Controversial ad for skin lightening removed from Toronto transit after complaints

[Mr. Ambien]

It has nothing to do with misogynist attitudes in India, but instead the racist caste system people want to get rid of...

If you look at all the bollywood stars I would say more than 90% are lightskinned... and bollywood is very guilty of promoting this trend.

Lawl don't try like you understand brown people...

We are a complex bunch.

[Newsflash]

Calling it misogynist would be a red herring, these cultures are very strong willed and people are expected to act a certain way, women especially. It has far more to do with this than it does the white PC person's fanaticism with calling everything racist.

I still don't get it. Why is the "strong willed" nature of Indian culture responsible for the backlash against Priyanka Chopra?

It has nothing to do with misogynist attitudes in India, but instead the racist caste system people want to get rid of...

If you look at all the bollywood stars I would say more than 90% are lightskinned... and bollywood is very guilty of promoting this trend.

Hey, I'm not suggesting it has anything to do with misogynist attitudes. I was just trying to understand Ambien's explanation for the backlash against Priyanka Chopra. I think this is a racial issue, not a gender one.

I wonder if these people would lose their sh*t over anus bleaching ads.

HA!

[Chalky]

I wonder if these people would lose their sh*t over anus bleaching ads.

Lose it literally...the colour at least.

[DonLever]

I see Asian women in Vancouver using umbrellas to shield themselves from the sun in the summer. That seems quite ridiculous to me but if it is what they want to do, so be it. Same thing with these whitening cream, it is none of my business.

It is usually the feminists and social activists who raise a fuss with such matters.

[Ronalds.Kenins41]

We want to be who we are not. When is Total Recall mind tripping going to be available?

Like all of us with perfect legs want to be crippled and how all of the crippled want to have perfect legs. Makes sense.

no offense to crippled people just trying to make a point.

[Mr. Ambien]

I wonder if these people would lose their sh*t over anus bleaching ads.

I'd ask, but I know I shouldn't.

[DonLever]

If you look at all the bollywood stars I would say more than 90% are lightskinned... and bollywood is very guilty of promoting this trend.

It's the same thing in Hollywood. Most of the black actors and actresses are on the light side, especially the women.

And don't forget Michael Jackson.

[nuckin_futz]

I'd ask, but I know I shouldn't.

Come on Ambien, we both know you Googled it.

[Mr. Ambien]

It's the same thing in Hollywood. Most of the black actors and actresses are on the light side, especially the women.

And don't forget Michael Jackson.

One of my sisters is half black, and she whitened her skin during some stupid "goth" phase. Most of it was really my fault too, all because I showed her the movie "Ginger Snaps", which was a terrible movie.

Come on Ambien, we both know you Googled it.

LOL

I might when sitting in traffic on my phone. Not at work.

I remember Charlie Sheen in a roast talking to Seth Macfarlane about having a bleached anus. Of course, I'm not up with the trends so I'm still pondering the reasons why someone would want to, beyond being stupidly bored.

[Chalky]

Earlier I compared the ad to tanning, but now I've done some research and see this is a permanent procedure, not a cream. That makes different than tanning for sure. If it was a whitening cream, then it would be the same as a tanning cream, alas it is not.

Who is getting this done and why? If this is strictly for cosmetics then I guess I have nothing to add. If there is a racial component where people with dark skin are being made to feel they need lighter skin for whatever reason then I feel sorry for them. Be yourself, if you want lighter or darker skin who am I to argue...after all, I have a lot of tattoos.

[Dogbyte]

People are retarded. First of all for wanting to that and second of all for people that are upset by it.

[nuckin_futz]

Earlier I compared the ad to tanning, but now I've done some research and see this is a permanent procedure, not a cream. That makes different than tanning for sure. If it was a whitening cream, then it would be the same as a tanning cream, alas it is not.

Who is getting this done and why? If this is strictly for cosmetics then I guess I have nothing to add. If there is a racial component where people with dark skin are being made to feel they need lighter skin for whatever reason then I feel sorry for them. Be yourself, if you want lighter or darker skin who am I to argue...after all, I have a lot of tattoos.

[Chalky]

For sure, but there must be a market for it outside of oddball pop singers. I just don't understand what the motivation to get it done is. It seems to me that the target market would be women and that the reason would be makeup related. If I am wrong then I am wrong. I'm not trying to minimize the racial component, I just don't see how that is the most prominent reason for the procedure. What do I know though, I did desperately want to be Black in 1988 when Straight Outta Compton came out.

[Miss Korea Bob.Loblaw]

Let me correct you, when you say "dark skinned people are offended".. it's actually white-skinned politically correct people with nothing better to do than find things to be offended by.

You don't know my in-laws. They say it in Cantonese, Mandarin, Lao, Thai, and most certainly English.

There'd be riots over in NE Calgary if I said half the crap these people say.

That's a lot of in-laws.

This cream can be racist or elitist depending on the ethnicity. Obviously if you are Indian you've got a whole bunch of cultures and groups, who each think they're the best, and possibly the lightest-skinned. If you are Korean it's about being high-class. Or is that racist too?

[thema]

Fela explains what wrong with "skin lightening" very eloquently here...

[D-Money]

The grass is always greener on the other side. I wonder if an ad for a new tanning cream with split face Whitey would garner the same outrage.

Product that helps you go from right to left: perfectly fine

Product that helps you go from left to right: Racist!!!

[g_bassi13]

Young brown people in India were also very mad. India has it's own history with/perceptions of black people. The new generation of Indians (especially those in cities) have a big problem with these ads, because they know first-hand the racial tension that resonates throughout India.

I don't understand. The backlash against Priyanka Chopra is linked to the misogynist attitudes of Indian culture?

Young people are the most likely to use the cream.

And the commercial was something like a 4-5 part story that took place over a couple of months. And the controversy didn't start until about a year or so after the commercials first aired, at which point I assumed someone from the West got a hold of them. I was living in India at the time, and I thought the commercials were offensive, and an insult to essentially anyone. Though they made me lol with how straight faced the whole thing was. I remember the controversy breaking out on the Western News, and it was so far after they had aired, to the point where I was like "oh, i guess someone in Canada was finally shown this. They realize there's way more of this out there, right?"

There's not much controversy around the skin whitening cream in India. I'm sure it upsets a handful of people, but it's a more than socially accepted thing that people engage in. It's wrong to make people feel self conscious about their skin, whether they feel it be too pale, or too dark. But us projecting our social standards and morals on people in a different country with their own culture is neither effective, nor entirely in the right.

[Chalky]

https://ww.youtube.com/watch?v=FIRXNA3Eofs

Fela explains what wrong with "skin lightening" very eloquently here...

http://yabablay.com/on-yellow-fever/

OK, Thema, you've got a good point. I did not know the roots of skin bleaching were so deep. I now understand why there is outrage, it's not a pop-culture thing, it's actually based in racism.

Great tune, I love African Jazz. Etienne Mbappe is my bass idol.

[Chalky]

Product that helps you go from right to left: perfectly fine

Product that helps you go from left to right: Racist!!!

When I posted that I had assumed it was a temporary product. Now that I have researched the history of skin bleaching, I don't like the concept. It's not the best comparison in hindsight.

[drummer4now]

I see Asian women in Vancouver using umbrellas to shield themselves from the sun in the summer. That seems quite ridiculous to me but if it is what they want to do, so be it. Same thing with these whitening cream, it is none of my business.

It is usually the feminists and social activists who raise a fuss with such matters.

Agreed..

I have also seen Asian women shielding themselves with umbrellas in public too..

What I don't understand is what's the whole hospital mask thing about lol?

I always see some Asians with masks on is it because they're sick or something?

It's the same thing in Hollywood. Most of the black actors and actresses are on the light side, especially the women.

And don't forget Michael Jackson.

I think that's a little different..

Obviously there would be more lightskinned actors in Hollywood because of the Caucasian majority, but for what I know there is no policy or preference of hiring someone who is fair skinned in Hollywood over someone darker..

I am pretty sure its a preference in Bollywood for actors be fair skinned especially for top roles.

You either see naturally light skinned Indians or heavily powered up ones lol..

Even in low grade soap operas they're light skinned...

If some foreigner who has never seen an Indian person and watched some of these films they would probably be convinced all Indians are light skinned or something lol..

http://yabablay.com/on-yellow-fever/

OK, Thema, you've got a good point. I did not know the roots of skin bleaching were so deep. I now understand why there is outrage, it's not a pop-culture thing, it's actually based in racism.

Great tune, I love African Jazz. Etienne Mbappe is my bass idol.

I think it depends on the situation..

Like in the case of MJ he had that disease that caused white spots over his pigment.

I think if someone wanted to lighten their skin I wouldn't automatically think they're were racist or something..

It would depend on the reason why they would want to. Just like why some people tan.