Skin Bleaching and the Prestige Complexion of Sexual Attraction

Abstract

This article focuses on the sexual attraction motive for skin bleaching in Jamaica. Some captive Africans on plantations in Jamaica altered their complexion. These Africans modeled the British in the colony who bleached their skin to protect the ''superior,'' ''sexy,'' and ideal white skin from the ''impurities'' of interracial sex and the tropical climate. The beauty and sexual attraction accorded to light skin was also evident in skin bleaching newspaper ads in the 1950s. The ads told women that acquiring light complexion through skin bleaching would make them sexually attractive to men. The persistence of colorism and its most blatant expression-skin bleaching-is also evident in contemporary Jamaica as expressed in some dancehall songs which praise skin bleachers, and the explanatory narratives of skin bleachers that bleaching makes them pretty and sexually attractive to potential spouses. Similar themes are reflected in the criticism that the browning Dancehall Queen Carlene was deemed sexually attractive and choreographically talented only because of her brown physicality. Some spouses request that their partner acquire the bleached physicality because they find it sexually attractive similar to many male clients in ''massage parlors'' who only request female sex workers who bleach their skin.

The global prevalence and correlates of skin bleaching: a meta‐analysis and meta‐regression analysis

“…Our findings on age prevalence from the meta‐analysis is in line with this perspective. In addition, obtaining social capital such as congeniality, esteem, and status and the chances of finding a spouse or employment are important motives for skin bleaching which pertain more strongly to younger than to older individuals. In sum, our findings on educational experience, marriage, employment, and practice during pregnancy show that the practice of skin bleaching transcends academic, relationship/marriage, employment, and pregnancy boundaries.…”

The globalization of whitening: prevalence of skin lighteners (or bleachers) use and its social correlates among university students in 26 countries

“…Even though people have tried to be proactive in meeting the rewards of a lighter skin tone by bleaching, there is still a strong undertone of negative self‐evaluation as sexual risk behavior and lower physical activity were found related to skin lightening. Some motives of skin bleaching included, among women in Tanzania, to satisfy one's partner and/or attract male mates and in Jamaica to increase sexual attraction …”

“…Some motives of skin bleaching included, among women in Tanzania, to satisfy one's partner and/or attract male mates 22 and in Jamaica to increase sexual attraction. 44…”

Framing Black women: The utility of knowledge

“…Research on colorism finds African Americans are affected by myths that denigrate the beauty of Black women because they differ from White constructed cultural norms of beauty (Charles, 2011;Hill, 2002;Hochschild & Weaver, 2007). Longitudinal research on a sample of 767 African American families finds lighter skin African American girls received higher quality parenting than darker skin girls (Landor et al, 2013).…”