Most Jamaicans are filled with black self-hatred.

Why is there so much black self-hatred in Jamaica? As we all know, Jamaica is one of the few places in the world today where the practice of skin bleaching has reached epidemic proportions, especially amongst the poor of the so-called garrison towns. Many Jamaicans will bleach themselves under the mistaken belief that having a fairer, whiter skin will lead to better jobs, better housing, greater social mobility, as well as greater popularity amongst the opposite sex. Even in spite of the dangers that can arise from using skin lightening cremes, such as developing skin cancer, glaucoma, and diabetes, many still view the pursuit of having a whiter, lighter skin as well worth the risk.

Here is a video about a family of Jamaican skin bleachers. Check this out:

http://www.vybzmagazine.com/skin-bleaching-a-disturbing-problem-in-jamaica/

In the video, notice that the old Jamaican woman being interviewed by Michelle Bromley-McGhie has clearly suffered a large amount of skin damage to her face because of bleaching. However, she not only continues to apply the creme to her face and body, but encourages her daughter to bleach her own skin as well. Talk about sick!

Now lets place this video in some context. According to City University of New York scholar and researcher Christopher A.D. Charles, in a 2007 paper first published in The Journal of Black Studies and entitled “Skin Bleachers’ Representations of Skin Color in Jamaica “:

A content analysis was done of the reasons the participants give for bleaching their skin. The participants bleach their skin to remove facial blemishes, to make their faces “cool,” as a result of peer influence, to lighten their complexion, to appear beautiful and to attract a partner, to follow a popular fad, and to have the visual stimulus of the bleached skin because it makes them feel good. In Jamaican society, negative representations of dark skin indicate that dark skin is devalued, whereas light skin is valued. The hegemonic representation that elevates light skin over dark skin and guides the behavior of the skin bleachers has its roots in socializing institutions of the larger cultural milieu. The interaction of the government, the church, the education system, the media, formal culture, and popular culture from the colonial period to the present sends repeated messages that light skin is superior to dark skin.

Link:

http://jbs.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/0021934707307852v1