Skin Lightening/Whitening
problems and enhance the quality of their life. “In
Asia, women were deeply influenced by the
concept that a white complexion is powerful
enough to hide a number of faults. In ancient
China and Japan the saying "one white covers up
three ugliness" was passed through the
generations. Asian countries have long histories
of utilizing white skin as a key criterion of
personal
beauty
(http://www.skinwhiteningscience.com).
The
desire for lighter and more pale skin has roots that
can be dated back thousands of years. People
have always strived to be seen as affluent in many
aspects of their lives and this can be directly
affected by their view on skin color. The beliefs
of skin color are not specific to a particular
country and can be studied worldwide. "Different
countries have different standards of beauty," says
Radhika Parameswaran, an associate professor at
Indiana University who has studied skin lightening
trends for more than six years. "And lightness is
associated with status that is particular to each
culture."
(http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?
storyId=106419771). Since these beliefs are so
prevalent in many different cultures, many people
have sought out a way to alter the pigmentation of
their skin. By altering the pigment and ultimately
lightening their skin color, people hope to be
valued higher with their own societies. Since the
ever present desire to “fit in” with social values
will always be prevalent, the channels in which
people seek skin whitening solutions have grown.
This has commercialized a new market of beauty
products all over the world aimed at aiding people
in their fight for what they believe is beauty.
According
to
http://www.cosmeticsdesign-asia.com/MarketTrends, “The global market for skin lightener is
projected to reach $19.8 billion by 2018, driven by
the growing desire for light-coloured skin among
both men and women primarily from the Asian,
African and Middle East Regions. Skin Whitening
products represents one of the rapidly growing
segments in the global beauty industry, with
manufacturers capitalizing on consumers’ desire
for
fair
skin,
in
these
regions.”
(http://www.cosmeticsdesign-asia.com/MarketTrends). Tradition and cultural ideals are things
that die hard, and therefore -in this case- the belief
of whiter skin being beautiful lives on and is
continuing to thrive globally. People continue to
By Alyssa Soto
Throughout history there have been
forms of a social hierarchy and various stigmas
that go with them. Since these classes of social
hierarchy have always played a role in defining
people, these views and perceptions have shaped
many people’s beliefs of what is ideal, presentable,
and beautiful. Culture and tradition feed off of
and shape one another. The views towards whiter
skin being beautiful has created traditional
practices of skin whitening. Due to this tradition,
it has ultimately shaped the cultural views of
whiter and more light colored skin as being a
defining factor of beauty with the asian culture.
Historically speaking, within many
communities, people with darker skin were the
people who had to work outside or do physical
labor in order to earn a living, and those with
lighter skin didn’t perform strenuous activity
outside, did not need to work, or were even of
royal decent within asian cultures. According to
http://www.skinwhiteningscience.com, “Those
higher up the scale generally tend to have paler
skins because the rich and educated could afford
to stay indoors, while the poor and uneducated
were forced to work outdoors.” With this
foundation, it is believed by many that the darker
the color of your skin, the poorer you are. You
are considered dirty and even believed to be ugly.
These negative cultural stigmas have forced many
people into the belief that in order to look
presentable and beautiful they need lighter skin.
This cultural manipulation has been so powerful,
that people believe whiter skin will solve their
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