White power and Eurocentrism is a very strong influence in
everyone’s lives whether they want it or not. Society, the government, institutions
and the media have a huge say in people’s perception of others. Throughout the
world ‘white’ is the most acceptable race that has the least negativity
connected to it. The world has been constructed in a way that doesn’t allow equality;
therefore people might feel the need to “look” acceptable. By this I literarily
mean look white. People do many things to make their skin a shade or two
lighter to feel more accepted and prettier. Celebrities are prime examples to
this. Looking at older and more recent photos of Rihanna and Nicki Minaj, you
can see a clear difference in the way they look. These celebrities are idols
and influences to young women and what subconsciously comes off is that white
or whiter is better.
Having white skin is
said to give you privileges in many ways through life and since this stereotype
and racism has been created, advertisers use it to their advantage. E.g. skin
whiteners are advertised for darker skinned women who want to look ‘prettier’
and more acceptable with whiter skin. The way advertisers dare to show these
strong racist images is unbelievable yet true.
This is a very sad yet realistic portrayal of media advertisements. These examples are continuously reinforcing (dominantly targeting women in the beauty industry) that white is "more attractive". I personally had an encounter of a result of this reinforcement, when I saw a young beautiful Asian girl in the gym changing rooms, applying a whitening skin cream. Heavily applying, and then applying heavy pale makeup. It was very sad to see, and I feel that manipulation by the Media is a strong fuelling factor of these insecurities. The final dove image of the transgressing of skin colours from dark to white, is thankfully banned, although in many other beauty advertisements, these subliminal racial undertones are still very prominent.
ReplyDeleteWhat strikes me as fascinating is not only the idea that whitening ones skin can 'create' further opportunities for an individual, but the subtlety of racism perceived in the adverts beneath the Youtube video. That the media can blatantly display a 'before and after' skin cream advert, obviously for the healing of skin, (no matter what colour,) with the darker skinned women as far left as possible is just outrageous. I have to also mention the shock of observing the smiling lady next to the woman painted black, who fades into the blackness of the background as if to symbolise black 'invisibility' in society. It truly is a sad reality that celebrities such as Nicki Minaj and Rihanna are reinforcing the idea of 'white beauty' when they are such idolised women by many young girls around the world.
ReplyDelete