Skin whitening advertisement, is it racism?

[Hades]

Skin whitener advertisements labeled racist

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/as...kin/index.html

NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- Cosmetic advertisements in Asia are targeting men with blunt campaigns aimed at skin color that one lawmaker labels racist.

In one TV commercial, two men, one with dark skin, the other with light skin; stand on a balcony overlooking a neighborhood. The dark skin guy turns to his friend and says in Hindi, "I am unlucky because of my face." His light skin friend replies, "Not because of your face, because of the color of your face."

Suddenly the light skin guy throws his friend a cream. It's a whitening cream.

It is one of several television commercials aimed at men in Pakistan and India. In the end the darker skin actor is shown several shades lighter and he gets the girl he was after. Most of the ads end up that way.

The commercials are sending a not-so-subtle message to men in Asia: Get whiter skin, and you'll get the girl and the job of your dreams. Or at the very least you'll be noticed.

Ad: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gH0KS3C7l4

[Allen Farlow]

"Get whiter skin, and you'll get the girl and the job of your dreams. Or at the very least you'll be noticed. "

Is there no truth to that?

That company is just doing what everyone should do, find out what people want and give it to them.

Nobody will talk about it, and maybe I'm swatting a hornets nest by saying so, but many Blacks in America have long been known to choose mates with lighter skin shades than their own. Many Black men specifically date only White women, causing concern among Black women.

Director Spike Lee even made a movie about just that subject, called 'Jungle Fever'

Michael Jackson didn't opt to have a nose job out of medical necessity, as far as I know.

But is there anything wrong with wanting what is appealing to us? I don't think so, but I do think there is something wrong when people begin making claims of racism about it.

There are many forms of discrimination and one of them is weight discrimination. Obese people have a harder time finding work than people who are height and weight proportionate. There is also height discrimination, as taller men often get the promotions while their equally-qualified counterparts do not simply because they are shorter. The Chinese do something called leg-lengthening to make themselves taller, to get that better job.

Nobody talks about it but it happens.

Even today there may be many instances where the White person is chosen over a Black person who is equally qualified.

I guess Black people needed help. Why else would America need something like Affirmative Action, which in many cases gave the jobs to minorities who were less qualified than their White counterparts? (The newest member of the U.S. Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor, got herself into hot water during confirmation because of her vote in the New Haven firefighters case, where Black men were promoted over more qualified White men simply because the city needed to have better racial disparity in city hiring or something like that.)

Racial disparity exists, even if no one wants to admit it. If having lighter skin gets you the job or the promotion or the girl, why not?

And if you create a product that allows a person to do that, why shouldn't you offer it to those who want it?

It's not racism, it's commerce.

[David_ Bowie]

Originally Posted by Allen Farlow

"Get whiter skin, and you'll get the girl and the job of your dreams. Or at the very least you'll be noticed. "


Nobody will talk about it, and maybe I'm swatting a hornets nest by saying so, but many Blacks in America have long been known to choose mates with lighter skin shades than their own. Many Black men specifically date only White women, causing concern among Black women.

Director Spike Lee even made a movie about just that subject, called 'Jungle Fever'

Michael Jackson didn't opt to have a nose job out of medical necessity, as far as I know.


There are many forms of discrimination and one of them is weight discrimination. Obese people have a harder time finding work than people who are height and weight proportionate. There is also height discrimination, as taller men often get the promotions while their equally-qualified counterparts do not simply because they are shorter. The Chinese do something called leg-lengthening to make themselves taller, to get that better job.

Nobody talks about it but it happens.

Even today there may be many instances where the White person is chosen over a Black person who is equally qualified.

I guess Black people needed help. Why else would America need something like Affirmative Action, which in many cases gave the jobs to minorities who were less qualified than their White counterparts? (The newest member of the U.S. Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor, got herself into hot water during confirmation because of her vote in the New Haven firefighters case, where Black men were promoted over more qualified White men simply because the city needed to have better racial disparity in city hiring or something like that.)

Racial disparity exists, even if no one wants to admit it. If having lighter skin gets you the job or the promotion or the girl, why not?

And if you create a product that allows a person to do that, why shouldn't you offer it to those who want it?

It's not racism, it's commerce.

This is one topic that has always put a bad taste in my mouth. I have dated women all over the world and not one has said that I was too dark and trust me I am dark. I should be because I`m black. I can only go back so far in history to find the truth although it does not matter. I do like facts and would be more interested in what number of black people really think they need help and why is this cream being offered to Asians only?

Another thing, most of my clients are white. When I am making them money, do you think they stop paying me because of the color of my skin?
A millionaire once told me that only poor people talk about racism. LOL

I don`t surf but I have some friends who surf in La Jolla, CA. We were talking on the beach one day when, in the distance, we saw a white guy walking with his girlfriend who was a very pretty. Four of the white guys looked at me as they passed by. They asked me how I felt about one of them dating a black woman? I said that if she is ugly, then I did not mind but if she`s pretty, then it would make me mad. Talk about insane!

David

[htmlbasictutor]

To understand why this is being marketed:

In Asia, a lighter skin color is associated with beauty and aristocracy.

Reference: http://www.drmajeed.com/articles/200...oneandMore.pdf

Colorism is a persistent problem for people of color in the USA. Colorism, or skin color stratification, is a process that privileges light-skinned people of color over dark in areas such as income, education, housing, and the marriage market...

Reference: The Persistent Problem of Colorism: Skin Tone, Status, and Inequality

[ewomack]

Hopefully people will recognize it for its shallowness and ignore it. But many will doubtless fall for it. If a girl won't date you because your skin is too dark, then why would you ever want to date that woman? If an employer won't hire you because of your race, height, or weight, why would you ever want to work for that employer? These stereotypes aren't universal. The media makes them seem more universal than they are because they're trying to sell us something. One thing companies have discovered: insecurity sells. And this is just another sample of that. Ignore it and it will go away. Make a scandal out of it and it will flourish. The "scandal" is probably even part of the marketing scheme.

[Jenie0109]

You know me, I resided in almost all regions of Asia. Whitening has long been a fad since the beginning of time in China. One reason why Japanese geishas wear white make-up is because having white skin is considered very beautiful. It has been long dictated by culture. In Asia, people having darker skin tone is most likely from the south and south east.

I believe that this standard reached their concerns that's why whitening cosmetics are marketed as something that would make them more physically appealing. But with all honesty I would say that a clearer and whiter skin is better. Skin whitening advertisements will only become racist if their ads discourage dark skinned people for having such skin tone. Skin whitening is not racist in itself.

[John Scott]

When I spend hours on the beach getting a tan, is it racism?

[Hades]

Originally Posted by John Scott

When I spend hours on the beach getting a tan, is it racism?

Just to clarify in case you didn't read the article or watch the ad.

It is not changing the color of your skin what has been labeled as racism, but the advertisement of such products implying that people with white skin will have more success in getting jobs, relationships, etc.

[Maximise]

Originally Posted by Hades

Just to clarify in case you didn't read the article or watch the ad.

It is not changing the color of your skin what has been labeled as racism, but the advertisement of such products implying that people with white skin will have more success in getting jobs, relationships, etc.

Tanning products, e.g. sunbeds and "fake" tan lotions are advertised everywhere where I live (Europe) and in the US. Seems comparible to me.

[Hades]

Originally Posted by Maximise

Tanning products, e.g. sunbeds and "fake" tan lotions are advertised everywhere where I live (Europe) and in the US. Seems comparible to me.

The usage or availability of either tanning or whitening products is definitely not racism, nobody is discussing that.

What generated controversy are the ways to advertise the products. Check the video I posted on the first link. There are two men, one with dark skin, the other with light skin standing on a balcony overlooking a neighborhood. The dark skin guy turns to his friend and says in Hindi, "I am unlucky because of my face." His light skin friend replies, "Not because of your face, because of the color of your face."", then it shows the white guy on a motorcycle with a girl.

The ad is showing you that being white gives you an advantage when dating girls, and it could also be implying that cool girls should only date white guys.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to change the color of the skin, or in selling the products that the people want, but if you advertise a product showing people of two different races and outlining the advantages of belonging to one of these particular races, I think there is some kind of ethical question there. That's the reason why I created the poll.

[Allen Farlow]

Originally Posted by Hades

It is not changing the color of your skin what has been labeled as racism, but the advertisement of such products implying that people with white skin will have more success in getting jobs, relationships, etc.

Well, don't they?

[Hades]

Originally Posted by Allen Farlow

Well, don't they?

I don't know for sure.

Experience and personal observation lead me to believe that people look for others that are similar to themselves.

Ie. The owners of my company are jewish, and they have a tendency to hire jewish people to work for them, so about 70% of the staff in my company is jewish, I was actually impressed that they hired me when I met all the other people in the office

A few times I had chances to interview people, and if I found a guy with whom I share some particular interests and lifestyle similarities, I would feel more tempted to recommend him to be hired than one that I can barely compare with me (assuming that both are equally qualified for the job of course).

Likewise when it comes to relationships, black women who are looking for a partner would be more likely to date black guys, and so on.

But like I said I don't know for sure, I would like to see statistics and a serious research about this before answering

[John Scott]

No, I wouldn't call it racism. In Japan, "fair skin" is thought to be a desirable trait. It's not about being Caucasian. It's about being whiter skinned Japanese. I think that's common in several Asian cultures.

[Jenie0109]

I guess the opinion of a person on this one would also depend on geographical and cultural background and/or exposure. I recall one day when I was writing down my grocery list in front of a friend, she asked me why do I have to buy a whitening lotion when I am not dark at all and she said: "Isn't it funny, half of the world wants to get whiter skin while the other half wants to darken theirs."

Btw, MikuruHirai and I ate out for lunch yesterday and I told him about this thread. He said more and more Japanese guys are having their skin tanned because most women find tanned skin very sexy. And for the ladies, Ganguro fashion is still evident to date.

So, are these Ganguro practitioners betraying their own race? No, it's just a fashion sense. It could either die out in time or flourish even more. So in the case of Indian men, I think it is another story. Advertisements might also feel it's a fad and nothing more so they are just giving what the people want.

[John Scott]

Originally Posted by Jenie0109

And for the ladies, Ganguro fashion is still evident to date.

Just FYI, ganguro has been out of fashion for about 8 years. There are still a few odd ball ganguro girls in Shibuya, but they are extremely rare.

[Jenie0109]

Originally Posted by John Scott

Just FYI, ganguro has been out of fashion for about 8 years. There are still a few odd ball ganguro girls in Shibuya, but they are extremely rare.

Thanks for the follow-up.

[Jenie0109]

Oh, one more thing.... I forgot to include this.

http://www.yopress.com/japanese/japa...treme-tanning/

Have a great day everyone! ^^

[South]

My understanding of racism is treating someone as lesser based on their race. This company makes a product that allows people to alter the way they look as a personal choice. Is anti-wrinkle cream ageism?

[alter-ego]

I don't think it's racism at all, it's just another clear example of how we confuse society into thinking they need to be "better". I don't find this product or it's marketing to be any different than any of the anti-aging, weight loss or male enhancement products that are flashed in our faces throughout the day.

[donphant]

Just read the article and its on the iffy side of racism.