SkinLightening 

BY: SOPHIA KIMMEL

One evening, I came across a television show that was about a matchmaker and how she helped families find the "perfect" match for their children. Within one of the first few episodes, a family is interviewed about the ideal attributes of a daughter-in-law. From height to skin tone, these families made sure the matchmaker understood their requirements and that everything was up to their standards.

At first, I was shocked! To hear that a woman would be picked and chosen as someone's wife based on the tone of her skin left a bitter taste in my mouth. According to the TV producers, these are the traits that are important to have in a future spouse. Even though I quickly realized that perhaps it was just a very long standing tradition (or maybe just creative editing to make the TV show more controversial and interesting), the focus on the physical attributes of a future bride led me to think about a bigger issue in today's world -- skin lightening, and colorism in the cosmetics industry.

Skin lightening is when people use chemicals to lighten their skin. Colorism, or the preference for lighter skin color, is a trend that can have damaging effects on young women throughout the world. In fact, a 2017 study of 1,992 Indians found that more than half said they were influenced by advertisements to appear lighter-skinned. [1] Many skin care and cosmetic products are actually for the use of skin lightening in India. These products can be extremely harmful because they may include ingredients, including mercury, hydroquinone, and corticosteroids.

Fortunately, some companies have already taken steps to stop influencing people to lighten their skin. For example, on June 25, 2020, Unilever, a large multinational corporation, said that it would remove the words 'fair/fairness,' 'white/whitening,' and 'light/lightening' from its products and packaging. It also said it would change the brand name of its Fair & Lovely brand skin creams. [2]

Promoting colorism in the cosmetics industry needs to stop. This issue has been going on for too long, and change needs to happen. I hope that after reading this blog post, you can take a few extra moments to sign a petition to bring awareness to colorism and the negative effects of promoting skin lightening around the world.

Petition:

https://www.change.org/p/end-colorism-stop-the-production-of-skin-whitening-products-toxic-messaging?utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=custom_url&recruited_by_id=f6b0b9d0-a7f3-11ea-9da3-0162547e0ce4

Citations:

[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5787082/#B2

[2] https://www.unilever.com/news/press-releases/2020/unilever-evolves-skin-care-portfolio-to-embrace-a-more-inclusive-vision-of-beauty.html