People always strive to look like whoever is "in charge", and in a lot of these places those in charge are whie people or, at the very least, people who probably don't need to work outside.
See people blackening their teeth and ruining their mouths so as to better look like the rich nobles who could afford things like sugar (and had the mouth disease to show for it)
Skin bleaching was actually very popular in the west for a long time (as the rich didn't need to labour all day in the sun). It was only when factories and offices started getting popular, meaning the average person became pale, and many of the rich took a liking to exotic vacations and lots of our door leisure activities, did the situation reverse.
Or something like that, maybe I need to go find some sources...
Anyways, I don't see how selling something people want is racist. It may enable racism, but it is not really racist in and of itself (though the advertising for such products could quickly become so!)
.... Respectfully, you're missing something absolutely huge here. This is one of the clearest examples of historical racism in business ever.... It is without exaggeration the text book example. History of racist product advertising + current racist product advertisement = racist.
No really, look through this racist shit, all of the "dirty" people are black and all the "clean" people are white and they literally use the phrase "white man's burden" to show how it is the job of the "superior" whites to clean up the rest of the world because all the other "inferior" people are too stupid to do it themselves.
http://www.answers.com/topic/the-white-man-s-burdenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_White_Man%27s_Burdenhttp://www.kontraband.com/pics/21119/Racist-Soap-Ads/?gpage=1#showPast racist product advertising (these people invented the modern use of the racist term "tar baby")http://oldtimestore.flyingcart.com/index.php?p=detail&pid=3&cat_id=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tar_baby#Racial_element_in_modern_usageDon't even think about saying the seller above is selling "African American History." They aren't. That is a bullshit cover.
As for the current stuff:http://www.racialicious.com/2008/05/30/fair-and-lovely-ad-lighter-skin-better-job-prospects/How do you somehow not see the blatantly racist message here:
"If you are white, then you get the job. Fuck your four year degrees, you and what you know. The key to your success is having lighter skin and that's the way it should be. Don't ask for tolerance or for people to look at you based upon what you know (your degree) or your ability. It is and should be all about skin color. Not to worry, we cater to this crap...."
Honestly, how on earth can anyone not see this?
The message is and has been forever with these racist soap sellers:Black people are dirty; white people are clean; it is the duty of the superior whites to clean the blacks.
The only beautiful, successful people are white and rather than understanding black people we should change them....
There absolutely is no valid innocent interpretation here. I'm sorry, but if you don't see it, then you're missing it.... Nothing to do with tan, nothing to do with pale skin, everything to do with history repeating itself. You can't give racists the benefit of the doubt, because then anything that is not blatantly, overtly racist isn't racist. Things like this don't hold up a sign saying "racist thing."
People are trying to look at this from some kind of historical academic "scope of all history" thing.... Not applicable. Modern racism against African Americans started in the colonial period and the whole "white man's burden" soap thing was from then, because it was a "justification" for colonialism.
More racist soap stuff:My god, look at the sheer number of anti black racist profanities used on those soaps....