Full Description
This book examines the controversial global phenomenon of skin bleaching. It uses a social psychological approach to explain the motivations, behavior, and medical consequences of the practice, considering why some people use products to lighten their complexion.
Written by a world-leading expert in skin bleaching, the book takes a nuanced approach to understanding skin bleaching that looks further than the standard claims of low self-esteem, a form of self-hatred. It goes beyond looking at individual personality traits to consider the cultural norms, values, shared social meanings, and practices about race and skin color, showing how shared meanings from social representation guide people's behavior in their culture. The book draws predominantly on research from Jamaica, but considers how skin bleaching is practised in different cultural contexts across the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa. Chapters consider the history of race and skin color, how skin color and race are portrayed in popular culture, how skin color and race form two of some people's social identities, and how skin bleaching has become an established social practice in many settings. It also looks at the consequences of skin bleaching and suggests policy responses that could help curb the practice.
The Psychology of Skin Bleaching will be highly relevant reading for students and scholars in the fields of psychology, Black and Caribbean studies, sociology, anthropology, cultural studies, and health. It will also be of interest to professionals including psychiatrists and public health practitioners, and anyone interested in better understanding the psychological and bodily expressions of racialized discrimination and oppression.
Contents
List of Figures
List of Tables
Introduction
Chapter 1 Social Representations
Chapter 2 Race and Skin Color in the Past and Present
Chapter 3 The Global Practice of Skin Bleaching
Chapter 4 Skin Bleaching in Colonial and Postcolonial Newspapers
Chapter 5 Skin Bleaching, Race, and Skin Color in Popular Culture
Chapter 6 Creating the Self: Race, Skin Color, and Identity
Chapter 7 Skin Bleaching as Established Social Practice
Chapter 8 Musings on the Politics of Race and Skin Color
Chapter 9 Some Policy Suggestions in Response to Skin Bleaching
References
Appendix
