WOMEN DON’T NEED THIS

 Sir,

How many of you have heard the phrases ‘Nkhwishinga’, ‘Mnyamane’ or ‘Untima’? I have, many times growing up and I still hear them today. All these gross and offensive words are used to describe a dark-skinned person.

And the words used to describe a light-skinned person are nothing less than endearments, ‘ntombemhlophe’, ‘ntombenhle’ or ‘umlungu’. We live in a world that perceives dark skin as evil, as something that people should not be proud of. And anything light-skinned is respectable, beautiful, and what eaveryone should aspire to be.

That is how this yellow-bone storm was born. Women, young and old seek societal validation by bleaching their skin to reach the appropriate pretty that is perceived by the media and society. Many fall under this pressure.

It is sickening to have to watch someone being shamed for the colour of their skin, and society expecting dark skinned women to be apologetic about the amount of melanin their skin is able to produce. Global sales for skin-lightening cream remain steady. Photo-shopped images in which the model’s skin has been lightened are commonplace, and the portrayal of this kind of beauty is the reason why most people run helter-skelter looking for ‘ikekesi’.

Growing up as a child who knew little more than the fact that we were all black and shared that basic commonality, and knowing even now that we will always share that commonality, I was and still am deeply confused and pained by the lack of acceptance and the bullying that darker skinned people, especially women, experience.

Women do not need this. They are already facing many different challenges, being killed and violated, being discriminated against in the workplace and being left to care for children while the father is out gallivanting with other women. Worrying about their skin and spending way too much money on products that will make them ‘prettier’ is an unnecessary burden to their already unbearable struggles.

Nomsa

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