The long history of racist beauty standards alone cannot explain the ongoing global use of harmful skin lighteners.
Academic rigor, journalistic flair
Articles on colourism
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The racism that underpins colourism must be challenged.
A philosopher's take on the ethics of products that allow parents to lighten the skin colour of their unborn baby.
At the root of the skin bleaching phenomenon is a psychological complex.
Colourism - or discrimination based on the skin tone - manifests in different ways across the world. In the main it means that light skin is seen as desirable and dark skin as undesirable.
Unregulated over-the-counter skin lighteners can have detrimental effects on the men and women who use them. So why are governments in Africa not taking steps to ban these products?
Top contributors
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Professor of Cell Biology, Dept of Human Biology, UCT, University of Cape Town
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Senior researcher, Centre for Social Change, University of Johannesburg
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Professor of Social Work, Michigan State University
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History Professor, University of Washington
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Lecturer in Global Ethics, Department of Philosophy, University of Birmingham
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Post-Doctoral Researcher, School of History, Religions & Philosophies, SOAS, University of London
