Changing the way we look is commonplace. We dye our hair, we pierce ourselves and we wear makeup because it makes us happy. Enjoying the way something different looks on ourselves is not wrong; it is not meant to shame others that prefer something else.

In Thailand, there was a recent controversy over an ad promoting a skin bleaching product. The ad stated that by “being white, you will win” and promoted the idea that dark skin would guarantee failure.

Of course, this is easily perceived to be racial slander of sorts, but it seems hard to believe a company would blatantly pull a card like that. They wanted to promote their product, so of course they wanted to make the alternative seem unappealing. Beside the fact that the whole angle they chose to use to sell their product was one of the worst logical fallacies I have seen, when one looks at it more objectively, you can see how it was already such a low and desperate attempt.

Yes, they should have put more thought into the commercial. They should have considered the blatant implications it had, and truly process what those implications meant. They are guilty of sheer idiocy, but not racism.

It is common in Asian cultures to seek out fair skin. It may be rooted in classism, where normally those who were working class would get a dark tan from manual labor and those who were wealthy spent more time indoors.

For this reason there may be an ingrained prejudice that affects preference, but does not indicate racism.

I can’t say that every person who uses skin bleaches isn’t racist, but neither can you say that they all are.
Body modification is common now. People change how they look based on their preference. If someone dyes their hair blond, it does not mean all people who have darker hair are undesirable and it does not mean that the person who dyed their hair sees dark hair as undesirable. Liking how something looks on yourself is no crime, and if it makes you happier with your own appearance then there is no reason not to do it.

Those with more money may change more, getting different forms of plastic surgery but the principle is all the same. They wanted to look a certain way, so they changed themselves. It isn’t wrong, and it should not be shamed. How does it affect you if someone else decides to dye their hair blue or to shape their face differently with makeup? It doesn’t make them “fake”. By that logic shaving your body would hold the same implications, but instead that’s considered a social norm.

Changing the color of one’s skin is no different.

Beside, the fact that the phrase “I’m too pale” has been uttered by many and refuted by few. Americans promote bronze skin far more than fair skin.

Of course, not all Americans agree to this, and of course there are Americans who consider dark skin unsightly for the racial implications it possesses, but that is the minority. You won’t get far in life if you remain narrow-minded and intolerant.

You have the right to change how you look, it’s your body; but you must remember everyone else possesses the same right.