Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/06/25/skin-whitening-cream-to-be-mad.html
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The brand has never been and is not a bleaching product," Unilever added
Then what is it supposed to be for? 
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I never understand why people want to change their complexion. People are beautiful the way they are.
Orange you glad you don’t have to prezz that stuff onto your face every day?
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The double-helix on the packaging makes me think “eugenics”, but maybe that’s just me…
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Hmm. Well, have you ever tried to understand racism, classism and sexism?
To varying degrees in different countries, all three have a lot to do with social pressure to lighten one’s skin.
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Yes, I’ve tried to understand them. What I was trying to say is that people are amazing they way they are and should not have to modify their appearances.
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Maybe they just admitted that it doesn’t work?
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I don’t know if this is the crap Sammy Sosa used, but I wonder how many others also pair the “non-bleach” with colored contact lenses.
after this picture, I need a little palate cleanser:
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Best Uhura line ever:
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So she fends Sulu off with a nipple twist, huh?
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No, it does work. It’s big business in other countries selling whitening creams.
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Because they’ve been told that whiteness is the pinnacle of human beauty. when you live within a system that consistently privileges white people, you start to buy it, too.
And this shit is global, too… This book has some great essays on these issues through products like skin whitening creams:
https://www.dukeupress.edu/The-Modern-Girl-Around-the-World/
That is true, but if you have a system where being able to move up at all means conforming to European standards or living in utter and abject poverty, racism, classism, and sexism have an impact, like it or not. We do not live in a world that’s neutral in that respect and never have. We’re all shaped by forces outside of our control.
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That’s what really pisses me off. I don’t understand the obsession with stereotypical Nordic complexion being the standard for beauty. It should be a genre, not an aspiration.
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It’s nice to say, but you know people do. They style their hair and trim their beards and put on makeup and so on and so on in hopes of looking better. And we have people we hold up as great examples of how to look, and if you are lucky you only need to copy their styles to look a bit like them too. But some people are going to notice other differences.
Did you know in China nose enlargement surgery is common? It might seem strange, when people in America tend to have the opposite. But they get enough influence from western culture that they can look around and see all these movie stars and models and even mannequins that have bigger noses than most locals do. It’s easy to imagine how that would send a message that a bigger nose would be more attractive and make you wish you could have one.
We can say people of all complexions are beautiful and even mean it. But so long as they are represented unevenly, the words are going to ring hollow to people who do not get to see people like themselves shown that way.
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I was referring to their specific product, rather than whiteners in general.
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It’s a byproduct of empire. 
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I appreciate the sentiment but I also think this can into the problem: that the goal is or should be beauty. “Beautiful the way you are” still implicitly admits beauty as an important goal.
Beauty standards go hand in hand with wealth and power. Whether it is light skin signifying that you don’t have to spend all day in the sun, light skin signifying you are part of the wealthy imperialists, physical fitness or tan indicating you have leisure time for exercise and vacation, weight signifying you are wealthy enough to have easy access to food, it is impossible to separate societal standards of beauty, especially for women, from wealth and power. While male beauty standards do exist, they just have a lot less social weight attached to them.
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I’m white and would prefer to be darker, hence being under the sunbed once a week. At no point have I ever considered this to have anything to do with race/racism/class or whatever. People are obsessed with racism these days.
Let people have the colour skin they want, why does it always have to be something more than that?
It’s sold by Unilever in at least 4 countries and considering that not some random shady company but you know… Unilever i would guess it does what it says on the box. Although they’re saying its was never meant to be a whitening cream which is perplexing. The BB post mentions that in past materials they used to include “shade guides”, so i’m more curious what they think its supposed to be for.
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