written by Anti-Racist Parent columnist Liz Dwyer; originally published at Los Angelista’s Guide to the Pursuit of Happiness
Ladies and gentlemen, it’s NOT vitiligo. The once handsome Sammy Sosa has admitted to purposely bleaching his skin.
According to Sosa’s interview with the TV show Primer Impacto, turning into Casper the Friendly Ghost is merely a side effect of his skin moisturizer.
He says, “It’s a bleaching cream that I apply before going to bed and whitens my skin some.”
Funny how the story’s changed. A couple of days ago his camp was claiming Sammy’s appearance was the result of a skin rejuvenation process and too-bright lighting. Now it’s a moisturizer that has skin bleaching as a major side-effect.
“It’s a cream that I have, that I used to soften (my skin), but has bleached me some.”
Some? Is he for real?
“Some” is not the word I’d use to describe how bleached Sammy’s skin is. But clearly, he and I have different standards.
I wouldn’t continue to slather on a moisturizing cream if I discovered it inadvertently lightened my skin. If the moisturizer didn’t explicitly say on the box that it has a skin lightening effect, I’d hire a lawyer to draw up a suit against the manufacturer.
The only reason to not sue is if I bought the cream intending to purposely lighten my skin. And if I was Sammy, why would I purposely lighten my skin? Because I’m acting out my own internalized racism.
If you feel a little uncomfortable when that word “racism” pops up, no worries, Sammy wants us to know, “I’m not a racist. I live my life happily.”
Don’t you feel sooo reassured Sammy’s not behaving in a racist manner simply because he said he’s not racist?
Never mind that in our society lighter skin is presented as being all butterflies and ponies while darker skin is portrayed as hell on wheels. Nuh-uhh, Sammy Sosa hasn’t internalized any of that.
In fact, we 100% believe Sosa would’ve kept applying a moisturizer that made his skin turn darker instead of lighter. As long as it made his face baby bottom soft, right?
I guess we’re supposed to forget that Sammy also ran out and bought himself some straighter hair and colored contacts to go along with his new skin tone. But nope, he has no self-hatred going on whatsoever.
Sosa thinks we’re stupid, doesn’t he? He thinks that we believe our society is so post-racial a dark-skinned man can morph himself into a lighter skinned man with straighter hair and light eyes, and we’ll all think it’s simply about soft skin and living life “happily.”
Even my eight year-old son isn’t buying what Sammy’s selling. My boy took one look at Sosa’s side-by-side pictures and said, “Eww, what’s up with him?”
“Eww” is right. Sammy used to be such a good looking guy but now he’s positively wrecked his looks. “Looks like he lightened his skin,” I said to my son.
“That’s racist,” my son replied. “That’s gross.”
Thank God my boy feels that way. I’m sure there are plenty of people of color out there wondering what the cream is that Sosa used to get his “living-life-happily” lighter skin.
They’ll know the brand soon enough since apparently Sosa says he bought it in Europe and he’s considering becoming a spokesperson because he’s so happy with the results.
Yes, folks, Sammy Sosa likes his happy new light skin so much he wants to help sell it to all the rest of us.
If that’s really true, maybe we’ll see Sammy starring in an ad like this one that got shown in India last year for “White Beauty” — manufactured by good ole Ponds and their parent company Unilever:
I’m sure the makers of “White Beauty” -and the gut-wrenchingly sad commercial for it- say the same thing Sosa does: “I’m not a racist. I live my life happily.”
On the other hand: his skin, his money, his business.
It is kinda creepy, though. It looks like he’s gone to a lot of trouble – even his scalp above the hairline is lightened!
True, it is his business, but what an awful terrible shameful example to set for the millions of young fans he has cultivated. It’s also a bit sad that he thinks so little of himself as a man of color. Frankly, white isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, Sammy.
OMG. It’s hard to say much more.
I’d be interested to hear discussion on why his behavior is racist. Is it because he is not only buying into, but also role-modeling, the idea that white is better? I ask b/c I would tend to think he’s a victim of racism, rather than a racist, if he has such a negative perception of himself as black that he has to change his appearance.
it may be Sosa’s money to spend, but what about the ethics of an industry that profits off of racism? whose main product is in fact promoting racism? their direct message to consumers is “dark skin is undesirable in this society. pay us and our [maybe dangerous] products will help you achieve whiteness.”
Wow…I don’t know what made me cringe worse, what Sammy Sosa did to his skin or the tone of this article. Black women have been bleaching their skin for years in the world over…I remember reading a Black American’s account of visiting a country in Africa (Its been years, I cannot remember the country–the name of the country is irrelevant to this story) and seeing Black women who were ghost-like due to skin-bleaching creams who turned purple in the sun.
What about people like Lil’Kim and her long term skin bleaching? Black women who want to be White in looks are viewed with intellectual pity, but a Black man garners a different and interesting reaction, in general.
Maybe the article could have been written through the lenses of the impact of racism on POC’s self-perception/self-esteem and level of comfort with themselves.
I think that the public reactions to Sammy Sosa’s actions differ because he is a Black man doing this. And I cringe at what he did to himself. . . what is he going to do if he has babies who look just like his pre-bleached, pre-color contact lensed, pre-conked self?
It is sad to think that somone who has known so much success would have such a negative self image that he would want to alter himself like this. I also agree that this seems more like Sosa falling victim to society’s skewed version of beauty rather than his own racism. How is this different from women who alter their hair because they’ve been bombarded with the idea that straighter hair is better? It sounds like he thinks this looks better, but in my eyes he went from handsome man to yuck
He really does look *bleached*. It’s hard for me to think that it wasn’t intentional, considering how light he is all over. I apply body & facial moisturizer, but I don’t get my ears or the back of my neck or my eyelids . . . he appears to have been extremely thorough in the application of something that was only intended to give him soft skin. I’m not buying it!
The fact that he was willing to go through such a drastic change after he’s already famous as a black man speaks (at least in my opinion) to the depth of his issue with his race. What I mean is that he has to REALLY want it, in order to go through such scrutiny. He had to know it was going to draw attention. Didn’t he?
@cocolamala There’s quite a few companies I now avoid after seeing them flog skin whitening products in Indonesia. Ponds is one of the worst offenders, their ads are all based around the idea that milky white is the best, so god forbid if you’re a dark-skinned Indonesian girl (or even a white girl with freckles! I had department store staff telling me they were “ugly”! These products just create an environment in which criticising skin colour is perfectly ok). As you note, many of these products often contain dangerous substances (I seem to recall the Jakarta government raiding markets that were selling Chinese whiteners that included lead in their ingredients). You would see otherwise lovely girls with the strange mottling around their faces that was a sure sign of face whitening.
I remember one ad for a cream that was ENTIRELY based around the idea that a boy would choose a pale girl over a dark girl.
The biggest hypocrite as far as I am concerned is the Body Shop. A million body image campaigns can’t make up for the fact that they sell skin whitening cream – but only in Asia. They wouldn’t try that in Australia (or America), I’m willing to bet. Just disgusting.
I agree with you on the Sosa thing. It’s really sad to see that. However, skin whitening in Asia is a different beast — white skin has been celebrated for many centuries in literature and poetry — and women there have whitened their skin for a very long time. It’s not all about white folks.
and of course after watching those indian ponds ads i would say we can thank the media also for perpetrating all this propaganda making people unhappy with their own color, especially when it comes down to sex and attraction, theyve went alittle too far, if you want lighter skin fine, but having these “he will love me if im whiter” ads are a bit sick and create resentment to light skin people..
I’m not sure what to think. Sosa may find beauty in European skin tones and that may be what he wants, as bizarre as he may look.
Honestly, I’m not seeing it as any different then all the major African American actresses and actors and models and nearly all black athletes, all of which apart from Alek Wek and Naomi Campbell , have had nose jobs, be they very subtle or or very obvious. The nose jobs make them look more European, their faces look comparatively narrower and less wide on the screen and in print (not saying that is preferable but that is why they are doing it). its especially rare to see an AA actor or actress on TV without nose work of some kind these days.
Neither do I think its that different from the masses of European and Asian hair that many AA actresses/models have woven into their scalps. One could argue that the chemicals in skin lighteners are toxic, which they are but so are the chemicals from relaxers, oils, glue etc etc costs fortunes and in many cases looks really awful and is ironically expensive and hard to maintain.
After seeing “This Is It” I realized that Michael Jackson never wanted to be white in a spiritual or racial sense, he simply wanted to look very European. European was the preferred look he sought for himself for reasons only known clearly to himself. Probably all his heroes childhood like Charlie Chaplin and Jack Wild had the look he saw himself having. I don’t think it is ALWAYS a media influenced brainwash when someone of color wants to look European just as I don’t think it’s a media brainwash when a white kid gets dreds, braids, nose piercings and prefers a shapely bottom heavy figure.
Personally, I think if he slimmed down a bit, had a better haircut and his original skin tone cleaned up to where it was more even toned (not lighter, just even) he’d look sharp. I think he’ll realize its unflattering and get bronzed.
Ponds should be boycotted.
SuperAmanda,
That is the point. It would not be surprising if Sammy Sosa finds more beauty in “European skin tones.” Western society preferences Eurocentric beauty standards and people of color have to struggle to accept their own physicality in a culture that tells them brown skin, kinky hair and African features are less than. The result is that many POC hate the skin they’re in.
I would advocate that the reason so many actors and actresses of color thin their features and hide their natural skin is because the majority culture finds them more acceptable that way. In fact, many have said as much. For instance, many black female actresses have said that they would NOT get work if they wore their hair in natural styles (hell, many everyday black women can’t get work if they wear natural hairstyles).
Your comment assumes that POC conform to Eurocentric beauty standards because, well, we just agree with them and that’s okay. That idea seems completely divorced from the history of colonization and the resulting self hatred found in colonized people.
You mentioned Michael Jackson…that he didn’t want to be white “in spirit” (whatever that means), he just liked European features. Michael Jackson and his brothers and sisters have been quite frank about the ways they were teased as children for their black features. Michael, in particular, was teased about his “big, wide nose.” Is it a surprise, then, that he eventually did everything he could to erase the Africanness in his nose?
If you think POC coveting whiteness isn’t a problem, then I suggest you watch this report on “the doll test” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqSFqnUFOns) and watch this featurette on “A Girl Like Me” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAOZhuRb_Q8).
” However, skin whitening in Asia is a different beast — white skin has been celebrated for many centuries in literature and poetry — and women there have whitened their skin for a very long time.”
Yes, but just because something is cultural doesn’t mean it’s acceptable. Sammy Sosa is Dominican (not African American), but it doesn’t lessen the impact just because it’s a longstanding cultural norm to uphold lighter skin in the DR. I think it’s still a form of racism to value one skin tone over another.
I’m well aware of the doll experiments and how and why it affects everyone. I grew up with curly hair and olive skin as white person and was called “N word girl” etc on occasion even if they (racists blacks as well as whites) got it wrong. I lived in right wing rural California where they burn crosses and murder gays, its a very nasty world full of stupid rude people that don’t se gradations in culture and nationality. But you learn to negotiate and hopefully not give into extremism like skin bleaching, unless that’s what you WANT or need to do. Sosa has to figure out that for himself without being pitied or damned.
I just finished watching Beyonce’s special, she has lighter skin, considerably lighter skin from when she was first starting out. She looks physically stunning in any look, yet she has the blond weave and her back up dancers have the naturals. She’s not doing anything that different than Sousa but she gets a free pass. No one would dare accuse her in the mainstream media of lightening up (the way Mariah Carey is always blasted) but she has and honestly, at this point, its her choice and to analyze it, criticize it etc is pointless. All we can do is tell our children to love themselves for who they are and not be suckers for the media.
I’m not divorced from the remnants of colonialism but it has been over fifty years since the majority of powers went through decolonization and I expect people to start utilizing their options and fighting against the media not continually buying into it and then complaining they have no choice against beauty standards. With the internet we could shut down Ponds if we wanted to!
I also expect POC as well as whites to start looking at what has gone wrong since decolonization and be brave enough to look at mistakes many indigenous governments are making without fearing they’ll be labeled “racist.” South Africa post Apartheid is in huge trouble as a multicultural group of citizens who want to work and live together struggles against a corrupt black leadership and a resurgence of white supremacy yet the approved PC myth in the states is that “whites got what they deserve after the ANC took power” Is that how to rebuild a society? Guess that’s another post!
“For instance, many black female actresses have said that they would NOT get work if they wore their hair in natural styles”
Then caustic idiots like Spike Lee need to stop complaining about Clint Eastwood and Tyler Perry’s personal choices as directors and start supporting a black film community. Blaxpoliation films literally were shut down by lobbying from the NAACP during the 70′s and what for? How inept! Now Blaxploitation films are COVETED old school cinematic gems of camp featuring real features, real hair and over the top multi-racial casts in crazy situations. Each film is like a little money pit, even a silly one. Someone will buy it on VHS, then laser disc, DVD, then blue ray etc etc
“At the same time, the films were accused of stereotyping blacks, the audience they aimed to appeal to, as pimps and drug dealers. This dovetailed with common white stereotypes about black people, and as a result, many called for the end of the blaxploitation genre. The NAACP, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and the Urban League joined together to form the Coalition Against Blaxploitation. Backed by many black film professionals, this group received much media exposure and hastened the death of the genre by the late 1970s.”
No, don’t actually make money doing B films like Rober Corman has and then have POWER to cast whomever you want and direct whatever you want. Shut down your brothers and sisters who are building a film empire! Spike Lee would do the same thing to Tyler Perry if he could….
Michael Jackson employed some of the most ethnically diverse people (including whites) that i’ve ever seen on one stage. His child’s nanny, his staff etc are not media ready over styled POC. But that is what I perceived with my eyes. He had a desire for a type of look that was very precise and I don’t see all of what he did with his appearance as negative-he did what he wanted. I don’t necessarily see him as a scared man running from childhood bullies, I think he had a hell of a lot more power over who he was then that.
Please watch Michael Jackson
Angry black man, the sound is low at first:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q94H7-bKNxo
And Happy Thanksgiving. Peace.