Not bright enough
The use of cosmetic products dates back to ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt. Chemicals such as white-lead, mercury chloride and mercury sulfide were used in cosmetic products to brighten the skin. Women brightened their skin to increase their femininity. In Europe, lightness was not only seen as a sign of beauty, but it also denoted social prestige. It is unclear why these ideas existed, but a common interpretation is that exposure to the sun caused darker skin, as such darker skin was seen among peasants and field workers.
Skin lightening products have been found in ancient China, Egypt and Europe, however, in Sub-Saharan Africa there haven’t been any historical signs of skin bleaching. It almost certainly arose during colonial times. Due to their already existing preconceptions about skin color, European colonizers attributed the melanin-rich skin of native Africans as dirty, poor and inferior. People of lighter complexions were treated better, the more white-passing you were, the more benefits you had in society.
People under these oppressive systems began to believe that having lighter skin was better, and from a survival perspective this was true. For most African countries colonialism ended less than a hundred years ago, so this colorist mentality still exists. Even black people today will make fun of other black people simply because they have a darker skin tone.
Media representation
In the media there is a phenomenon known as struggle porn, or black trauma porn. TV shows and media with a primarily black cast often depict some sort of struggle. This could be black people in the ghetto, black people during slavery or black people selling drugs. This is the media that does the best and gets the most viewership. Media that doesn’t promote black struggle does exist, but these shows get less views and marketing than their struggle based counterparts. It seems like black audiences are the largest consumers of this same black narrative. If we assume that the largest consumer of black media is black people themselves, then we have to ask why black people like to see themselves struggle so much.
Skin tones and bleaching
All these factors have led to people bleaching their skin to appear lighter. It is estimated that 77% of people in Nigeria, 32% in South Africa and 39% in Ghana, among other countries, use skin bleaching products1. Skin bleaching works by reducing the amount or production of melanin in the skin. There are a number of issues linked with the use of skin bleaching, such as mercury poisoning and dermatitis. Long term, excessive use skin bleaching leads to exogenous ochronosis, which is a blue-black pigmentation of the skin.
Skin bleaching ignores why people have different skin tones in the first place. People in tropical climates have skin with more melanin because melanin protects the skin from the Sun’s rays. This is even more important for people who spend long working in the Sun, which was common centuries ago. Melanin also helps prevent skin cancer. People with lighter skin would not do as well in such climates, and the opposite is true for people with dark skin in colder, northern climates.
According to a World Health Organization report