Skin Bleaching
Posted: Thursday, June 28, 2001

Response: Anthony

(Self-Development Forum) Bleaching is an important example of the problems that confront modern human societies. It is good to recognize a problem because this is the first step to solving it. From my experience finding solutions to problems can be very difficult. Most approaches will minimize a problem but not solve it. I will define a behavior as being a problem to me if it inhibits me from participating in other available activities that will be more beneficial in helping me to understand myself. If I think that a certain activity is a problem, I will then consider the problem to be solved when I no longer feel a need to participate in that activity.

The action of the food and drug administration to control the dosage and availability of bleaching agents may minimize the problem but this action does not address people's need to use bleaching agents. Similarly the ban placed on bleaching substances by the some governments will only minimize the problem.

In my view a lasting solution to this problem lies in addressing the factors that cause people to accept the idea that it is better to be white than black. There are many institutions in modern societies that promote discrimination based on skin color, for example, the general media and the education offered by most schools. Many people are unable to recognize the ways in which the general media and schools promote racism. However in my view people get an unbalanced view of the world when the general media and schools promote the views and culture of one group of people while ignoring, minimizing or distorting the contributions of other groups to world history.

Therefore in my view an important step to solving this bleaching problem involve efforts to obtain more balance in school education and greater balance in the information reported by the general media. It is also my view that balanced media reporting and education will help to solve many other problems that plague modern societies.
 

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