people who naturally have blacker skin compared to other Japanese)” regardless of their birthplace, and draw the line between “naturally white Japanese” and “naturally black Japanese”. Furthermore, because of this premise, “skin whiteness” symbolizes one’s youth or health. Having white skin implies that you make an effort to keep your youth by caring for your skin condition.

In Japan, a proverb says “stand out from the crowd and you just invite trouble for yourself”. Not to be “others”, to keep one’s youth, and to become healthy, Japanese women are paranoid to have white skin, I guess.

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Beauty Standards in the White Imagination

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by Shinoko Itakura

The phenomenon of changing skin color has been happening all over the world. Some attempt to get lighter skin and some attempt to get tan skin. The reasons behind those two attempts seem opposite yet, the purpose is the same, “high class”. The symbol of high class depends on where you are, and how the standard of the beauty has been created in your society, because the standard of beauty  includes class status.

But who created the standard of beauty and how? We tend to describe people who have straight jet-black hair, and large, double lidded, almond-shaped eyes as “Asian beauty”. Even though we are Asian, whenever we see people who have those facial features, we say, “You are beautiful like Asian beauty!” In fact one of my colleague just described another colleague as an “Asian beauty” the other day. It just feels weird when Asian people describe another Asian as an “Asian beauty”. This is because the idea of Asian beauty has been created in the white imagination. We do not say European beauty or Latin beauty, because the standard of beauty is already based on European (white) features. What is more, something which is called a “universal standard” or “universal beauty” is just not universal. It always based on physical features of white people.

The standard of beauty seems to be controlled by mass media and the marketing of cosmetic products. Cosmetics companies use many strategies to gain more and more profits. “Relatable” is one of the important key concepts; if consumers find any similarity to the advertising models, for example “Asian-ness”, they believe that they can achieve those models’  look, and the universal standard of beauty. Those advertisements do not directly say “you guys can be like this model, if you use this products!” yet they are implying this by using racially ambiguous models. In order to sell the products, they also give us images of dark skin as dangerous, unhealthy, bad, and wrong by using terms such as aging or skin cancer. But what really matters is “skin color”.

I feel wrath about how skin-lightening products are marketed. It is so depressing that somehow we have to feel pressure of skin color or looking, and have to try to look like someone else, just because we are not white. This situation must be stopped and there should be the world which do not judge you by your skin color.

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From Ebony to Ivory: Colorism in the Philippines

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by Jiyang Shin

The ever-expanding skin whitening market in the Philippines seems to have distinctive characteristics compared to the markets of other countries that also value lighter skin tones. In the discourse of colorism, many tend to conclude that the phenomenon of skin whitening obsession is largely due colonization by European conquistadors; however, that is not always the case in the Philippines.

I would like to raise an example of skin whitening advertisement, featuring Jinky Oda, an African American comedian in the Philippines. The advertisement is composed of before-and-after pictures of Oda. On the left hand side is Oda’s torso before she went on the skin whitening pill. She is in a white tank top, wears gold hoop earings, and has her natural curly hair all swept back with bandana like hair band; a casual style of a typical African American woman that we can easily relate to.

On the right hand side is Oda after finishing the pill, in her brand new bleached-up skin. However, that is not the only significant difference that one can tell from the picture. Other noticeable features are that her attire is considerably more dressy than the left side (you can notice it although the ad only shows down to her chest), but even more importantly, the texture of her hair has turned silky and straightened like the East Asian look that a vast number of Filipino women crave.

One can observe sinister motives behind this marketing. In the book Shades of Difference, Joanne L. Rondilla argues that there are generally three major messages that are conveyed in skin whitening advertisement in the Philippines:

1. Darkening can and must be stopped.

Why? Because having dark skin does not make you good enough.

2. Lightness comes from “within”.

This message misleads people into thinking that their natural color is lighter than they expected, thus their desire to turn white is achievable.

3. Lightening can happen instantly.

The advertisement that featured Oda is unethical because it links having darker skin with wrongness by dressing up her in casual attire. In addition, she seems to have more weight in her before picture, implying she was sloppier when she had a darker skin tone (fatness is often linked to laziness). Such indirect messages have the great potential of stirring up or further encourage racism and discriminations against certain groups of people.

As for why many women in the Philippines opt for a Chinese or Korean look, I argue that it is due to racial hierarchy that exists among Asian countries. For example, in South Korea, people of Southeast Asia origin encounter difficulties renting rooms and searching for jobs. Moreover, in Japan, Filipino people are often referred to as “Pina”, which is a derogatory term used against women who perform in sex-related work. Such unequal treatment might have gradually developed a sense of inferiority towards people of lighter skin color in East Asian countries. I argue that people attempt to escape from such discriminations by assimilating into those who discriminate against them.

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Selling whiter skin for beauty

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by Kohsei Ishimoto

In Evelyn Nakano Glenn’s Shades of Difference: Why Skin Color Matters (2009), Joanne L. Rondilla looks at the different techniques are used in the cosmetics industry. When looking at the Philippines, advertisements focus on ‘whitening’ the skin, because the people in the country tend to have darker skin. On the other hand, when looking at European countries, advertisements look at ‘brightening’ the skin, for there is the idea that people in these countries naturally have light skin.

When looking at these advertisements, it can be seen that to be beautiful, you must have white skin. Rondilla explains that there are many people in the Philippines who buy skin-whitening products to look beautiful, but is being ‘white’ really being beautiful? The main answer to why ‘white’ is thought to be ‘beautiful’ is colonization. To the countries that had been colonized, the European countries had been superior, fixing the image that ‘whites’ are ‘better’.

When reading Rondilla’s chapter, however, it can be seen that there are various ‘types’ of white skin. One is the European beauty that was mentioned earlier, and the other the ‘Asian beauty’. This refers to East Asian countries, such as China and Japan. Filipinos are actually looking at ‘Asian beauty’, possibly because these countries are closer to them. In Japan’s case, the country looks at being ‘white’, trying to achieve the European look. This statement can be said to be wrong however, for recently Japanese people want to be seen as individuals.

When looking at various advertisements, it can be seen that models of different skin tones are used. For advertisements that use ‘white’ women, companies state that they are the ‘result’ of the product. On the other hand, companies that use models of a darker tone state that it does not look ‘right’, telling the consumers to change by buying the product. It is a fact that many purchase skin-whitening products to gain their ‘beauty’, but exactly how close are they to their ideal image? Will consumers ever believe that they are beautiful enough? The answer to this is probably no. The cosmetics industry has control over the consumers, by selling only a small portion of a product, or changing advertising techniques to trick us into believing that our images are not yet satisfactory. When thinking about this, it is interesting to wonder why people use cosmetics in the first place. Can not having any make-up on be considered beautiful? The answer to this can be explained through society; how people see you, and how you want to be seen.

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Skin whiteners and beauty: the impact of global markets

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Royal Siam natural skin whitening products

Royal Siam natural skin whitening products (Photo credit: RoyalSiamBeauty)

by Jiyang Shin

Skin bleaching has become such a steady market across the globe that without even trying, one may end up purchasing a skin product that contains substances that make your skin tone lighter, brighter, thus “healthier”, as some cosmetics companies advertise. What this phenomenon signifies is that the majority of society values whiter skin over their natural skin tone. 

A colleague of mine, who is Japanese and has a relatively darker skin tone, once went to a cosmetics corner of a department store and asked the store clerk which shades of eyeshadow would match her color. However, instead of getting her an eyeshadow that she expected, the store clerk recommended her a product that will make her skin glow and bright. I was stunned when she shared her story because the beauty industry (and other political factors) not only succeeded in creating the image of beauty, but it has come to a point where it is socially acceptable for a store clerk to force her skin bleaching worship on individuals who are perfectly confident with their natural skin tone. Skin bleaching has established a firm position in our society that it is almost as if we are given no other option but to turn white.

It is a common theory that the phenomenon of global skin-whitening obsession largely is due to colonial occupation by European nations, and this could also suggest the possibility that our perception of beauty is significantly determined by the distribution of power and wealth among the various racial groups (the whiter, the superior). In recent years, tanning has become a new trend among the young population in the US, and even politicians such as Mitt Romney. Karen Sternheimer (2010) argues that the emergence of the middle class and the automation of labor after World War I re-identified being outside as more with leisure than with work. Being able to afford a vacation in tropical islands is the new richness, so to say.

However, I believe that the current wave of tanning trend, although still dominant, is more complex than the shift in social perception of being outside. Ethnically ambiguous models are frequently featured in advertisement of fashion retailers such as H&M in recent years. It is reasonable to argue that being multiracial is becoming the new definition of beauty, signifying that having white skin will no longer be a necessary criterion to be perceived as pretty.

Reference

Sternheimer, Karen. 2010. “Lightness and whiteness.” Everyday Sociology. http://nortonbooks.typepad.com/everydaysociology/2010/05/lightness-and-whiteness.html

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White is right: Body decoration, skin color, and beauty in Japan

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Nivea Skin Whitening

Nivea Skin Whitening (Photo credit: kalleboo)

by Saki Miyata

Body decoration is a term that describes how people change how they look from how they looked originally. This decoration of the body seems to be conducted by people in order for them to symbolize or fit into a certain group. Skin lightening is also one kind of body decoration which can be practiced worldwide. In Japan, it is not difficult to find women who use skin whitening products. The practice of skin whitening has become a very “natural” thing for women in Japan.

It has become “natural” for woman to seek whiteness since the ideal beauty of Japanese is to have a white skin. The unconscious notion of “Japanese people are originally white” creates an image of white skin as pure, young, and healthy. Which drives women to practice skin lightening as an anti-aging process.

As Mikiko Ashikari (2005) notes, in Japan, “white skin” is also seen as dominant, since having tanned skin is something to be ashamed of, unless the tanned skin is a result of some leisure activities. This could be the result of thinking “Japanese skin is originally white and expected to be white”. An example of white being dominant is when talking about skin in Japan. Saying “Your skin is white (light)” is taken as a compliment. However, saying “your skin is black” is never connected with a positive image. It is also a taboo to point out to someone that they have black skin.

Japanese usually separate their whiteness from Caucasians’, and find uniqueness in Japanese whiteness. It is true that Japan has a tradition of seeing white as a symbol of purity and beauty. However this is not the only reason for this massive boom of skin whitening in Japan. By globalizing, Japan interacted with societies that were white dominant and white superior. This dominance of Caucasians has also affected the notion of universal beauty, which sees white as beautiful. However, even though this idea was imported to Japan, it is not recognized by people that they are trying to look white, since the idea of white=beautiful was already there. The globalization of cosmetic markets has also encouraged more women to practice skin lightening.

Personally I found it interesting to find out that Japanese unconsciously think we have white skin. However when I think about it, the “fresh colour” pencil crayon is light beige, which is lighter than the average Japanese skin. Although the pencil crayon does not represent Japanese skin tone, children colour their skin with this colour. When I was in Canada, I was drawing each other’s face with my Caucasian friend. I remember feeling really offended when she used light beige colour for her and dark yellowish brown colour on mine. Although I was only 8 years old when this happened, this shows how the sence of “Japanese skin” is deeply rooted in our minds.

Reference

Ashikari, Mikiko. 2005. “Cultivating Japanese Whiteness: The ‘Whitening’ Cosmetics Boom and the Japanese Identity.” Journal of Material Culture 10(1):73-91.

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Race and Visual Appearance

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by Kohsei Ishimoto

The idea of how one thinks of another (first impression) can mainly come from how one looks. We all have our own beliefs of various cultures, which can also alter who we choose to be with. In “Seeing Faces, Making Races: Challenging Visual Tropes of Racial Difference,” Terry Kawashima (2002) explains the relationship between ‘beauty’ and ‘race’, focusing on “light skin”.

Many cosmetics companies are now promoting “whiteness”, selling products that can lighten one’s skin. Many people in Asian countries now focus on these products, possibly feeling that beauty is to “look white”. When looking at make-up as well, fashion magazines (mainly in Japan) promote the image of looking “white”, or “ha-fu”, by showing how to do make-up in a certain way.

Hair dye can also be put into this idea. When walking the streets of Japan, there are many Japanese people that have dyed hair, usually brown or blond. Although having “too light hair” does not have a positive image, the number of people with dyed hair has obviously increased greatly.

But does having light skin, doing make-up in a certain way, and having colored hair mean that one is “white”? Personally, I would say no to this. It cannot be said that being “white” is being beautiful; there are many different races in the world, and everyone should be considered beautiful.

I also dyed my hair in high school, starting with a dark brown color, but later on to a bright close-to-white color. In Japan, this can be considered ‘unusual’, leading to situations in which people would avoid you. It is also close to impossible to get a part-time job with a light hair color. It is usually prohibited to dye hair in Japanese public schools, but since I had attended a private school, the society I had been in allowed me to dye my hair. However, I did not dye my hair because I wanted to look “white”; I dyed my hair because I wanted to look like an individual.

When looking at western countries, it can be said that not all people try to stay light skinned. Having “too light” skin can be a sign of sickness, and most people must have the desire to get a tan during the summer. When considering hair color, my Non-Asian friends dye their hair to exotic colors, such as red or blue. This can be because they already have a natural tone of color, compared to the “dull” color of black in Asians.

In conclusion, I believe that the act of doing make-up a certain way or dyeing hair is done through the individual’s decision; our personal experiences in society can alter our own belief’s of “beauty”.

Costumes, props, and appropriation

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by Deanne Walters

For a discussion on appropriation is it apt start off with a definition on what cultural appropriation is. Cultural appropriation is taking part of another group’s culture and removing it from the original context; often simplifying it and the original culture. This post is going to focus on cultural appropriation going on in mass media in two areas, fashion and music videos.

This section will look at the example of Native American appropriation in fashion and costumes in America. A new trend that has been going on is Native American inspired clothes. As seen with the Urban Outfitters line of ‘Navajo’ styled clothes, a major problem with this kind of appropriation is that it simplifies culture. Navajo is just one of hundreds of Native American tribes. It also commodifies this culture as it simplifies it, so it takes a complex group of cultures and turns them into products for hipsters. This removes any cultural context that might have been attached to these items or patterns in effect turning these products in to stereotypes of Native American cultures.

There are also much more blatant stereotypes of Native American people, such as costumes. These reduce vast cultures down to one idea often based on stereotypical images produced in media. Costumes also ignore any and all cultural context behind them. A common accessory in both costumes and fashion are headdresses. While the original meaning behinds these were symbols of strength worn only by warriors and chiefs now they are just seen as a fashion accessory or a costume. In both fashion and costumes Native American cultures are simplified and commodified for the economic benefit and enjoyment of non-Native Americans. This is contributing to the erosion of Native American cultures.

The next example of cultural appropriations is Japanese culture in music videos and performances. The most recent example is Avril Lavigne’s ‘Hello Kitty’ music video, but this is nothing new this has been seen in Gwen Stefani’s ‘Harajuku Girls’ and Katy Perry’s American Music Awards performance of ‘Unconditionally’. All of these examples simplified and stereotyped Japanese culture into a prop, something to add ‘exotic’ spice to a music video or performance. In the two music videos the only people who were Japanese or of Japanese decent were background dancers maybe getting a line or two in the song. The only thing that matters for people producing this content is the profit they will make from it. This cultural appropriation and is contributing to the stereotyping of Japanese culture.

The clear link between these two cases of cultural appropriation is simplification and commodification. Complex cultures are being turned into caricatures and used for profit. Overall, cultural appropriation in mass media often ends up stereotyping and only profiting individuals with no deep connection to the culture they are appropriating. As seen with these two example cultural appropriation is wrong and should be stopped.

References

Fager, C. (n.d.). Cultural appropriation. A Friendly Letter. Retrieved April 30, 2014, from http://afriendlyletter.com/appropriation.html

Indians.org. (nd.). Indian headdress. Retrieved April 30, 2014, from http://www.indians.org/articles/indian-headdress.html

Ray, P. (2013, November 1). Cultural appropriation: Halloween’s post-modern problem. The society pages. Retrieved April 30, 2014, from http://thesocietypages.org/cyborgology/2013/11/01/cultural-appropriation-halloweens-post-modern-problem/

Sharp, G. (2011, June 7). Discussion of cultural appropriation. The society pages. Retrieved April 30, 2014, from http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2011/07/07/discussion-of-cultural-appropriation/

Sharp, G. (2012, May 10). Social media and the fight over urban outfitters’ appropriation of native american cultures. The society pages. Retrieved April 30, 2014, from http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2012/05/10/social-media-and-the-fight-over-urban-outfitters-appropriation-of-native-american-cultures/

Zimmerman, A. (2014, April 25). Avril Lavigne’s dumb ‘hello kitty’ video is rife with cultural appropriation. The Daily Beast. Retrieved April 30, 2014, from http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/04/25/avril-lavigne-s-dumb-hello-kitty-video-is-rife-with-cultural-appropriation.html