Skin cancer is a Major cause of death amongst Jamaicans!
Skin lightening/ bleaching is a big deal in the Jamaican society. It is such a big deal that the Ministry of Health (MOH) saw it important to embrace a campaign geared at its discouragement in February 2007.
The practice is very serious because it addresses common concerns about our yearning for beauty. During the period of the MOH’s campaign which denounced skin bleaching, then Minister, Hon. Horace Dally articulated the seriousness of the situation in the following way, “Skin bleaching has become a fast and risky way for young men and women to become beautiful.”
With the association with beauty, skin bleaching has become extremely popular. We all have a desire to feel and be perceived as beautiful, and as such my concerns about how to discourage people from it. We saw in another article that health concerns weren’t enough to discourage bleachers. After all, doesn’t it make us feel better about ourselves and the way the world sees us? It seems like an uphill battle to me–trying to convince our citizenry to stop destroying their beautiful black skin when the color cards are staked up against them.
The root cause of contemporary skin bleaching practices–stigma and discrimination against Jamaicans of African decent–must be addressed if we are to ward off a skin cancer epidemic in our country. Skin cancer is reported as one of the major causes of death amongst Jamaican citizens and therefore it is just a matter of time before we have a full blown epidemic on our hands. We must therefore strive to change behavior by addressing physical, mental, and symbolic remnants of light-skinned superiority and dark-skinned inferiority which contributes to low self-esteem and confidence.
Our solution to the problem lies in our need to examine what is being done nationally to increase and inspire confidence about the beauty of the black skin and denounce the age old belief/ saying, “Nutten Black nuh Good !”
Tags: Elora Consulting, Horace Dalley, Jamaica, Jamaican, Jamaican Researcher, Ministry of Health, MOH, skin bleaching, skin lightening, St. Rachel, St. Rachel Ustanny
Health | jamresearcher November 2, 2008
4 Comments to “Skin cancer is a Major cause of death amongst Jamaicans!”
A Historical Review of Perceptions of Beauty and Colour in the Jamaican Society « Jamaican Researcher — November 23, 2008 @ 3:15 am
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By The Legal Mind, November 11, 2008 @ 8:48 pm
It is very unfortunate that after almost 500 years, we as a people are still psychologically damaged from the ideology, philosophy and methodology of white supremacy. I was in Jamaica recently and I was in shock to see how these young people were bleaching their lovely black skin to look white. It makes me sick to my stomach.
http://caribbeantravelexpert@wordpress.com
By The Legal Mind, November 11, 2008 @ 8:54 pm
Is there any evidence that the Jamaican Government ban those bleaching creams? We all should lobby a bill or legislation that will outlaw any such product in Jamaica. Mental slavery, it still exists in the minds of many of our people.
http://caribbeantravelexpert.wordpress.com/
By Yeye Akilimali Funua Olade, June 13, 2009 @ 1:30 pm
BUY YOUR CHILD THE BLACKEST SKIN DOLLS (SEE THEM ON THE NET-COME TO OUR SITE
yeyeolade.wordpress.com
under “the blackest dolls”
Keep pointing to our Black skinned beauties on the street as the most beautiful! MY CHILDREN GREW UP CHOOSING BLACK SKINNED BEST FRIENDS AND HUSBANDS AND THEY ARE NOT BLACK SKINNED BUT BROWN/YELLOW SO IT DEPENDS A LOT ON HOW THE PARENTS PROJECT BLACK SKIN!
ANOTHER MORE EFFECTIVE APPROACH IS TO DO WHAT WE DO A LOT IN NIGERIA-USE BLACK SKINNED MODELS FOR ADVERTS,MEDIA SPOTS,FEATURES SHOWING BLACK SKINNED PEOPLE OFTEN INSTEAD ALL LIGHT SKIN PEOPLE. TEACHING YOUR CHILDREN THAT THE BLACKEST SKIN IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL IS WHAT I DID AS A BLACKamerikkkan who WENT BACK TO AFRICA(NIGERIA) TO RAISE MY BLACK CHILDREN!
IN GABON THE PRESIDENT HAS BANNED SKIN BLEACHING-IF YOU BLEACH YOU GO TO JAIL! THAT IS ONE OF THE STEPS BLACK COUNTRIES MUST TAKE IN ADDITION TO JAILING PEOPLE WHO ARE SMUGGLING AND SELLING THESE PRODUCTS! WE ARE ASKING ALL BLOGS TO CAMPAIGN AGAINST IT, SHOWING THE SIDE EFFECTS AND DEADLY SIDE OF BLEACHING!