I've been trying to get Unilever to do this for YEARS. I've even told a good friend of mine who sells skin whitening lotion at a Global level, that I know how to circle the square (sic). How to pace round the quadrilateral with a menacing stare. Well at least now that I know that even to make racial judgements is in itself philosophically racial as my learned friend Tim once taught me.
Nevertheless the intellectual justification that circumscribes the square thinking of the peasant classes of say late 17th century rural Anglosaxon versus say the emerging bourgeoisie in the cities towards a tendency that darker skin meant working the agrarian economy, in a field contrasted with ladies (and men) bearing parasols, meant wealth and the coveted lifestyle that went with that, thus pushing them into a lifestyle that white was right, or at least admirably better is no basis for assuming that it's OK to encourage similar thinking in the early 21st Century - The field is muddled by other points but let's stay on track with not contrasting the communications budgets of white tanning lotion versus skin block.
I've written about this at great length elsewhere and made my position clear however as, Unilever have failed to embrace my solution for what I've seen in research groups means that I give it to the internet and possibly cover my exposed and vulgar rear should I be exposed for selling whitening cream in the future.
So here goes.
While I really did not enjoy hearing in the focus groups of Asia that lighter skinned Asian bourgeois preferred not to take lunch (or sit at the table) with their darker skinned but equally talented non skin whitening colleagues. I do know there is a RESPONSIBLE solution to any corporation's intent.
Make sure the packaging and the communications on any skin whitening range use the words "XYZ Corp, embrace people of ALL colours"
In this way they make it known that while making a healthy profit on said skin care category is arguably pernicious; intellectually it says what is most important. It's OK to lighten your skin like the early agrarian economic classes of Europe most wished for, but that doesn't mean we as a corporation don't love y'all black assess too.
Word.
