Post-colonialism is a highly debatable theory, but can be clearly defined as what occurs after colonialism. This includes the cultural, agricultural, and social impacts of the European conquests. An example of these impacts is the attempt to create some kind of identity within their own nation once becoming independent; the “expectations” of the colonist are often passed down to the colony itself. This results in much of the colonized country’s culture being defined by the colonists, and therefore any knowledge of this country that we have is usually false and manipulated by the colonists. Consequently, the Caucasian appearance is often perceived as “better”, which leads to many people being influenced into thinking they are nothing if they do not look like the population of the colonist countries.
A prominent example of this in today’s culture is the idea of plastic surgery in order to change someone’s race. In China, many women get surgery to appear more white, whether it be getting a pointier nose or rounder eyes, including the popular double eyelid surgery. The Christian Broadcasting Network did a story on this issue, in which they interviewed different women on their intentions for the surgery.
Many advertisements pressure people to have this look around the world by showing models with “white” faces and features, showing that one must be Caucasian in order to be beautiful. In addition to this, Maxim magazine also releases a list of the “World’s 100 Most Beautiful Women”, which is often mostly Caucasian women, reinforcing the idea that they are the definition of beauty.
Vaseline also released a skin whitening lotion in India, along with a Facebook application that shows people what they would look like with lighter skin. This want for light skin relates to the need to appear more Caucasian in order to be accepted in society, as was stated by many interviewees in the Christian Broadcasting Network video. A milk advertisement by Cravendale also implies that one cannot be pure and kind if they have imperfections such as a skin colour other than white.
Beyonce was involved in a recent controversy based on her photo shoot for the French magazine L’Officiel. Beyonce’s face was darkened very significantly as a tribute to a Nigerian musician and human rights activist. The make up used to darken her face has been rumoured to be the make up which wass used to portray harsh caricatures of African Americans in historical theatre and entertainment. I also believe that another issue connected to this photo shoot is the fact that the magazine used a “whiter” African American as a tribute to Nigerians, rather than an actual Nigerian woman. This brings up the idea of Nigerian women perhaps not being beautiful enough to use for photo shoots, or that more Americanized women are better than foreign women. The fact that Beyonce has lighter skin shows that the magazine may be mocking black skin, since it is different and very surprising to see. This once again reinforces the idea that light skin is “better”, and proves that post-colonialism still affects our world today.
I agree with your points about how different cultures idolize those with fairer skin. I know many people, particularity Asian women, use umbrellas and wear gloves in the sun to avoid tanning (LIKE THOSE OLD LADIES IN RICHMOND...). Anyways, I just find it ironic that while those who are not Caucasian try to stay as pale as possible, many Caucasians themselves like to tan and aim to be as dark as possible. An obvious example: Snooki.
ReplyDeleteI find it fascinating that women would go to the extreme to permanently change their facial features. This reminds me of Heidi Montag, a celebrity that went through eleven plastic surgeries in one day. She was all over the media, which I thought was a really bad influence to young girls. They would think it is acceptable to change who they are, instead of embracing their own natural beauty.
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