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The Historical and Cultural Influences of Skin Bleaching in Tanzania

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The Melanin Millennium

Abstract

Skin bleaching, a practice to chemically lighten the skin, has become increasingly more common around the world in the past 30–40 years. In Africa, the practice is especially problematic because users, especially women, combine dangerous caustic agents (automotive battery acid, washing power, toothpaste, cloth bleaching agents) with common bleaching products that are high in mercury and lead; together, these increase the risk for severe health problems, such as irreversible skin damage, skin cancer, leukemia, and liver or kidney failure. Despite these great risks, skin bleaching is prevalent in Africa, with estimated rates rates nearing 30% in East Africa. Little research has examined how the historical legacies of slavery, colonization, and westernization in East Africa may have shaped internalized dominant cultural ideals, resulting in the dangerous practice of skin bleaching. This chapter takes an exploratory look at the institutions of slavery, colonization, westernization, and neocolonialism in East Africa and argues that these institutions may have placed Tanzanians in a color-conscious society. This also may have fueled potent skin-color ideals that have resulted in efforts to assimilate to dominating groups. This examination has great potential to inform our understanding of current skin-bleaching practices and the related prevention or intervention efforts underway in Tanzania. Implications for research, policy, and practice are discussed.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Ochronosis is the deposition of dark pigment in connective tissues, usually due to exposure to chemicals such as phenolic compounds or hydroquinone. http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=39942

  2. 2.

    Throughout the text, the term Tanzanian(s) is used to describe the original inhabitants of the central region of East Africa (hunter-gatherer communities, Cushitic - and Khoisan -speaking people, Bantu-speaking people , and Nilotic pastoralists mainly in South Sudan).

  3. 3.

    Ujamaa is an African model of development that formed the basis of African socialism, relinquished dependence on foreign entities, and encouraged community and nation-building (Spalding 1996).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Kelly M. Lewis, Solette Harris, Will Jones, Kecia L. Ellick & Justie Huff

  2. Department of Psychology, Clayton State University, Morrow, GA, USA

    Christina Camp

  3. Department of Pharmacy, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS), Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

    Willbrord Kalala

  4. Department of Psychology, Morehouse College, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Sinead Younge

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  1. Kelly M. Lewis
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    Ronald E. Hall

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Lewis, K.M. et al. (2013). The Historical and Cultural Influences of Skin Bleaching in Tanzania. In: Hall, R. (eds) The Melanin Millennium. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4608-4_2

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