MyWeku

Realistic Individual Londoner , possibly the most detailed comment on this site to date!
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I think Asians who lightened their skin usually look better than before. I wouldn’t want to look any darker – I don’t look pretty with a natural tan. That’s my opinion. I expect others to respect or at least accept my view as I would for their views – it’s not harming anyone else” – Right this is where you lost me. There is a clear reason why we have colour in our skin. There is a clear reason why women who live in parts of the world where the sun shines brightest tend to have naturally dark skin. Premature aging, blotchy unattractive skin and skin cancer are just some of the risks of bleaching. I presume as you reside in London, UK. I’m sure your fellow NHS (Health Service) users would not necessarily like thier tax money to go into “curing” people of ailments caused by bleaching. Vanity is good but just as long as it does not affect others. So RIL, i disagree with you, when you say people who bleack are not harming anyone else….thier actions certainly impacts on society. Also how do you explain to a 5 year old with dark skin that they are just as pretty as anyone else if those around them bleach? there are some socio political factors that i thought the documentary makers dealt with rather well.

Realistic a.k.a Delusional, your comment was a perfect example of why this video was made. Why in the world would you believe Asians look better with light skin? How can you think bleaching is okay? How is Beyonce dark? You obviously have a complex that severely narrows your perception of beauty.

[@4:12] What was said about South Asian media is 100% true as well as what they said about the hip hop media. I have seen many exotic and beautiful Indians with skin almost like shining onyx (darker than some blacks). Yet I have never seen anyone near that color in Bollywood…not one. You know this, which is why you tried to throw in “dark by Indian definition”. The Indian (and world) definition of dark is “dark enough” as in what they consider dark enough for the media, which can rarely be considered dark at all. People in the western world have no idea that such Indians even exist.

In Hip Hop videos nearly every female present will be of a golden brown or lighter…period. Beyonce is about golden brown (with bronzer) and you said that you consider her dark. If you consider her dark then it makes one wonder what you would consider someone like Oluchi Onweagba.

[@5:07] Why would the term “of color” be applied to white people if they do not have color in their skin? White people seldom have drastic shades of “white”. Other ethnicities on the other hand, have everything from pitch black to dark beiges and browns.

[@5:14] It is well known that “beauty” affects one’s persona and future. However, you say this as if to justify why women should lighten their skin. You make the term beauty synonymous to light skin. You fail to realize that that’s what the issue is. People need to change their perception of what is beautiful and what isn’t.

[@6:02] Please explain to me how a topical can lighten your skin without a bleaching agent? It can’t…this why it is called bleach. You also said that you think lightening of the skin is okay if you take “proper precautions”. There are no proper precautions to take while weakening your skin’s defense system (melanin). The side-effects of using bleach on the skin are extremely dangerous. Even cancer is a possible result. People seldom get these effects from darkening the skin through contact with the sun, more specifically people who are naturally from sunny climates. People with fair skin on the other hand are constantly told to avoid too much sun or using tanning salons because they do not have enough melanin to protect them. So I do not know where you got the idea that everyone thinks darkening the skin is okay while lightening isn’t.

[@6:20] You said that not everyone identifies with their appearance or race. This is a very poor reason to justify the altering of your skin tone. Not being able to (or more accurately not wanting to) identify with your own race/appearance can never develop from a positive place…period. This is prevention versus cure situation. People need to stop trying to help people change how they are and focus on preventing them from ever feeling they need to change in the first place.

[@6:28] Unless Oprah used bleaching creams to achieve her skin color, there is nothing self-contradicting about it. Suppose a fair skinned bi-racial person of Caucasian and African ancestry spoke out against the prejudices towards dark skin. Are you saying that her/his statements would not be valid because they naturally do not have dark skin? That is nonsensical.

[@7:14] The term “whiter” is in reference to making you closer to being whiter…hence why they say “whiter” versus just saying white. The lighter you are the closer you are to being white. Her sister is not white…but “whiter” than she is. Oh and yes everyone who lightens their skin wants to be “whiter”…maybe not white…but WHITER. Hope I was redundant enough for you to finally get it.

[@10:00] So are you saying that the fact that prejudice existed throughout history it is justified in being perpetuated today? If that’s the case slavery should still be going on. The bias towards light skin throughout history means nothing, it has no ground sin justifying why it is okay. The whole point of this documentary is so that this stigma towards dark skin can end…not be enforced.

[@10:49] You said you can see plenty of dark-skinned women in hip hop music videos. Once again you are measuring by YOUR definition, which is no different from what I explained earlier. You’ve accepted the media’s definition of dark which is not actually dark but just “dark enough”.
[@11:30] I’ll quote you “Vivica Fox looked good in that picture and not at all abnormal – she doesn’t look that much lighter enough than usual to justify their reaction” You see, that’s the problem, even if she doesn’t look “that much lighter” why did they have to make her look lighter at all? That is what was referred to as disgusting…which it is. You mentioned camera lighting, etc. Before any Hollywood picture is released it goes through rigorous editing by experts. If they wanted to adjust the picture to her actual skin tone they could have…they did not want to. Also, she referred to her hair as “perfect” in the media sense of what perfect hair is.

[@13:05] How can prejudice against skin tone work both ways when fair skinned people are constantly told by the media that they are beautiful? It’s not as if dark-skinned people don’t want fair skin to be viewed as beautiful, they just want people to understand that dark-skin is beautiful also.

[@13:59]Light skin people were excluded from the group because they would not understand dark-skin prejudices. How can apples identify with oranges? This is not to say they do not have opinions on the matter, however, the documentary wanted to focus on dark-skin issues from the point of view of those being discriminated against. If light skin prejudice is also an issue then people of fair skin can start a group. However, they are obviously not negatively affected by the media for their skin, which is why people of fair skin have yet to make such a group.

[@14:40] I am sure she is aware that she is of a dark shade, but she is from the islands, where people are much darker than her. So where she is from, she most likely is referred to as not being very dark. She is aware that she may be considered what is “dark enough” but not actually dark. Also you say you know quite a few dark women who move through this world as normal, without their skin tone playing a part. How do you know that it hasn’t played a part? They may not complain about it; however, you are not inside of their minds nor hearts so you cannot speak on their behalf. Every dark skinned woman has felt the harsh reality of prejudice towards their skin…self included.

You say skin tone very rarely prevent a person function normally in life and rarely create disastrous consequences nowadays. Once again unless you are dark skin you have no idea of knowing, the shoe is not on your foot. If you are dark skinned (which I doubt), you are obviously in a lot of denial and need to get counseling. After you say the topic was taken out of proportion and it’s not serious etc. you go on to say you would have liked to hear a male’s point of view on the issue. This shows that you know it’s an issue but refuse to believe it. It is impossible for this documentary to have taken this issue out of proportion when they have barely begun to tackle it. You say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and people should respect the views of other, yet you don’t even respect that dark can be beautiful as well. You don’t think you’re pretty with a natural tan (key word being natural). If you were sane then you would think you were beautiful tan or no tan. You said people have a choice to do what they want with their body. This is ignorant. If someone is doing something from a negative and hurtful place then it should not be promoted. PERIOD. Some people feel better when they cut their wrists; this doesn’t mean I will promote this kind of behavior. It’s damaging, just like bleaching is damaging. It is damaging to the person and society. You say what people do shouldn’t affect anyone else. Well maybe it should BUT OBVIOUSLY IT DOES! So wake up and stop being IGNORANT.