How come skin bleaching never became big in black America like it did in Africa & the Caribbean?

[Caca-faat]

Maybe it’s because living side by side with them prevented black Americans from idolising them. Those living in Africa and the Caribbean saw them mostly through greatly controlled media back in the day. White ppl curated their image through media and presented them selves as saviours of black people (white saviour complex) and being closer to God through white purity. Also of course wealth flaunting and the poverty of so many ppl of colour globally. This all led to ppl in Africa and the Caribbean associating wealth and opportunity with whiteness.

 

[Oldschooler]

Maybe it’s because living side by side with them prevented black Americans from idolising them. Those living in Africa and the Caribbean saw them mostly through greatly controlled media back in the day. White ppl curated their image through media and presented them selves as saviours of black people (white saviour complex) and being closer to God through white purity. Also of course wealth flaunting and the poverty of so many ppl of colour globally. This all led to ppl in Africa and the Caribbean associating wealth and opportunity with whiteness.

This is spot on. To add to it it's also about being 'different' from the masses. As an example why do white Europeans want to be tanned?

 

[Yinny]

I think it takes place and has had a history here (among all races) but has likely been masked under the guise of beauty products as opposed to outright lightening as heavily as it is in other countries. I would be very surprised if in the days of home catalog shopping it wasn’t advertised to Blacks and Whites alike.

Did a quick search and found ads from the 1930s.

 

[I Really Mean It]

our minds weren’t colonized to the degree those of african and caribbean men and women were.

 

[HarlemHottie]

Damn it's like that with them

 

[Belize King]

Honestly, it's because it doesn't work well. The end result looks like shyt.

A lot of the people who do it lack the self awareness to realize they look weird.

But please believe: if it actually worked well - tons of black Americans would be doing it too. It's unfortunate.

My Wife watches a few of the African shows on Netflix. I ask her, “why are all the women yellow”? Then I realize they are all bleached.

I think because a lot of our exposure to African people is through TV, people believe all Africans bleach.

I worked in Kenya for 3 months. Not one bleach person. Went to Nairobi for two weeks and didn’t notice. Then again that’s East Africa.

 

[SupaDupaFresh]

God damn you nikkas miss high school, bad.

 

[TQbrit]

its definitely interesting to see how white supremacy affects other blacks across the diaspora. i dont think AAs are handling colorism well in that regard, sure yall dont bleach like the rest but its still VERY prevalent in the way yall date and breed

if the Caribbeans/africa/india has equal access to white people like AAs do, thered be less bleaching and more interracial shackups

 

[TQbrit]

Bleaching is not common

The likelihood of you visiting any African or Caribbean nation for a week and seeing a bleached person is slim to none.

Lie from the pits of HELL, how many times have you traveled to Africa lol, its very VERY VERY common, there are shameless bleaching ads on billboards, television, internet ads etc.

 

[Ghost Utmost]

I'm America you can literally be the color of a white person. If you have any sort of African features you're just as much as of an undesirable as the darkest Black person.

Like the one Breh wrote: no real benefit. Also, the examples we have of famous people doing it look pretty bad overall.

 

[International Playa]

Africa & Caribbean are not countries. Only small pockets of west Africa & some people in Jamaica skin bleach.

India & Pakistan skin bleach too, none of their biggest celebrities are dark skin. Most of their big celebrities look white

 

[International Playa]

Lie from the pits of HELL, how many times have you traveled to Africa lol, its very VERY VERY common, there are shameless bleaching ads on billboards, television, internet ads etc.

That's mostly West Africa. I'm African, leave the rest of other Africans out of this

 

[GrindtooFilthy]

I’m actually related to the Ooni of Ife and am from the Lafogido Royal house . I own a Hostel in Ife and currently own two businesses is a Nigeria. Try again.

You front running ass Nigerians really get on my nerves. I have never met such a fake ass people in my life who deny everything that comes with us. Do you want to deny a dis function to the point that you have Nigerians skin lightening the children.

The chemist, who makes some of my products has her own organic line, is scared by how Nigerians do this.

Im airing that colonial mentality bullshyt out because too many people there are ass backwards

Maybe it’s a Yoruba thing amongst you guys even though I went to boarding school in ijebu I still had only maybe 1 teacher out of 30 who actually did that nonsense

 

[Ziggiy]

My father told me that when he and his sister would go stay with his grandmother for the summer as a kid his grandmother would feed his lighter skinned cousins and sometimes not feed him or sister and at night she would force them to rub a skin lightening cream on their faces and neck.


The popular saying back the was

If your white your alright
If your yellow your mellow
If your brown stick around
But if your black stay back



Black Americans didn’t “handle” colorism any better than anyone, we were ground fukking zero for it

 

[Luke Cage]

Because Michael Jackson honestly. Our media spent decades clowning him for lightening his skin. Its considered a joke over here as a direct result of that.