1. We all want to change something
Most of us if not all of us are not content with our bodies. We would wish to be a little bigger or a little smaller, a little shorter or a little taller. If we had the chance and the power, there is a lot that we could have changed. It is understandable therefore for someone to feel like they want to change the color of their skin, the same as a short person who would want to be taller just that they don’t have a formula yet.
2. Good marketing stunt
Advertisement love bright colors. Anything light or bright attracts the attention of humans and other animals including insects. We have been conditioned to get attracted to light things. It is no surprise then, that most light skin women get more attention than dark skin women. An advert with a white woman on it is more attractive than one with a black woman. It is the twist of the world we live in. But of course it is not a fact that light is more beautiful than dark skin, it is the consequence of long periods of conditioning that has made us feel and see it that way, and since the conditioning has happened and is still happening, conformity follows.
3. Social and peer pressure
It was and still is a common dialogue among men and women, that, the lighter you are, the higher the chances of you getting a mate. There was a wave of bleaching after these statements came out. Some women went bleaching because they wanted to get married or at least get a date.
Not only is the pressure coming from the need to get married, but in some areas, it is an added advantage when one is looking for a job and pursuing a career in the entertainment industry.
Some people on the other hand bleach because their peers are doing it and since they have a close social identity with the peer group, they bleach just like them so that they don’t feel like the odd one out.
4. Attention seeking stunt
Some people bleach just to get attention, nothing more. They become the center of attraction because of their skin color. I was watching a feature/documentary about bleaching in South Africa. One gentleman in his mid 20s was asked why he bleached his skin and the response was as simple as, “I bleached to become popular with the ladies.”
5. Inferiority complex
We have been taught by white supremacist groups in the west that everything and anything black is unattractive, evil, stupid, corrupted, primitive… and sadly, that rhetoric has gotten deeply entrenched in our psyche and some people feel that the only way to feel superior is by changing the color of their skin, become light like the “superior” race.
6. Identity conflict
We have heard of identity conflicts like transgender, trans age, trans-species, and yes, there exists Trans-race, whereby one feels white, but trapped in a black body, so they alter the colour of their skin and change their bodies, so that they can be similar to the whites because they feel that way inside.
7. It is just a wave and a season
Every period of time, a decade or a century or even a year, there are new trends that humanity sets. Sadly, they are not long lasting. At one point, having an Afro and bell bottom trousers was the “in thing” but try wearing the same now, and you will look like a clown.
The same thing will happen to the bleaching craze, it is the “in thing” right now but it will be over and something else will come up and the wave will carry with it masses.
So, to bleach or not to bleach? Well, I learnt in my first ever psychology class that WHAT IS IN THE INSIDE WILL ALWAYS MANIFEST IN THE OUTSIDE. Most of our external conflicts are deeply entrenched in our internal conflicts. What I am trying to say is, the reasons for bleaching is due to external factors like; you will never get married, you will never get a gig, you will never travel or succeed, black is horrid… they are all external factors that causes conflicts in our internal being.
I feel and think that we can succeed, get jobs, travel, make money, become experts in our careers and reach the upper echelon of this world with a BLACK skin. But if you have made a choice to alter your skin color for reasons known to you, and you are at absolute peace with the reason, go ahead and do it.
yours truly
Saitu Lemayian
@saitu1987
Heads BrainMode 