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On a lighter tone

There is a male Nigeria celebrity that goes by the name Bobrisky. Born Okuneye Idris Olarenwaju in 1992, he paints a controversial figure, with his active social media persona which underwent a sudden metamorphosis and changed to a lighter version of his former self. Although there are some issues as regards his sexuality but that not what I am concentrating on now. Unlike the Western world, homosexuality is still consider a criminal offense in Nigeria. Although a lot of Nigerians are incredulous about sexuality in Nigeria, willing to believe that homosexuality is imported from the West. Also there are some religious undertones to what is seen as being unacceptable behavior in most developing conservative countries. It is thought that by some that Bobrisky and his kind are polluting the youth.
This is a social problem and one can assume those who bleach their skin do not feel "comfortable in their own skins". This might be due to the loss of confidence in themselves due to emotional or physical abuse. Micheal Jackson, should seen as a case study in this regard and his tragic and unfortunate life story as an example to those who ever thought about "toning". MJ did undergo emotional and physical abuse by his father and brothers, who just wanted to get out of poverty and saw MJ as a solution to their problems. This left him with "Financial problems, broken relationships, body dysmorphic disorder and countless cosmetic surgeries, drug abuse, and questionable if not criminal relationships with minors".

What I am concerning myself with is the fact that these skin lightening products may contain hydroquinone, corticosteroids or mercury. These may cause
1. skin turning dark or too light
2. thinning of the skin (this will cause problems if they are to operate on you, because it does not heal well)
3. visible blood vessels in the skin
4. scarring
5. kidney, liver or nerve damage.
6. abnormalities in a newborn baby (if used during pregnancy)
So what can we do about it, men should start looking at their darker sisters more - and avoid colorism. Colorism is the practice that those with lighter skin are treated more favorably than those with darker skin. As, the society has been wired to think that lighter is more beautiful. It is a colonial mentality, that we should avoid. Statements like - “she does look beautiful for a dark skin girl,” encourage such behavior although might be well intended cause a lot of insecurity in those children with darker skin. Women and men are made to feel inferior than their lighter skin counterparts.



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