The average person views 5000 advertisements a day. Most of these advertisements use sexuality or appeal to sell their product. It’s usually someone with clear skin, nice hair, non-threatening looking—someone white. According the U.S. census, by 2050 the minority will become the majority, meaning that African Americans, Asian Americans and Hispanics will become the majority along with mixed races.
Why is there still a lack of color in advertisements when most of the purchasing power will come from colored people? Why is it socially acceptable for celebrities like Kardashians to get lip injection? Why is it socially acceptable to get tans or even butt implants? Why is the phrase “tall, dark and handsome” referring to a white man and not someone of color like it actually says? The racially ambiguous stereotypes portrayed in everyday life cause black women in particular to be criticized and cast aside for white women that try to create the same natural look.
The unnecessary realization of this is present in an advertisement in Australia where they have placed a white model in full black personification. They painted her skin a dark chocolate and put an afro on her. This is obviously way too serious when the company clearly has the capability to find a naturally black model with an afro to be in this ad campaign. It’s funny to see posts on social media about a new product to “enhance” the fullness of your lips, but in a snap of a finger a black girl’s photo could be could be circulating Twitter for the same reason. Or when Kylie Jenner got faux dreads. The media ate it up like it was some new invention. But Ciara and Zendaya were criticized and called dirty and potheads.
On the flip side, this hypocrisy placed on blacks to conform to a no longer predominantly white society is being taken to extreme. In countries like Brazil, some of the world's most sought after women are dyeing their hair blonde and buying blue contacts to become more desirable to men.
I was raised by women that taught me that if you aren’t white, your black. If you don’t get green bruises you aren’t the same. This was always hard for me to grasp at a young age because I am white, or at least half white. But I was raised by black women who let me know at a young age how the world worked and what my role was in it. I have friends who are mixed as well with white mothers who refuse to see themselves as black, which is ridiculous. I vividly remember that friend not wanting to put the fact that she was black on a college application because she feared that it would risk her chances of getting into school. To not want to accept part of your heritage is something that doesn’t resonate with me.
But the reality is our society thrives off the need to be wanted and accepted. Sadly, the wanted and accepted are usually white. When will this change? When will it be okay to be truly seen as beautiful by everyone, no matter the racial background?
