• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

New nivea racist ad

R

royalan

Member
womfalcs3 said:
TV commercials like these are all over the place in the Middle East. I've always viewed them as racist, but I have more important things to do with my time than be outraged.
Click to expand...

But you seem to have the time to brag about your complete lack of time on a gaming forum.

Mesousa said:
Nothing wrong with the ad, or the product. People are going to get tired of trying to police black women looks. I remember when the perm and weave thing was a big issue.
Click to expand...

1) The original tweet in the OP is from a black Nigerian woman.

2) My problem with this isn't the idea of black people making the choice to lighten their skin tone. My problem is the language, and the way society continues to frame lightness and European features as the default beauty standard. To put it simply, fuck that noise.

Aesthetic choices should be marketed as just that: aesthetic choices. Nothing about this is "Natural," but we constantly see this kind of language in beauty products and see them associated with light skin. 'Beautiful', 'healthy', 'natural.' Fuck it. Fuck all of it. Fuck how it warps the minds of black kids.

Mesousa, do I have to pull out the black girls picking the white doll clip?
 
H

hiredhand

Member
If skin whitening products are considered racist, shouldn't hair straightening products (at least those aimed specifically for the African(-American) community) be considered racist too?
 
T

Typical

Banned
I don’t know, if their customers want and buy said products shouldn’t they be able to market said products?

Clearly there’s a demand, business is going to move in.
 
M

Mesousa

Banned
royalan said:
But you seem to have the time to brag about your complete lack of time on a gaming forum.



1) The original tweet in the OP is from a black Nigerian woman.

2) My problem with this isn't the idea of black people making the choice to lighten their skin tone. My problem is the language, and the way society continues to frame lightness and European features as the default beauty standard. To put it simply, fuck that noise.

Aesthetic choices should be marketed as just that: aesthetic choices. Nothing about this is "Natural," but we constantly see this kind of language in beauty products and see them associated with light skin. 'Beautiful', 'healthy', 'natural.' Fuck it. Fuck all of it. Fuck how it warps the minds of black kids.

Mesousa, do I have to pull out the black girls picking the white doll clip?
Click to expand...

Black women policing other black women choices is also a problem..

Its natural because lightening often comes with a "caked up" fake look when done. You know the people we call merinda girls after the soda. Nivea, by saying natural, is implying the look the product gives won't mimic the poorly done bleach jobs you can find on the street.

What I am seeing is mere policing. The same one that existed with the weave thing in the past. Nobody ever calls out white women for getting a nice tan or having "extensions", but black women take some agency over how they look and the Afrocentric police are out in full force trying to tell them how they can look.

Thing is, we can talk all day about how women like Beyonce, Rihanna,eat are beautiful black queens, but when a sister like toke makinwa bleaches to match their complexion, it becomes an issue? Is she not still black? Would a black kid growing up watching her not think she is black? We are all different shades on the spectrum. I see no issue in switching between them.
 
F

Future

Member
ElBoxyBrown said:
It's the wording. The ad is straight up telling you your dark skin isn't up to standards.
Click to expand...

What wording though. The world natural is used for multiple skin products. It means that t looks “natural” and not a manufactured color. People want that.

And some people want to lighten or darken their skin. And they buy these products

This reminds me of people being upset at ads that talk about losing weight. The ad itself doesn’t belittle those that choose not to do it, but people take it that way. It’s true there is history that makes these topics sensitive. But from the article I was expecting those old dove commercials where they’d advertise washing the black away altogether. This isn’t that
 
Haunted

Haunted

Member
Looking at it from a company perspective, this seems like they're serving an already existing market (skin whitening products).

Tough to make a realistic capitalist argument for Nivea to either abandon or actively work to abolish a potentially lucrative market.
 
R

royalan

Member
Mesousa said:
Black women policing other black women choices is also a problem..

Its natural because lightening often comes with a "caked up" fake look when done. You know the people we call merinda girls after the soda. Nivea, by saying natural, is implying the look the product gives won't mimic the poorly done bleach jobs you can find on the street.

What I am seeing is mere policing. The same one that existed with the weave thing in the past. Nobody ever calls out white women for getting a nice tan or having "extensions", but black women take some agency over how they look and the Afrocentric police are out in full force trying to tell them how they can look.

Thing is, we can talk all day about how women like Beyonce, Rihanna,eat are beautiful black queens, but when a sister like toke makinwa bleaches to match their complexion, it becomes an issue? Is she not still black? Would a black kid growing up watching her not think she is black? We are all different shades on the spectrum. I see no issue in switching between them.
Click to expand...

We're having two different arguments. I'm not policing a black woman (or black man, for that matter) making the choice to lighten their skin. What I find problematic is the constant phrasing of European features as the standard specifically when marketed toward black people and POC in general. I understand the use of the word "natural" here, but that doesn't change the fact that products like this use that specific language all the time. We're focused on NIvea here but this has been a problem in the beauty industry forever.

Also, where have you been? Beyonce and Rihanna (ESPECIALLY Beyonce) get shit on all the time when their skin appears lighter than usual. Like, if you don't know this it's because you haven't been paying attention.

I mean, what you're talking about is real. Black women especially get picked on all the time for their complexions, their hair, their fashion, fucking everything. And then it becomes especially frustrating when trends black women have been rocking forever get slapped onto white bodies a decade later and labeled "revolutionary." I'm not disagreeing with that, I just think that was a separate discussion.
 
E

ElBoxyBrown

Banned
Future said:
What wording though. The world natural is used for multiple skin products. It means that t looks ”natural" and not a manufactured color. People want that.

And some people want to lighten or darken their skin. And they buy these products

This reminds me of people being upset at ads that talk about losing weight. The ad itself doesn't belittle those that choose not to do it, but people take it that way. It's true there is history that makes these topics sensitive. But from the article I was expecting those old dove commercials where they'd advertise washing the black away altogether. This isn't that
Click to expand...

Lightening skin color is a lot different than weight loss. But whatever, still not a fan.
 
D

dpunk3

Member
If it wasn't for Nivea constantly doing this, I'd say that fair skin =/= white skin. But they keep fucking up, so hard to defend anything about this.
 
P

PdotMichael

Banned
Haunted said:
Looking at it from a company perspective, this seems like they're serving an already existing market (skin whitening products).

Tough to make a realistic capitalist argument for Nivea to either abandon or actively work to abolish a potentially lucrative market.
Click to expand...

For what purpose do you want to change the beauty standards of different cultures?

Also that tweet post in OT is a little silly at beast. Africa is such a cultural diverse place that it's hard to take someone serious who want to talk for an entire continent and then pulling out such a factual wrong statement.
 
G

Golden_Pigeon

Banned
Aeolus said:
What if whitening soap or lotions actually sell well there? Would it be racist then?
Click to expand...

It sell because there is a racial complex which is partly the result of those publicity, praising and constantly valorizing fairer skin.

It's also an health issue, those product are bad for your skin.
 
S

starchild excalibur

Member
I don't see how the ad is racist - it's just reflective of an understandable concern in many countries both in and out of Africa about *why* some people want fairer skin and how this impacts beauty norms. I'm not meaning to be pedantic with this, but the ad just advertises what the product does. I see a Chinese billboard every now and then (I live in SoCal) that advertises plastic surgery + skin bleaching. I shake my head at the ad, but it's less the ad that bothers me and more that there's a market for that to begin with. The ad exists to address a desire that is already present in its target demographic.

The idea that "we didn't want fairer skin" isn't accurate at all, given how well products like that sell in the area. The focus instead should be on promoting beauty standards that reflect the natural beauty and diversity found in the countries.
 
D

DiipuSurotu

Banned
Guys what if Nazi flags sell well in the US, that wouldn't be racist right? The flag manufacturer would just be catering to an existing market!
 
Stiler

Stiler

Member
Why do all of these beauty/cleaning products not understand making darker people "lighter" is NOT a smart advert and is blatant racism?

I mean over the years with all of them and the fire they get from it you think they'd learn "hey, maybe we shouldn't do that..."
 
A

Aeolus

Banned
Golden_Pigeon said:
It sell because there is a racial complex which is partly the result of those publicity, praising and constantly valorizing fairer skin.

It's also an health issue, those product are bad for your skin.
Click to expand...

I don't see any issue with people seeing certain skin types being prettier or more likeable. I never looked into if it's a health issue or not but asians in general don't seem to have a problem with it. Again, if a region likes certain products, there's no problems with a company trying to market to a people who like that sort of product.
 
C

Carl

Member
Stiler said:
Why do all of these beauty/cleaning products not understand making darker people "lighter" is NOT a smart advert and is blatant racism?

I mean over the years with all of them and the fire they get from it you think they'd learn "hey, maybe we shouldn't do that..."
Click to expand...

That's literally what the product does what do you want them to say instead?
 
K

kyser73

Member
KonradLaw said:
Pretty much. In primarly-white societies, especially in Europe, the move in past century into tanning has been caused by associeation of "tan = has money to vacation in exotic locales"
Click to expand...

There’s a whole raft of class/cultural associations about it in white cultures.

For some staying white is a badge of healthfulness/well-being because of skin cancer. Seen as a middle-class thing, certainly they’re the only ones to bore you with making a big deal out of it.

Fake tans, especially if someone veers toward orange rather than tan, are seen as pretty trashy. Saying people had an ‘orangu-tan’ was popular in UK celebrity magazines a while back.

Historically tho you’re right - tanned = peasant. It was with the coming of cheaper international travel & mass tourism that changed it around.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Bon Appétit Editor-in-Chief Adam Rapoport Resigns Following Allegations of Racist Culture
Social Business
6
1K
Deleted member 8095 replied
Day Care Gets Racist Letter Demanding They Fire Black Employee For Being Too Dark
4 5 6 7 8
380
42K
Monkeyball replied
Watsons Malaysia under fire for 'blackface' Hari Raya ad
38
3K
crisdecuba replied
  • Locked
Azealia Banks launches racist, homophobic tirade against Zayn Malik
4 5 6 7 8
398
56K
Stinkles replied
New Jersey Teacher Tells Students To Speak American Not Spanish
2 3
109
14K
Dusk Soldier replied
Top Bottom