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The New Economics of Colorism in the Skin Whitening Industry: Case of India and Nigeria

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Abstract

This chapter explores the new economic forces that have led to the rapid expansion of the skin whitening industry in India and Nigeria and the potential for mobilizing against it. I evaluate the effectiveness of the different strategies to resist this expansion such as public health campaigns and direct discussions of colorism. I argue that to be impactful and sustained, opposition to this expansion must move beyond emphasizing localized public health campaigns and make explicit the industry’s global complicity in sustaining colorism.

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Further Reading

  • Glenn, E. N. (2008). Yearning for lightness: Transnational circuits in the marketing and consumption of skin lighteners. Gender and Society, 22(3), 281–302.

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  • Halley, J., Eshleman, A., & Vijaya, R. (2011). Seeing white: An introduction to white privilege and race. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

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  • Roediger, D. R. (2007). The wages of whiteness. New York: Verso.

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  • Said, E. (1994). Culture and imperialism. New York: Vintage.

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Correspondence to Ramya M. Vijaya .

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Vijaya, R.M. (2019). The New Economics of Colorism in the Skin Whitening Industry: Case of India and Nigeria. In: Johnson, G., Thomas, K., Harrison, A., Grier, S. (eds) Race in the Marketplace. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11711-5_14

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