Sometimes accused of using whitening products, celebrities such as Michael Jackson, Sammy Sosa and Lil Kim have all been accused of bleaching. When you look at their photos from then and now you can see a difference in the color of their skin. Michael Jackson never spoke out against the allegations, but he was known to have a skin condition called vitiligo. In his autopsy he revealed that he had vitiligo and used a cream called Benoquin, which treated the skin disease by lightening pigmented spots. (Harris, 2016). Sammy Sosa agrees with the accusations, saying that the bleaching cream he uses is applied every night. The most shocking transformation is that of Lil Kim. Even though it is quite clear that he has had a major transformation, some say he is still denying the allegations. African American celebrities who have had dramatic skin complexion transformations are assumed to give people of color a negative outlook on how they can positively deal with not being accepted into society's standards. Since some people idolize certain celebrities, they tend to follow and admire all the actions of celebrities, even if some are not the best decision. Some people will look at these negative actions and may think that they should change themselves to please everyone else, or they may think that if they don't change themselves, they will never be accepted. Among all races, blacks tend to discriminate more against each other, a phenomenon called colorism, and there is discrimination against dark skin especially in the black community; therefore, it makes most dark-skinned people feel like they can't associate with any other race because even their own race won't accept them. While it may seem like only women bleach, but men are known to do it too, a guy named Jackson Marcelle says, “I pray every day and ask God, 'God why did you make me black? “Remember: This is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a custom essay I don't like being black. I don't like black skin” (Fihlani, 2013, para. 5). As you can see, there are different types of racism, some of them within certain communities known as colorism. Colorism affects the black community in an extraordinary way; however, a lot could be said that it is not just dark skinned people who are affected by colorism, but the evidence suggest that dark skin is the most affected; from kids praying to be lighter, to whitening in hopes of being accepted into society No, colorism cannot be changed in a matter of days, weeks or even months, but addressing the problem will provide people with information that will guide them in the positive direction of self-acceptance. Elmore, V. (2009) . Journal of Black Studies, 39(3), 408-425. Norman, R. (2016). Skin whitening and global white supremacy: By way of introduction. Journal of Pan African Studies, 9(4), 1-11."Dying to be White: Skin Whitening in South Africa." (2014). University of Cape Town. Retrieved from http://www.health-e.org.za/2014/03/12/dying-white-skin-bleaching-south-africa/Matala, NS (2017). Complexion-based discrimination and skin whitening in South Africa: The political economy of skin colour. African Journal of Criminology and Justice Studies, 10(1), 20-39.Fihlani, P. (2013). Africa: where black is not exactly beautiful. BBC News. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-20444798Rubin, B. (2016). Lupita Nyong'o talks about beauty and color prejudice. The New York Times. Extracted from-20444797

Topic > Sometimes accused of using whitening products, celebrities such as Michael Jackson, Sammy Sosa and Lil Kim have all been accused of bleaching. When you look at their photos from then and now you can see a difference in the color of their skin. Michael Jackson never spoke out against the allegations, but he was known to have a skin condition called vitiligo. In his autopsy he revealed that he had vitiligo and used a cream called Benoquin, which treated the skin disease by lightening pigmented spots. (Harris, 2016). Sammy Sosa agrees with the accusations, saying that the bleaching cream he uses is applied every night. The most shocking transformation is that of Lil Kim. Even though it is quite clear that he has had a major transformation, some say he is still denying the allegations. African American celebrities who have had dramatic skin complexion transformations are assumed to give people of color a negative outlook on how they can positively deal with not being accepted into society's standards. Since some people idolize certain celebrities, they tend to follow and admire all the actions of celebrities, even if some are not the best decision. Some people will look at these negative actions and may think that they should change themselves to please everyone else, or they may think that if they don't change themselves, they will never be accepted. Among all races, blacks tend to discriminate more against each other, a phenomenon called colorism, and there is discrimination against dark skin especially in the black community; therefore, it makes most dark-skinned people feel like they can't associate with any other race because even their own race won't accept them. While it may seem like only women bleach, but men are known to do it too, a guy named Jackson Marcelle says, “I pray every day and ask God, 'God why did you make me black? “Remember: This is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a custom essay I don't like being black. I don't like black skin” (Fihlani, 2013, para. 5). As you can see, there are different types of racism, some of them within certain communities known as colorism. Colorism affects the black community in an extraordinary way; however, a lot could be said that it is not just dark skinned people who are affected by colorism, but the evidence suggest that dark skin is the most affected; from kids praying to be lighter, to whitening in hopes of being accepted into society No, colorism cannot be changed in a matter of days, weeks or even months, but addressing the problem will provide people with information that will guide them in the positive direction of self-acceptance. Elmore, V. (2009) . Journal of Black Studies, 39(3), 408-425. Norman, R. (2016). Skin whitening and global white supremacy: By way of introduction. Journal of Pan African Studies, 9(4), 1-11."Dying to be White: Skin Whitening in South Africa." (2014). University of Cape Town. Retrieved from http://www.health-e.org.za/2014/03/12/dying-white-skin-bleaching-south-africa/Matala, NS (2017). Complexion-based discrimination and skin whitening in South Africa: The political economy of skin colour. African Journal of Criminology and Justice Studies, 10(1), 20-39.Fihlani, P. (2013). Africa: where black is not exactly beautiful. BBC News. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-20444798Rubin, B. (2016). Lupita Nyong'o talks about beauty and color prejudice. The New York Times. Extracted from-20444797