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 country and 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 everyone should aspire to be. That is how this yellow-bone controversy 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 skater looking for ‘ikekesi’.
Not only are companies that make skin-lightening products making money, the market has extended to technology as well. There are applications that can be downloaded that edit photos to give you lighter skin. On Facebook the ‘filter’ feature is used constantly when uploading pictures, and the prettier the picture, meaning the more ‘filtered’ it is, the more ‘likes’ that picture will receive. But 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.
When a few years ago came this woman, Alek Wek, proud and confident in embracing her flawless skin in her absolute beauty. Even though she was still objectified sexually, she showed everyone that being dark skinned is not what defines an individual. A person’s beauty cannot be summed up by the colour of her skin. In fact, no matter how ‘yellow-bone’ one may be, it does not change the fact that they are still Black, it does not make you White, it only makes you ‘light skinned’, and being light skinned does not make you superior.
A conversation about phrases like ‘You are really beautiful for a Black girl’, or ‘For a fat chick, you are prettier than some skinny girls’, needs to start soon. The truth is, we all equally matter. And the beauty of it is that we are all Black, all resilient, and we are committed to learning and unlearning all of these complex stereotypes. In order to be able to move forward and heal, we need to start addressing the ways that some of us get privilege at each other’s expense. And this yellow-bone trend must stop.
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