6/27 (Sat.) Skin-Whitening / Racist Products (Host:Rosie)

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Rosie
YOYO member
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註冊時間: 週四 1月 12, 2012 10:18 am

6/27 (Sat.) Skin-Whitening / Racist Products (Host:Rosie)

文章 Rosie »

Session 1 Skin-whitening

An old saying is that a white complexion is powerful enough to hide seven faults. We believe fair skin is beautiful.
Skin-Whitening products are always hot sale, especially in Asian countries.
Even many pregnant women try to avoid having soy sauce to prevent a dark skin baby, and have more milk or pearl powder for making a fair skin baby.
whitening product
whitening product
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Discussion Questions
1. Have you ever tried skin-whitening products? Is fair skin more attractive for you?
2. Why is fair skin considered more beautiful than yellow and dark in many Taiwanese eyes? Do you think whoever create the image to lead the trend?
3. Appreciation of the beauty of human appearance seems largely influenced by society. It should be individual feeling. How can we change it?

Session 2 Racist Products

Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben’s make changes amid protests l GMA
https://youtu.be/EXfM76JXdzQ
Anut Jemima
Anut Jemima
Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben’s and Cream of Wheat are all facing criticism. It will end of what is one of the longest-running trademarks and logos in the American advertising.

Some people think that Aunt Jemima was almost an exact replica of the mammy character who was a servant. It really brings back and conjures images of servitude. PepsiCo, parent company of Aunt Jemima, in a statement says “we recognize Aunt Jemima origins are based on a racial stereotype. While works has been done over the years to update the brand in a manner intended to be appropriate and respectful, we realized those changes are not enough.”a new chapter for the brand with a new name and a new image will happen by fall of this year."

Parent company of Cream of Wheat announced they are reviewing its packaging which features a smiling black man in a white chef’s uniform. We understand there are concerns regarding the chef image, the company said in its statement and we are committed to evaluating our packaging and will proactively take steps to ensure that we and our brands do not inadvertently contribute to systemic racism.


Colgate reviewing Asian toothpaste brand Darlie amid race debate.
https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3950539
Darkie Darlie
Darkie Darlie
Darkie Darlie.jpg (8.04 KiB) 已瀏覽 3522 次
Darlie is one of Asia’s best-selling toothpaste brands. The name of the popular Chinese brand translates as "black person toothpaste". It is owned by Colgate-Palmolive and its joint venture partner Hawley & Hazel and sold widely across Asia. The toothpaste brand was originally called Darkie before it was changed to Darlie in 1989. Recently, Colgate-Palmolive said it is reviewing its Asian toothpaste brand Darlie due to racial equality protests in the U.S.

Johson&Johnson will stop selling skin -whitening lotions.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/19/busi ... cream.html

The consumer-products giant Johnson & Johnson said on Friday that it would no longer sell certain products that are advertised as dark-spot reducers but have been used by some purchasers to lighten skin tone.“Conversations over the past few weeks highlighted that some product names or claims on our Neutrogena and Clean & Clear dark-spot reducer products represent fairness or white as better than your own unique skin tone,” the company said in a statement. “This was never our intention — healthy skin is beautiful skin.”

Discussion Questions:

Q4. What other products/brands could be considered a racist stereotype or racially insensitive?

Q5. Some people think that the logo is harmless, but now people are thinking that it portrays a stereotype. What are your views/opinions?

Q6.The classic US television sitcom Friends has been criticized for its racism. Friends had running for 10 seasons between 1994 and 2004. The main characters were all white people. I didn't notice its lack of diversity. Have you watched an all black show in a TV serious or Hollywood movie?

********************************************************************************************************************************************
Agenda:
3:45 ~ 4:00pm Greetings & Free Talk / Ordering Beverage or Meal / Getting Newcomer’s Information
4:00 ~ 4:10pm Opening Remarks / Newcomer’s Self-introduction / Grouping
(Session I)
4:10 ~ 4:50pm Discussion Session (40 mins)
4:50 ~ 5:10pm Summarization (20 mins)
5:10 ~ 5:15pm Regrouping / Instruction Giving / Taking a 10 Minutes Break (Intermission)
(Session II)
5:15 ~ 5:55pm Discussion Session (40 mins)
6:00 ~ 6:20pm Summarization (20 mins)
6:20 ~ 6:30pm Concluding Remarks / Announcements ********************************************************************************************************************************************
聚會日期:列於該貼文主題內
聚會時間:請準時 4:00 pm 到 ~ 約 6:30 pm 左右結束
星期六聚會地點:丹堤濟南店
地址、電話:台北市濟南路三段25號 地圖 (02) 2740-2350
捷運站:板南線 忠孝新生站 3 號出口
走法:出忠孝新生站 3 號出口後,沿著巷子(忠孝東路三段10巷)走約 2 分鐘,到了濟南路口,左轉走約 2 分鐘即可看到。
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最後由 Rosie 於 週四 6月 25, 2020 9:15 am 編輯,總共編輯了 2 次。
Luis Ko
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文章: 970
註冊時間: 週三 6月 06, 2007 10:18 pm

Re: 6/27 (Sat.) Skin-Whitening / Racist Products (Host:Rosie)

文章 Luis Ko »

great there will still be a meeting in the coming long holidays this Saturday, especially with a debatable topic lo~ haa~ 8)
i might be a cynic and, a sceptic as well but, i'm definitely not a bad person!!
Janice Wang
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註冊時間: 週六 3月 25, 2017 7:45 pm

Re: 6/27 (Sat.) Skin-Whitening / Racist Products (Host:Rosie)

文章 Janice Wang »

To put “fair skin” in perspective, it’s not “fair” at all towards any people of color. However, it has indeed become an impenetrable stereotype that has been deep-rooted, and more common and prevalent than any other cultural beauty standards in Taiwan; also women seem to embrace it voluntarily and firmly, all the more impressive that most of us are willing to shell out a large sum on related products to bringing “fair skin” to life. I was definitely one of them, at one time or another, to say the very least!

An anecdote I heard from a foreign friend (aFrench) a long time ago over “fair skin” - a far cry from ours. To them, a tanned person most likely shows that they are able to afford a long relaxing vacation basking under the sun or winding around snow-capped ski slopes somewhere, vice versa, a fair-skin person may either be a workaholic or a hand-to-mouth breadwinner.

It is really baffling how “fair skin” has been conditioned to women as a beauty standard somehow. In fact, beauty standards have constantly evolved as time goes on. Case in point: we are no longer needed to be forced to wrap our feet. Moreover, perhaps in the modern era, under merchants' thumb who could well easily wrap consumers around their little finger to sway the beauty talks in favor of commercial interest, and bring niche-specific beauty products in a new light.

To bring my view into focus with respect to “fair skin” or any stereotype, no one is more entitled than our own selves to make our voices heard. It is all up to us whether we want to be an accomplice to inflict stereotypes on people or be an ally to shrug them off!
最後由 Janice Wang 於 週日 7月 05, 2020 10:13 pm 編輯,總共編輯了 3 次。
Michael-liu
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註冊時間: 週五 4月 24, 2009 6:09 pm

Re: 6/27 (Sat.) Skin-Whitening / Racist Products (Host:Rosie)

文章 Michael-liu »

When my daughter was one and half years old, there was once we brought her to meet my wife's French language exchange partner, who is a black priest from Africa.

We let him hold my daughter in the arms, and the baby girl kept staring at the black priest for about 3 minutes.  And then a few drop of tears shed from her eyes, which obviously meant she was scared.

I think this little story proves racism is just human instinct. However, as we learned from the book "Factfulness", instinct is not always right.

Why is racism wrong? The reason is simple. Just as the reason that it is not my fault to be born ugly.

As for the "fair skin", I have to admit I really prefer fair-skined girls. But that is because we are a race of yellow skin. I wonder why USA, a white people country, would need skin whiting products. Or they only sell this product in Asia?

I am not sure whether I am brainwashed, or influenced by media, or advertising for prefering fair skined girls to dark skined ones. Or it is just my insticnt?
最後由 Michael-liu 於 週六 6月 27, 2020 12:10 am 編輯,總共編輯了 1 次。
Luis Ko
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註冊時間: 週三 6月 06, 2007 10:18 pm

Re: 6/27 (Sat.) Skin-Whitening / Racist Products (Host:Rosie)

文章 Luis Ko »

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/ ... m6td5GNrmI

"‘I’m suffocating’: French delivery driver’s last words echo George Floyd case"

this is an incident similar to George Floyd's case that happened in France back in January, only without raising a few eyebrows. the point is, if it didn't get the world's attention just because the victim had fair skin, if that's the case, is it a discrimination?? or if George Floyd was a fair-skinned person, what would the result be?? :roll:

of course not just black lives matter, it's all lives matter. then again, it's not really that way. sometimes lives don't matter at all. some people weigh perpetrators' so-called human right more than any victims' lives. ironically, most of them are exact the same people who say lives matter. right, all lives matter, except those ceased. at the end of the day, it simply shows how we humans are easily on a string. that's really pathetic. :ccry:
i might be a cynic and, a sceptic as well but, i'm definitely not a bad person!!
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Rock
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文章: 2161
註冊時間: 週三 10月 31, 2007 9:03 am

Re: 6/27 (Sat.) Skin-Whitening / Racist Products (Host:Rosie)

文章 Rock »

https://www.quora.com/Is-fair-skin-more ... &srid=sN9S

Yes, it's true to most of people that fair skin is more beautiful than dark skin.
In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.
Michael-liu
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註冊時間: 週五 4月 24, 2009 6:09 pm

Re: 6/27 (Sat.) Skin-Whitening / Racist Products (Host:Rosie)

文章 Michael-liu »

If rich countries in this world now were those countries governed by black people and poor countries in this world were those dominated by white people, would we still think fair-skinned is preferable?

I guess not. Racism is not so much human instinct as class divide ( I mean rich v.s. poor)

Some of Taiwanese look down on people from Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippine because they have darker skin than us? I don't think so. It is because their countries are poorer than Taiwan.

(Opps...It seems I contradict myself to my own opinion above)
Michael-liu
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註冊時間: 週五 4月 24, 2009 6:09 pm

Re: 6/27 (Sat.) Skin-Whitening / Racist Products (Host:Rosie)

文章 Michael-liu »

Rock 寫:
週五 6月 26, 2020 4:31 pm
https://www.quora.com/Is-fair-skin-more ... &srid=sN9S

Yes, it's true to most of people that fair skin is more beautiful than dark skin.
In the second comment, it says " white has always been associated with attributes that are positive, while black with attributes that are negative"

This makes me think of that in our Chinese culture, children used to wear white color cloth in their parents' funeral. But nowadays, due to Western culture influence, chirdren wear black color cloth in the funeral.
Iris Wu
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註冊時間: 週二 5月 20, 2014 4:33 pm

Re: 6/27 (Sat.) Skin-Whitening / Racist Products (Host:Rosie)

文章 Iris Wu »

When “a photo of an educated/successful black person” was presented, the subsequent memory check proves that more than a quarter of the photo viewers thought the person was with lighter skin. This is called “skin tone memory bias”, a study done by San Francisco State University.

Is the colorism, the association between “black and bad” or “white and fair”, nature or nurture? I guess it’s a combination. Naturally, I walk unconstrainedly in the broad daylight, and I cannot help feeling insecure in the dark. Should the antsy feelings be extended to our judgment on a human race or another individual’s skin tone?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The aesthetic value is quite subjective. It’s hard to change people’s preference on skin tone, but we surely hope our view of human value goes beyond skin deep.
Luis Ko
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註冊時間: 週三 6月 06, 2007 10:18 pm

Re: 6/27 (Sat.) Skin-Whitening / Racist Products (Host:Rosie)

文章 Luis Ko »

圖檔
i might be a cynic and, a sceptic as well but, i'm definitely not a bad person!!
Kooper
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文章: 2725
註冊時間: 週三 4月 11, 2007 11:40 pm

Re: 6/27 (Sat.) Skin-Whitening / Racist Products (Host:Rosie)

文章 Kooper »

It may be oversensitive to connect whitening goods to racism. If the logic holds true, we probably can also accuse that all the rejuvenating products or services are accomplices of age discrimination, or those that help restore hair or prevent hair loss contribute discrimination against the bald.

It is my notion that the toothpaste brand Darlie used face of a black man as logo because dark skin is in stark contrast to white teeth. According to basic color theory, the adjacent dark color helps stand out brightness of the teeth. The focus and selling point here is bright teeth, not dark complexion. Even when a logo utilizes some kinds of racial stereotypes, it is more likely to make use of positive features of the stereotypes. After all, companies want to sell products and earn money. It’s beyond my imagination that any logo was designed initially to carry negative connotations. Bear with me if my two cents sounds too racially insensitive or naïve.
Michael-liu
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文章: 708
註冊時間: 週五 4月 24, 2009 6:09 pm

Re: 6/27 (Sat.) Skin-Whitening / Racist Products (Host:Rosie)

文章 Michael-liu »

Yeah.....

Today I read on newspaper that the producer of the all time popular situation comedy "Friends" cried and apologized to the public , saying he was sorry he did not use any black actor or actress in "Friends".

This is going overboard and ridiculous.
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Gloria Lo
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註冊時間: 週一 2月 04, 2008 7:51 am

Re: 6/27 (Sat.) Skin-Whitening / Racist Products (Host:Rosie)

文章 Gloria Lo »

Color white sends a message of being pure, clear and peaceful. That’s the state of mind which we want to achieve. Just because of it, we have white painting paper, white tissue paper, white walls, and student uniforms are also white.
On top of that, skin-whitening products are sold mostly in Asia where black people are treated more fairly.
Based on the two reasons, I think Johnson and Johnson should withdraw the decision and show more respect to their loyal customers, though I am not among them.
Rosie
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註冊時間: 週四 1月 12, 2012 10:18 am

Re: 6/27 (Sat.) Skin-Whitening / Racist Products (Host:Rosie)

文章 Rosie »

The grandsons of Aunt Jemima angrey at her removal.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.syracu ... utType=amp

Below are more icons as examples:
Cream of Wheat
Cream of Wheat
White Chef
White Chef
Boy ar dee.png (79.85 KiB) 已瀏覽 3233 次
Quaker Oats
Quaker Oats
Quaker Oats.png (74.22 KiB) 已瀏覽 3233 次
Kooper
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註冊時間: 週三 4月 11, 2007 11:40 pm

Re: 6/27 (Sat.) Skin-Whitening / Racist Products (Host:Rosie)

文章 Kooper »

Attendees(25): Jerry, John, David Jr., Iris, Gloria, Jason, Steve, Stephen, Holly, Winston, Kooper, Shirley, Laura, Sabrina, Michael, Morris, Sunny Sr., Rock, Ken, Christina, Julian, Ramesh, Luis, Leon, Rosie (host)
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