Thinking back to bath time as a child, my parents would tell me to scrub hard, but they never made me feel that my skin was dirty. They'd tell me to get in all my crevices - to get behind my ears, in between my toes, and in my belly button - but they never made me feel that my skin was dirty. They'd tell me to wash my neck and to get under my ears.
But they never made me feel that my skin was dirty.
I know, I know, "Why would they? What parent would make their kid feel that way?" Let me tell you, it didn’t matter how many times my parents built me up and told me to be proud of who I am, because, for every one person encouraging me, there were five waiting to discourage me. This has been a lifelong experience. This has been happening to people of color for years and years. When I think of those who’ve tried to tell me that my skin is dirty, I visualize them as demons. I visualize them as demons because demons are evil creatures that can take many different forms.
Each morning that I wake, I repeat my mantra: "Let's make today great" in between each activity I do to get ready for the day. I logged onto Twitter only to see that those demons had returned. I saw an ad from Dove where a black woman removed her top only to magically turn into a white woman. So I think you can imagine that the day I saw this ad, my mantra was not fulfilled.
I kid you not, I had to do a double take. My first thought, "is Dove trying to tell me that by using their body wash, my skin will become white?". It was like, once again, another demon was telling me that my skin is dirty.
Almost every day that I log onto Twitter, I see women with my complexion being compared to animals. I see women of my complexion being told that we are less than. I see women of my complexion being totally disrespected. I see things like this:
It's painful to see. It hurts.
Many people don't feel that Dove's ad was racist. The ad shows a black woman changing into a white woman, and to me that just says that Dove, along with many others, feels that dark skin = dirty and light skin = clean or pure. Soap ads have a history of being racist, so this ad was no surprise.
I've been using Dove's products for such a long time, but I won't any longer.
I'll never use Dove products again.
Hey Dove,
In regards to your advertisement, you apologized for your completely racist ad that "missed the mark", and you should apologize when you have wronged someone, but what's the point of apologizing only to do the same thing again? This isn't the first time you've published a racist ad. What are you even sorry for? You claim to feel "deep regret" but what exactly is it that you regret? Could it be the backlash or the controversy your ad caused? Are you sorry that you have products labeled "for normal to dark skin"? Are you sorry that your ad has become another addition to the legacy of racist hygiene ads?
I wish I could say that I'm shocked or confused, but I can't because this kind of content has been approved for quite some time. How did not one person question this? Do you even have a single person of color on your marketing/advertising team?
Your ad was disrespectful and although you apologized, it doesn't take back that fact that you reminded me, and probably others, that these demons are still alive and well. It doesn't take back the fact that you made me feel less than. When I wear my melanin apparel, I will no longer only wear them only as a symbol of pride, I will wear them as that in addition to being a weapon that shields me from those demons.
Signed,
A disappointed ex-supporter.
Know this, my skin is not dirty and I am not less than. You really did miss the mark on this one. Do better.
