Thursday, July 28, 2011

Skin Bleaching, Self-Hate and Black Identity in Jamaica


Charles, Christopher A.D.
2003    Skin Bleaching, Self-Hate, and Black Identity in Jamaica. Journal of Black Studies 33(6): 711-728.
            I remember the first time I heard about skin bleaching. I (being white), grew up hearing people talking about getting a tan in order to look prettier, and that being called pasty or pale was an insult. So when I heard an Indian student talking on a panel about racial stereotypes about the popularity of skin creams and chemicals designed to make ones skin lighter, it kind of blew my mind. Over the next few years, I realized this phenomenon was not only a thing in India, but that many East Asians, especially the girls, were very concerned about not getting a tan. I was flabbergasted when a friend of mine was wearing jeans and a jacket when it was 100 degrees outside because if she didn’t she would be ugly. I’ve seen many East Asian students walking across campus with large brim hats or parasols to block the sun. I became very curious as to why my friends would rather boil in the heat than allow their skin to darken. As I thought about it, I also became more sensitive to the shade of people of varying ethnicities I see on TV, or in magazines. The actors and actresses in Bollywood films are very fair and light, while most Indian people I have met are much darker. Additionally, when looking at the faces on the packages of ethnic hair care products for African-Americans, they are all incredibly light skinned. Recently I stumbled upon a webpage that showed a regular, non photoshopped picture of African-American beauty queens such as Halle Berry and Maria Carey next to their photo on magazine covers. In the magazines, they had been photoshopped to appear at least 3 shades lighter. Why? Luckily, I found a Journal article that addresses this issue. While it is in Jamaica, I believe that many of the findings can be extrapolated to explain the skin bleaching elsewhere.
            Charles begins by begins by giving us a little bit of a background on the history of colonialism in Jamaica. Plantation style slavery was abolished in 1838, though still a colony. They gained independence from Britain in 1962. More than 90% of the population is of African descent, and the distribution is fair as far as political representation goes. However, economically, Jamaica is mostly controlled by the White, Arab, Chinese, Indian and Jewish minority. During the times of slavery, the Black slaves were conditioned to prefer British culture over their African culture. As this will do a number on the psychology of the people, there are still some serious residual effects of this being felt today in Jamaica.
            The generally accepted explanation for bleaching is that those who do it have low self-esteem. Charles doesn’t think this is the whole story. He explains that the construction of one’s identity is crucial to becoming a ‘normal’ adult. This construction typically occurs during the teenage years. There are two kinds of identity; nominal (assigned by others) and self-affirmed (how you view yourself). He then jumps to the famous doll study done in the U.S. where Black and White children were given both a Black and a White doll and asked which one was the good doll. Most Black children chose the White doll. The researchers assume that this means that the Black children hate themselves and reject ‘Blackness’ (for lack of a better word). They do NOT assume, however, that the White children that chose the Black doll hated themselves and reject ‘Whiteness’. He says that one’s opinion of oneself cannot be assumed based upon the opinion of one’s group. He shows us a handy little equation; Self-concept = personal identity + reference group orientation or; SC=PI+RGO. He is saying that one’s self-concept is altered by how one views the group, but their own feeling of self-worth is not (which I honestly do not entirely understand). I suppose it is possible to hate those in your group, but think of yourself as pretty awesome.
            He then introduces as study that was done in the late 60s/early 70s in Jamaica that illustrates how deeply rooted colonial attitudes are. A bunch of high school students were asked to rate their own importance/ status. The White students said they had more than the brown students, and the brown students said they had more than the Black and Chinese who in turn undervalued themselves.
            Jamaica is a Creole society where some have opted to stick to their traditional culture. Those that did, however, have had a tougher time succeeding and are seen as weird. Those that chose to adopt ‘Britishness’ are seen as normal Jamaicans. The result of this, he says, is Black mothers telling their kids that having African traits, such as kinky hair, is a bad thing. Children are at the minimum tacitly told that being brown is better than Black, and that White is the best. These things are the reason that skin bleaching is so popular. It is also found among (mostly) women in other nations that were previously colonized by European powers.
            The Ministry of Health in Jamaica has taken measures to prevent people from partaking. They have banned many over the counter creams, which has led to people making home-made ones using peroxide and other chemicals and spices. Dermatologists see many people with complications and side effects from these. Mostly it is women in their 20s, but there are also men and other ages.
            There is a prevailing attitude among Jamaicans that in order to succeed, one must be fair skinned. Many of the excuses for skin bleaching sounded like the excuses for crash dieting/ bulimia/ anorexia I hear in the States. Charles says that people are not doing it out of self-hate, but to keep up with trends and to fit in.
            He conducted his own mini-study consisting of 18 people. They were split into two groups; those that bleach and those that do not. They were all given the same self-esteem questionnaire, the only difference being that those who bleach were asked why. On average, the bleaching group scored a tiny bit higher than the non-bleaching group. Everyone in the bleaching group scored above the test median, and one in the non-bleaching group scored below. An admitted flaw is that most of them were teenagers, and thus may be bleaching purely to fit in instead of poor self-image. When asked why, most bleachers said it was for cosmetic/ beauty reasons including to prevent acne or give them smooth skin, some said it made them look prettier/ better. One said that they bleach because their friends were doing it. Another flaw he pointed out was that his sample was incredibly small, and that there was definitely a need for more research, but that what he found is a handy starting point.
            In the discussion section, Charles says that self-hate/ low self-esteem may definitely be a reason, but that there are additional factors too. If it is self-hate, he says; “The self-hate thesis from slavery ignores the fact that there are post slavery traumas that we all face that can cause low self-esteem” (722). Do these people hate themselves because of the society, or are they falling prey to the typical bouts of self-doubt that plague all humans?  Charles says that those that support the self-hate thesis are making the same mistake that was made during the doll study, and that whites who tan are not said to hate themselves. Lack of pride for one’s group does not necessarily indicate a lack of self-pride. It is possible that those high school students when asked to rate their importance were merely recognizing societal norms. That doesn’t mean they agree with it.
            There are White, Chinese and Indian Jamaicans that assume a Black identity and they are not said to be self-hating. He explains that racial identity exists more on a continuum, and that people move between the categories strategically, to fit in with various circles as they see fit. Jamaica is a Creole society with a mixture of backgrounds. People are utilizing this to their advantage.
            He concludes by saying that both groups in the study had very similar self-esteem ratings (the average between them only differed by 1 point). Jamaican racial identity exists on a continuum. Some individuals forge a whole, complete identity somewhere between Black and White and that they should not be confused for those who fail to forge one due to psychological scars from slavery. The key to fixing the latter group is through education. People must be taught that it is alright to exist anywhere upon that continuum.

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