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Africa: Where black is not really beautiful
BBC News ^ | Monday 31 December 2012 | Pumza Fihlani

Posted on 01/01/2013 4:59:34 PM PST by MinorityRepublican

Nomasonto Mnisi says her skin colour is "a self-esteem issue"

South Africa is marketed to the world as Mandela's rainbow nation, where everyone is proud of their race and heritage. But for some black South Africans there is such a thing as being too black.

A recent study by the University of Cape Town suggests that one woman in three in South Africa bleaches her skin. The reasons for this are as varied as the cultures in this country but most people say they use skin-lighteners because they want "white skin".

Local musician Nomasonto "Mshoza" Mnisi, now several shades lighter, says her new skin makes her feel more beautiful and confident.

She has been widely criticised in the local media and social networking sites for her appearance but the 30-year-old says skin-bleaching is a personal choice, no different from breast implants or a having nose job.

(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Extended News; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
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To: MinorityRepublican
I have seen that little girl's hairdo before somewhere....

oh, yeah; Gary Oldman in The Fifth Element.

41 posted on 01/01/2013 8:25:05 PM PST by Erasmus (Zwischen des Teufels und des tiefen, blauen Meers)
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To: Erasmus

Not that I wish to denigrate her, or anything.


42 posted on 01/01/2013 8:31:05 PM PST by Erasmus (Zwischen des Teufels und des tiefen, blauen Meers)
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To: ThanhPhero

In Thailand, and I pretty sure everywhere else in SE Asia, very dark skin is not only considered unattractive but “scary”.

I have to constantly remind the kids here, especially my 11 yo niece, not to fear people based on skin tone, and more importantly, not to trust them based on that, or overall pleasant appearance, either.

About the Vietnamese farm workers covered head to toe - that makes sense to me, same as in desert areas. A light covering is not only cooler, but necessary protection against sun burn and cancer - that’s why we wear hats in the strong sun!


43 posted on 01/01/2013 9:25:42 PM PST by expat1000
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To: arthurus

Not buying it. I do think that overall among humans, it is desired that females be lighter than males.


44 posted on 01/01/2013 9:33:55 PM PST by Clock King
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To: Random Access

Probably George Bush’s fault.


45 posted on 01/01/2013 10:05:50 PM PST by Trod Upon (Civilian disarmament is the precursor to democide.)
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To: MinorityRepublican

I can tan alright, but may have already had skin cancer, so I don’t go out of my way to expose myself to sunburn.


46 posted on 01/01/2013 11:41:51 PM PST by Post Toasties (Leftists give insanity a bad name. 0bama: Eight years of failure and fingerpointing.)
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To: Ken522

And brain...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDW1TVH78BU


47 posted on 01/02/2013 3:50:00 AM PST by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: Bikkuri

These can’t ALL be shopped!

http://www.google.com/search?q=Nomasonto+Mnisi&hl=en&tbo=u&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-ContextMenu&rlz=1I7ADRA_enUS475&tbm=isch&source=univ&sa=X&ei=dB7kUJO0HsixqgGjqIDADw&ved=0CDIQsAQ&biw=1366&bih=571


48 posted on 01/02/2013 3:55:29 AM PST by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: ThanhPhero

“cover up or you’ll turn black and never find a husband!”....Same in the PI. I had a girlfriend who was a HELL of a swimmer and could dive without SCUBA. We went to Blue Beach and I decided to go fishing and dive for lobsters. She showed up in a Burkha, for all intents and purposes. I said where is your bikini? She said she’d never get married if she got too dark.


49 posted on 01/02/2013 4:05:44 AM PST by Safetgiver ( Islam makes barbarism look genteel.)
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To: rabidralph
All the black media personalities go to extremes with hair softeners and cosmetics in order to look as white as possible. Tyra Banks and Wendy Williams are two classic examples........


50 posted on 01/02/2013 4:38:57 AM PST by Hot Tabasco (Jab her with a harpoon.....)
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To: Clock King

Buy it or not. It’s rue and has been noted by explorers and settlers all through the colonial period. It is overt in places I have been, including Turkey and Greece and among the Cherokee in North Carolina.


51 posted on 01/02/2013 6:38:47 AM PST by arthurus (Read Hazlitt's Economics In One Lesson ONLINE www.fee.org/library/books/economics-in-one-lesson)
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To: Kieri
Years ago you’d also find me in the shady part of the lakeshore. During BC (before sunscreen) summers this freckle-faced, red-tinged blonde could turn lobster red at record speed. My husband provided even more ginger genes so neither of our kids tan.

Proper tanning is also a function of the environment. For most of my life I have lived in tropics and subtropics so my skin early on got a bronzed patina which seems now to be permanent. I can almost always spot midwesterners or Canadians who visit here by their skin shade. They never quite attain the color of the permanent tan of locals. European tourists are even easier to spot by their sort of apple red skin. Oh and those horrible bikinis the men wear on the beach. That should be illegal.

52 posted on 01/02/2013 7:12:49 AM PST by PJ-Comix (Beware the Rip in the Space/Time Continuum)
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To: Elsie

It just looked... odd....


53 posted on 01/02/2013 7:43:36 AM PST by Bikkuri (Hope for Conservative push in the next 2-4 years..........)
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To: ThanhPhero

My Chinese relations go to very great lengths to use sunblock and coverings to keep their very beautiful (and very light) skin from tanning.

I, white as I am, have sun damage and a blotchy face from never bothering.


54 posted on 01/02/2013 7:46:51 AM PST by OpusatFR
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To: MinorityRepublican
Watermelon Man


55 posted on 01/03/2013 1:20:36 AM PST by Cronos (**Marriage is about commitment, cohabitation is about convenience.**)
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To: OpusatFR; ThanhPhero
The reason is the same as why in the Middle ages or indeed until the 1900s, European women covered themselves up and a pale skin was considered beautiful -- and the same was true in China and India

The reason is that if you had a tanned skin and non-calloused fingers, that meant that you didn't work with your hands, ergo, you were nobility

Just like the kimono in Japan or the toga in ancient Rome -- you couldn't work in these clothes, so it meant that you were the rich class who got others to work for you

56 posted on 01/03/2013 1:49:20 AM PST by Cronos (**Marriage is about commitment, cohabitation is about convenience.**)
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To: expat1000
in a strong sun the best outfit is the jellabah -- what Arabs wear -- woollen/cotton white loose material covering the entire body -- white to reflect the sun and keep out the UV rays, yet loose enough to allow free flow of air.

Natural fibres only -- the artificial ones aren't good

57 posted on 01/03/2013 1:50:58 AM PST by Cronos (**Marriage is about commitment, cohabitation is about convenience.**)
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To: Cronos

The effect is the same.


58 posted on 01/03/2013 7:04:36 AM PST by ThanhPhero (Khach hanh huong den La Vang)
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