Blac Chyna has made it very clear that she doesn’t feel that she’s getting enough money from Rob Kardashian . So she is now endorsing a line of skin-bleaching creams, which she plans to promote in person in Nigeria. Twitter is positively livid that she could stoop so low. The product that she is hawking is “Whitenicious X Blac Chyna Diamond Illuminating & Lightening Cream.” That’s quite a mouthful. And also problematic as hell. Each and every cream cream jar features a Swarovski crystal stud design. Those simple jars sell for $250 each. And Chyna is traveling to promote the products in person in Nigeria. Chyna claims that she has been using Whitenicious dark spot corrector on herself for years. Her alleged use of this product has been to deal with darker, hyperpigmented areas of her skin. Now she has her own line of the products to promote for a hefty sum. Next week, while most of us are finishing up our Thanksgiving leftovers, Chyna will be in Lago. This is not earning her a lot of love here in the States. Colorism is basically racism’s less famous sibling, but it’s just as insidious. In colorism, even people of color may dismiss or discriminate against members of their own ethnic communities over skin tone. While European colonizers did not bring colorism to Africa, centuries of racist occupation, oppression, and influence have made things worse. Now, Chyna is capitalizing — literally — on the self-hatred that dark-skinned women may feel towards themselves. A lot of beauty products seek to exploit the insecurities of consumers. Skin-bleaching products take that a step further, exploiting racism and colorism to turn a profit. Nigeria already has a problem with people using skin-bleaching, as people both in the US and in Nigeria have pointed out. “Blac chyna is so gross for this,” tweets one outraged Nigerian. The tweet continues: “She’s targeted nigeria because it has one of the highest rates of skin bleaching, so so trash” Because of this, Chyna’s name trended on Twitter on Tuesday as people responded to her new business venture with horror and disgust. It is understandable that many people would feel that they are being betrayed by a member of their own community. However, some believe that people are wrong to point the finger at Chyna. “Yall really mad at Blac Chyna for signing a deal that supports skin whitening,” begins another tweet. The post continues: “but ain’t mad at the company that signed her(African) or the people who are buying it(also African).” This person believes that the blame resides elsewhere. “Chyna isn’t the culprit in this,” the tweet concludes. “Skin whitening had been a thing in Nigeria for years!” So, who is right? The answer is as complicated as the problem, and, as a white man, it’s ultimately way out of my lane. But it seems clear that a sizable and vocal portion of the black community in America and in Nigeria is upset. They feel like Chyna is exploiting the worst of people’s instincts to fill her pockets. It is also clear that a lot of people were buying this anyway, and that if Chyna didn’t have this deal, someone else would. Chyna is no stranger to controversy, and is probably counting on her payday being worth any backlash. View Slideshow: Blac Chyna to Rob Kardashian: Pay Your Child Support, Broke-Ass!
Read the rest here:
Blac Chyna Slammed for Selling Skin-Whitening Bleach Cream
