I have lived in several different countries and visited many more....but never have I seen so many products on the supermarket or pharmacy shelf which purport to lighten the colour of your skin.
Of course in Europe and the US we try to make our skin browner by suntanning or using some creams which have a dye to create a browner skin tone. However in Europe and the US we don't have a problem with whiter skinned people being treated as inferior or considered less beautiful.
The constant exposure to this kind of advertisiing is reinforcing this adverse view of brower-toned skin, while at the same time making a huge amount of money for cosmetic companies.
Recently I have also seen advertisments for detox...with photos showing lighter skin following the detoxification program. And pollution is now apparently also respoonsible for this dreadful condition of browner skin.
It's time for this kind of advertising and product to be banned. By doing this, I will hopefully not be subjected to the following kind of comment a Thai man directed to me when I was recently in Chiang Mai...
"You like white skin girl?"
That question nearly made me vomit.