A TOP beauty pageant in Jamaica has banned women who have bleached their skin from competing.
The Miss Black History Month Talent and Pageant Show has been taking place for the past 20 years.
The organiser of the event, Alexander Brown, said that no ‘bleachers’ will be considered for entry to this year’s competition.
Speaking to The Jamaica Star, Mr Brown said: “I think they [women between 17 and 31] should enter to gain some self-esteem and stop bleach, so they can send a message.
“I feel very bad when I see a black girl bleach and get so brown, that spoils her skin tone.
“I feel very bad about it, I don’t see the sense [in bleaching].”
Mr Brown acknowledged that skin bleaching is still a problem in Jamaica and the creams continue to be sold across the island.
“It is a big, big problem [because] I never grow up and use nothing on my face yet, it’s just couple years now I see most of these places selling bleaching cream and people using it to spoil up them skin tone,” he told The Jamaica Star.
Mr Brown revealed two women were recently turned away from this year’s showcase, as their knuckles were bleached.
He said he welcomed contestants of all skin complexions, including those with a natural lighter skin tone, but said those who use skin bleaching products will not be welcome.
The pageant is looking for a total of 20 contestants to battle it out for the Miss Black History Month crown.
The unique pageant differs from most traditional beauty contests, as contestants will be expected to wear African print dresses and not bikinis.
The women competing will also have to answer questions about Jamaican history and culture.
“It’s not about who is brown or has nice dark skin or if you have straight nose or tall legs. We’ll be asking some general knowledge questions that you to do research to get the answer. Questions like ‘Who is a Jamaica’s first lady of comedy?’ or ‘Where is Liberty Hall located?’. It’s just questions like those. It’s not beauty, it’s culture. Embrace your culture,” Mr Brown added.
Past winners of the competition include author and public speaker Krystal Tomlinson.
This year’s final contest will be streamed online from the Jamaica Conference Centre on February 26.
Comments Form
2 Comments
There’s no point doing that when the majority of winners over the years have been ‘Becky Browning wid de good hair and light eyes!’. Whether Asians or whites or nearly so they give preferential treatment, jobs opportunities, seats in Government (Lisa Hanna), marriage proposals, money etc to these people in order of how light they are! This puts Black Betty at Z in the line-up and that’s what has caused most dark skinned people (incl men now) to be bleaching so hard in order to try and move up a notch or two in the opportunity stakes! C/O A Grant
This paper has focused on the practice in Skin Bleaching and Skin Lightening Behaviour (SBSLB). That is the intentional alteration of one’s natural skin color to one relatively, if not substantially lighter in shade through the use of chemical skin lightening agents.
This paper endeavours to explore and explain why African Descendant People (ADP) who reside in post-colonial societies such as Jamaica engage in (SBSLB) in a cultural space where there is an unmistakable sense of black pride.
The findings expose an open secret – that European standards of beauty since slavery continue to be dominant, prevalent and constantly pushed as the standard bearer which ADP’s are expected to adhere as noted by western philosophers, such as Goldsmith Locke, Hegel, Kant.
Their ideas have served to perpetuate racist colonial ideologies, among Jamaica’s Eurocentric ruling who continue to endorse promote such ideals through major institutions, such as the media, religion and education, but not without challenge.
Black focused movements from Marcus Garvey’s UNIA to Rastafarianism, have attempted to boost Black Pride, of Jamaica’s ADP’s have failed sustain the “ Black is Beautiful” ethos as a consequence of the ruling elite’s ability to perpetuate the desire for the European body aesthetic, through the media. Religion education and political representation.
The perspective that SBSLB is linked with self-esteem and racial self-hatred among ADP’s is challenged by researchers, who argue that (SBSLB) may be a survival strategy adopted by ADP’s who are cognisant that Jamaica’s is a pigementocracy, where there is strong correlation between socially mobility and skin shade.
In order to counter SBSLB it has been suggested that s combination of Afroccentic and European therapeutic reframing strategies which counter the dominant colour consciousness mindset which considers the black body aesthetic to be a badge of shame, that needs to removed forthwith.
See https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26208021-mirror-mirror-on-the-wall-who-s-the-fairest-of-them-all