Bleaching creams and the bigger issue

(Honestly, I don't know if I can express myself eloquently enough or if I can adequately articulate my thoughts and emotions, but here goes nothing)


Often times, when I see a post or an article on the 'HORROR' of bleaching creams, it usually goes on about how 'bad' and damaging it is and how we should all 'love' the skin we're in.

But it never goes down to the deeper issue, to the internalized issue.

If it's so bad, why does it make such a bundle every year in third worlds countries? (Bringing in $140 million yearly)

Why don't we see it for what it really is?

This unholy obsession with fairness, white skin, is damaging not only to our self-esteems but on our whole perception of race.

Who gets put onto a pedestal because of this? And why?

Internalized and systematic racism is everywhere and is evident in the boom of 'Fair and Lovely' crap.

It affects every person of color because of the perceived superiority of white people and those 'blessed' with fairness (although they are nothing compared to white people).

Personal experience- I grew up seeing my mother touted for her light skin in comparison with her other sisters. I was lighter than my own sister, but could never compare to my cousins. This led to summers spent mainly inside in order to avoid the 'darkening' rays of the sun and a very low self-esteem. Whenever I did venture outside, I would go into shady areas and if I did happen to come home a bit darker, I would be my harshest critic. One of my aunts gave me a bleaching cream that I would use sometimes, to the point of becoming obsessed with the color of my skin. But it'd never be enough. I would never look like those girls on the cover of my Seventeen magazine. Now, don't pity me. I was foolish. I was subtly (my aunt would recommend me to use the cream in order to 'even out' my skin tone) led to believe that my skin color was inferior to my lighter cousins who were also told to use the cream. And this isn't even about my aunt, who is a good-hearted person, but what she was also led to believe as child. This feeling of unworthiness was internalized as child as my parents grew up in Africa. They went to missionary schools filled with white nuns and teachers who taught them English and made the connection that white=good.

Although they didn't notice it at first, this reverence for white people and their skin color is rampant in many third world countries.



-composes self-

It's stupid ads like this that reinforce such ideals although an argument can be said that along with the post-colonial effects, such views could be stem from the culture.

From society upholding such damaging views. Although it is not limited to India, of course.

Can I be frank here?

We need to get a grip on ourselves and work hard towards dismantling the perception of white equaling goodness and beauty. To stop wasting our money on half-assed creams and staying indoors but traveling by night.

The world is not post-racial, meaning we still have a long ways to go until such stupid perceptions and views are gone and creams such as Fair and Lovely are banned.

I love my skin color and admit that I compare my face with that of my arms, my arms are covered all the time outside the house.
Even the word 'fair' bothers me.
What's fair about being prized while anyone darker is rejected?

I guess what I'm trying to get at in this entire ramble is that racism is still a big issue and one way I'm choosing to retaliate is racism in the form of bleaching creams.

Thank you and have a nice day.

Projecting one's own fears

December 9th, 2009

Warning: INSANELY LONG POST (well not really)

If you feel uncomfortable regarding posts on race, than please refrain from commenting. This post has nothing to do with Islam.

So, hopefully, many of you know that I'm in mostly in high level classes in my high school, right?

And do any of you remember the anxiety I felt when I was still taking Journalism during the beginning of this school year?

Well, in my English and U.S history classes (both Advanced Placement so.. work -ugh-), I am...

no, I'm NOT the only minority; if you look at it, it seems that the majority is actually the minority in these classes.

Instead, I'm the minority of the minorities.

Funny right?

1st period history, the bane of my existence, is where I'm the only representation of my race and religion. [Black, Muslim; Sure, I'm East African, but to everyone else I'm black( or African American) , so I will refer to myself as so]

However in 4th period English, there are two other muslims; one who's Indian and male (so you'd never know) and another who's Asian and female (she wears hijab too, so you'd assume we'd be best buds.)

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Before I continue, I'd like to start with an Oprah quote (don't hate)

"Excellence is the best deterrent to racism or sexism"

I do my best. I do better than my best.

It's like this unconscious need to somehow 'prove' myself . That I am not some stereotype

(this need to dispel stereotypes is very annoying and stressful in my everyday life. I always have to 'second-guess' myself and see who I hang out with)

What I thought and still think to be a moment of subtle racism or at the very least (low expectations):

So, English is my strong point. I love it. I love writing, I can memorize vocabulary easily; so it's no surprise I get good grades on the tests. But every time we have a test, she always walks down my row so much more often than the other rows. After asking my brother -who had her- about it, he waved it away and said that she always goes down one row more often than others. So I brushed it aside. We switched seats monthly and when we took a quiz, it happened, AGAIN. I have an A average in this class, and if she presumes that I'm cheating; well that's hurtful and damaging to all of my efforts as a student in that class.

One can easily -knowing my brother's not so well score in that class- dismiss such paranoia and say that maybe I'm just like my brother.

Umm, that's still a bad; maybe even worse.

Assuming that a) I'm not good in English just because a sibling wasn't

b) That I'd resort to cheating so as not to become A

c) That with repeated high test scores, one would still fall to such low levels to sniff out a 'cheat'

And worse yet, there ARE students who cheat in that class. Many who cheat in ALL classes thanks to SIBLING. But how would the teacher know? She never goes down any other row after all.

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Which brings me to the point of this post.

Projecting my fears of racism onto others; that maybe, I somehow distort the reality, claiming that I'm a victim.

I don't openly digress such issues of race with people; certainly not with people who I just know will not fully understand me.

And I don't 'prefer' the company of my own race; nor do I hang out exclusively with hijabis or muslims or somalis.

But whenever I raise a hand in class or maybe make some folly; I grow self-conscious (or a more positive 'self-aware') of the results of my actions, and people's changing viewpoints of me.

Now honestly, I don't give a sh-- what anyone thinks of me; but I need to find solace on whether it's just that I'm perceiving racism- or in actuality, there is some sort of preference or subtle racism going on.

Don't think I'm discussing racism from only white people; I'm a minority of minorities, I'm talking about I feel with no one to to at the very least, vent to- with the knowledge that they would completely comprehend my feeling seeing as how they are 'the same as me.'

At least in those two classes. The reason why I don't talk much with the other muslims in the English class is:

1) You'd never know the guy was muslim, people just think he's 'indian' (shows how intelligent they are), and we have nothing in common.

2) She is quiet. And I mean, EXTREMELY QUIET. I've known her since the 7th grade and I've made many attempts to have a decent conversation. We walk to the MSA meetings and sometimes have a talk or two, but really, I'm not keen on being the only one talking in a conversation. Plus, sometimes I forget she's even in the same class due to the silence [somehow I feel like a bad hijabi whenever I go up and act out a play we're reading] We've also been in the same class for two years. Shame.

I hang out with mostly Asians, I'm not ashamed of it.

But there are some bad apples who are extremely racist.

They hate mexicans (majority at our school, but still minorities in the advanced classes), completely closed off to other cultures and are insensitive to my beliefs and who I am.

I tell those people off all the time and refuse to acknowledge their presence when I'm with my own group of friends (a mix of Indian, Filipino, Vietnamese, e.t.c)

So again, this is partially me talking outloud and trying to figure out if I'm projecting my own fears onto certain people in my advanced classes and french class; or maybe I'll just be black-balled as the 'over-emotional' POC. Maybe I didn't reach a conclusion in this post, or a viable solution to my 'problem' which will only be regarded as such until a person of majority sees it as important; but it's still justified and it's still important to me.

This post has turned into a rant/digression, so excuse the lack of structure. And this post has nothing to do with Islam; I made a post partially concerning that

Leave me and my rant be.

Thank you for reading this insanely long post

www.stuffwhitepeopledo.blogspot.com (you'll probably feel confirmed that this was an anti-white post but it wasn't and it has nothing to do with that; but the blog linked above just makes me feel as if there are people out there who understand; even if no one's experience is quite the same.)

Race Relations- no not NASCAR

Cliched photo of a 'post-race' world

(Note: I am not trying to cause any drama here, nor am I talking about anyone, astagfurillah, I'm just giving my own views about what I see and hear in my own real life, not the blogs)

For people who say they are colorblind:

Honestly, I can write more than a post dedicated on the ignorant idealistic few out there, but I'll try my best to shorten it.

No body is colorblind. Race and religion are a part of everyday life and it effects how we perceive and judge someone. No matter how much we try to be equal and fair to everyone else, we're still human, and judging before knowing is bound to happen. It is those few out there who extol the virtues of a 'no race' society that endanger the minorities. Now this can extend to Affirmative Action and reverse discrimination but that's another story which has its own particular beginnings.

[Excerpt from Wikipedia:

There are two general perspectives of color blindness and this schism in the term's meaning has potentially broken it down into two debated definitions. Especially among liberals, the term "color blindness" may be perceived as a technique that is either positive or negative toward racially marginalized groups: supporters of color blindness tend to perceive it as act of equality in that it involves the beneficial, deliberate avoidance of privileging any one race over others; critics tend to perceive it as an indirect act of oppression in that it involves ignoring and overlooking the privileges already bestowed upon certain races over others. From both perspectives, color blindness may be perceived as intending to help minorities even if critics claim that it may unintentionally harm them.

I'm describing the negative aspect of colorblindness that bothers me]

If everyone were equal, yes alhamdulillah it would be a perfect world, but for those toting the particular hadith of denying your race or nationality because it is rotten, remember that Allah swt made us into different nations tribes so that we may get along. If we coexisted in a total color blind society, many individuals and their experiences would be ignored due to the 'tendency to overlook things' in such a society. Because we'd all have to be fair, the racism person A experiences wouldn't matter since 'shhhhh,' race cannot be discussed.

Race relations in many countries have been damaged because of those in power, the majority of certain races, so I honestly cannot say that by denying my ethnicity, or my skin color, everything is going to be alright.

I do not have the privilege to do so.

Yes, I am definitely a muslim first and alhamdulillah -Go Ummah!-, but in a multifaceted world in which the manipulation of race has caused hatred, dividing and uniting people, I know that I will be judged for my outer appearance.

It's just those people who bug me, those who (unknowing of their privilege) talk about how society has changed and that by dropping who and what I am, I can be free from the shackles of discrimination and oppression.

Oh how wrong, I personally think they are. This is all just my own opinions of course, some people may actually agree that one should denounce their own culture and identity to adopt the muslim one.

But I prefer adapting my own previous identity to mesh with my Muslim one. I don't think my culture or race is rotten; I think those who deny the immense cruelty this world can produce are ignoring the truth.

No one's colorblind m'kay? I think even stating that shows that one is naive. I think one can be accepting of other races and religions, and we can all try to look past race to see the character of the person; but I don't think I can enter any society and not be looked down upon or hated on by at least one person because of my 'difference.' None of us can.

In order to be united as an Ummah and as human beings, we need to accept our many races and cultures and nationalities, not throw them away once we take shahadah or rediscover our faith. It's the multiculturalism that enriches a society not total assimilation to one culture, whether it be Arab or Indonesian (no specifics just random muslim populated nationalities/ethnicity)

~Modest Justice

(I'm very interested in Race Relations, Gender Studies and History which talk about all of these things, let's just say this issue is one of the many that are very important to me)