Tall, Pale And Handsome: Why More Asian Men Are Using Skin-Whitening Products

[MADem]

.... In my fieldwork, I met many young men who were motivated by perceived social and economic gain: 20-year-old call centre agent Edwin wanted to be more attractive to girls.

Jose, for his part, wanted to someday be a flight attendant. He told me, “If you’re fair-skinned, you’re noticeable, and that gives you a advantage.”

Their assumptions find empirical support in studies that suggest men with lighter skin are more likely to get higher paying jobs. In environments where young people only have their bodies as “capital”, resorting to modification is understandable.

But from a public health perspective, the proliferation of whitening products raises questions of efficacy and safety, particularly in Asian countries without strong regulation.

For all their promised effects, there’s actually no proof that many products actually work, and many of them have potentially grave side effects. Mercury, for instance, is a known toxin but it’s still found in skin whitening products in India, even when it has long been banned in many other countries....

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-conversation-global/tall-pale-and-handsome-wh_b_13200830.html