Colourism:The Battle of Skin Tones

Colourism is the prejudice or discrimination against individuals with a dark skin tone- according to Oxford dictionary[1]  is a prejudice or discrimination against individuals with a dark skin tone, typically among people of the same ethnic group.

There is an overwhelming love for brighter things. Colourism affects many women the world over. The global trade for skin lighteners is estimated to reach 31.2 billion by 2024.[2]In the African continent, the rate of bleaching the skin is getting higher, this is mainly because of the attitude that dark is not beautiful. Mahe, et al (2003) defines skin bleaching as the application of topical creams, gels, soaps, and household products to lighten skin. Pierre (2008) also defines skin bleaching as “a practice where women and men use various chemical and cosmetic products in the form of creams, pills, soaps, injections and lotions to attempt to lighten or whiten the colour of the skin.”[3]

Statements such as rangi ya thao ( a sheng[4] word for light skin which is likened to Kenya’s 1000 note –the highest denomination in Kenya . Many women are not comfortable in their skin and this pushes them to skin altering creams. Having pimples is considered an abomination, skins should be “flawless”. A walk through Nairobi’s River Road popularly known as Mombasa House, brings you into contact with an array of skin lightening creams. At the doorsteps you hear cries of nunua mafuta (translating to buy creams/oil). These creams boast of making your skin brighter, eliminating pimples and giving you a younger and fresher look.

The creams have had devastating effects, as noted by the World Health Organisation, skin bleaching can cause cancer and liver damage, psychosis and brain damage in foetuses[5]. World Health Organisation further warns that skin bleaching can cause liver and kidney damage, psychosis, brain damage in foetuses and cancer. Furthermore, skin lightening has not adopted the use of intravenous applications (IV). According to WHO, Most contemporary skin-bleaching creams contain ingredients that inhibit the production of melanin, a body chemical that darkens skin. One such ingredient is hydroquinone, a depigmenting agent that lightens skin[6]. WHO goes further to warn that hydroquinone’s side effects include side effects include dermatitis (skin irritation), blue-black discolouration and even blindness. Many women who have used skin lightening creams end up with dis-coloured skin which has patches of dark and light skin, and for some, the face is very light whereas the hands and legs are of a darker pigmentation. Overuse of these skin lightening creams makes the skin become thin and for others you can actually see the blood veins due to the lightness. Skin lightening leads to addiction as noted by researchers Meagan Jacobs et al. Glenn further explains that the use of hydroquinone (originally an industrial chemical) is effective in suppressing the production of melanin although the exposure to sunlight- -something hard to avoid in Africa--results in damage to bleached skin[7].

Colourism brings about esteem issues. It makes dark skinned women not to be comfortable in their natural skin. This is also enhanced by social media where everyone looks ‘perfect”. Women consult each other asking about creams and how to make their skin glow. Many of these creams contain mercury which is bad for the skin. Despite a ban on skin creams containing mercury by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) containing harmful quantities of mercury and hydroquinone[8], colourism still rears its ugly head and women including men continue to use creams to look lighter. Colourism brings superiority and inferiority complex among women, with darker skin toned women feeling inferior. Sellers of skin lightening creams prefer it to be called skin brightening, not skin lightening because lightening brings within it a negative connotation. Colourism starts at a tender age. It starts at the household then flows into the community. It starts with relatives making comments about the colour of children. Black is often associated with something negative. For example among the Luo –a Nilotic community found in Kenya and Tanzania , they have a term for a dark person –rateng ti ti ti – meaning dark like charcoal or dark like midnight .Imagine for a second whether there is anybody in the world who can be as dark as midnight?. Whereas, the connotations available for light skinned people are more appreciative , with terms such as lando and silwal.

Some people have suffered discrimination because of their skin tone, yes skin tone despite coming from Africa, a region where dark skin is predominant.  Award winning Lupita Nyong’o told BBC that \"is the daughter of racism\" in \"a world that rewards lighter skin over darker skin\"[9].Colourism makes women feel bad and interferes with their self-esteem. The feeling of being inferior pushes many women into changing their skin colour. Some feel that when you are light skinned, you get more opportunities and more accepted in society. This is part of the reason why many women in Nairobi throng  beauty shops to get skin lightening creams.

It is important for society to start looking at colourism in-depth, to accept that this is a vice. It is about time that women and by extension girls accept their skin tones and appreciate their melanin and stop bowing down to social media pressure.

[1] https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/nairobi/article/2001397315/is-black-stil...

[2] https://qz.com/africa/1815572/skin-bleaching-skin-lightening-in-africa-h...

[3]https://etd.ohiolink.edu/apexprod/rws_etd/send_file/send?accession=bgsu1...

[4] Sheng is Swahili slang

[5] https://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/april-2019-july-2019/paying-hi...

[6] Ibid

[7] ibid

[8] https://www.kenyans.co.ke/news/48834-130-mercury-filled-cosmetics-target...

[9] https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-49976837