I am a victim to society’s false perception of beauty, and I have consumed skin-lightening products. As a former consumer of skin-lightening creams, this is my moment of truth! When I was growing up as a young, dark-skinned, beautiful girl in Nigeria, I was constantly bombarded with questions like, “why is your face lighter than your body?” I internalized the questionings. This was additionally complicated when I noticed the individuals in the community gravitated towards light-skinned children. This further created the impression that light-skinned tone was the acceptable and more beautiful complexion. As I grew older, it was obvious that the light-skinned girls were sought after and seen as more beautiful. Boys and men tend to go after the …show more content…
The influence was however people’s attitude towards lighter-skinned people. The lighter-skinned girls were described as beautiful. I also saw firsthand the discrimination: I grew up in an extended family home away from my parents. In my extended family, I had a very beautiful light-skinned sibling and everyone cherished her, including family and strangers. There were many instances when I felt that I was the choice of being sent errands or doing chores because I was dark-skinned. She could get away with everything, including not doing what she was asked to do, but not me. She was very light-skinned, naturally. She radiated beauty and highly favored by family and friends. She received almost everything she asked for, but not me. Boys went after her and that continued as we grew older, men lavished her with gifts. Boys went after the lighter-skinned girls at school. Somehow, the high-class men always seemed to be with the fairer girls. I watched as one of my darker friends was bullied, and called nasty nicknames like “Charcoal,” While I was ridiculed for having a fairer face, darker