English A Sba
English A Sba
English A Sba
Candidate No. :
School/Centre Number:
Region: Jamaica
Plan of Investigation………………………………………………….2
Reflections………………………………………………………….3-5
Written Report……………………………………………………….6-7
Oral Presentation……………………………………………………..8-9
Conclusion……………………………………………………………10
Apendix…………………………………………………………......11-21
Introduction
Skin whitening, also known as skin lightening and skin bleaching, is the practice of
using chemical substances in an attempt to lighten the skin or provide an even skin
color by reducing the melanin concentration in the skin. Several chemicals have
been shown to be effective in skin whitening, while some have proven to be toxic
or have questionable safety profiles. The goal of this research is to “Investigate
how bleaching affects the body.”
Plan of Investigation
Before this project was started, I thought that bleaching was cause by peer pressure
and very dangerous to the body. I also thought about the fact that these students
now-a-days are easily motivated to do anything to fit in. These same students
forget about the reason they are even at school and are to be less successful in their
school work laid back and also causing delinquency.
The second piece was an online gleaner entitled "Skin bleaching signals self-
hate.” This gleaner contained a research which was done to investigate the effect
that skin bleaching is a sign of self-harm and how it has become a norm in
Jamaica. This article gave me a better understanding of the situation behind
bleaching.
The third piece was an online journal entitled “Side Effects and Precautions
of Skin Bleaching.” This gave a better understanding on what is skin bleaching and
the side effects of skin bleaching
Refection #2: Use of language in material selected
Several language devices were emphasized in the three articles that were chosen.
These literary techniques were effective because they gave the writer a means of
communicating his or her ideas while also giving the intended audience a general
idea of what the message is about.
The first piece was a poem which contained rhetorical questions, use of
statistics and contrast. Also, it did a good job of presenting its material in a fashion
that was clear-cut and simple for readers to read and comprehend. For the writer's
argument to be more persuasive to the readers, rhetorical questions were used.
The second piece which was an online gleaner article had tone which was
one of concern. This was highlighted where Imani Tafari-Ama said “Are you able
to verify that the person that you imagine yourself relating to is really who you
think it is, or is the new creation another entity?” It also contained an informative
tone where the Reporter argued that “The victims of this dangerous profit-making
industry are already from the low self-esteem that results from prevailing
institutionalized narratives of self-identity representation.”
The third piece, which was an online journal, it used language that is similar
to that of the previous two pieces. The statements that was used in this piece of
article was to give the reader an idea of the different side effects that can occur
from skin bleaching. Also, the writer chose his or her words carefully. The words
used in various portions of this page were specifically chosen to convey a
particular tone or diction.
Reflection #3: How has this process made me a better person?
I learned a lot from this SBA, and it also helped me grow as a person.
Using this SBA, I was also able to improve my reading and content analysis skills.
That helped me recognize how languages are used and how well they work.
Lastly, because of this SBA, I now have a greater awareness of this subject. Now
that I am more knowledgeable and aware of it, I will be able to inform and educate
everyone I come into contact with not just my peers about the negative impacts of
skin bleaching.
Written Report
Under the common theme of Racial Identity, a group was formed to aid in the
completion of this project. The ‘choose the best strategy’ was implemented and
from the already existing pool of artifacts collected, the three best artifacts were
chosen by the members of the group. These three artifacts were then analyzed in
order to answer the two questions put forth by the members:
1. How does the general public treat individuals based on skin tone?
Julisa Jones
Rohan Griffiths
Cynthia Francis
Daequan Dixon
Oral Presentation
So what is bleaching,
Now you wish you never made the changes to your skin
Because it is no longer strong but more like thin
Conclusion
This portfolio explored “Investigate how bleaching affects the body.” After
information was collected and presented it has shown that bleaching has many
negative effects. Meanwhile, it can be used as a tool of peer pressure causing
students to be engaged in bullying, abuse and other negative effects.
Appendix
Artifact #1:
More and more black women and men are bleaching their skin in a bizarre attempt
to acquire the psychosocial status associated with brown or ‘socially white’ skin.
File
More and more black women and men are bleaching their skin in a bizarre attempt
to acquire the psychosocial status associated with brown or ‘socially white’ skin.
More and more black women and men are bleaching their skin in a bizarre attempt
to acquire the psychosocial status associated with brown or ‘socially white’ skin.
As one participant said in a documentary I directed in 2006, “Well, it come in like
black don’t have any talk again, so everybody want to turn white,” (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KugYhuuuL0k). This shows the extent to
which threads of racial self-loathing have been woven into the cultural fabric.
Bleaching and straightened hair show how racism is entrenched in popular
definitions of beauty and sexual desirability. When you drill down, the root causes
of these behaviours run deep into centuries of the tragic enslavement experience.
Called the Maafa, a Swahili word for complete disaster, enslavement
fundamentally fractured the framework of black/African identities.
Skin bleaching is such a norm in Jamaica that it is not unusual to hear the police
describing a criminal as having a bleached complexion. And the before and after
pictures show the drastic changes. Are you able to verify that the person that you
imagine yourself relating to is really who you think it is, or is the new creation
another entity? In this sense, weaves and chemical body conversions are the
ultimate identity cover-up. These disturbing self-violence practices demonstrate
what Antonio Gramsci called hegemony. This is the process by which people are
brainwashed. Hegemony is at play when the oppressed internalise and reproduce
the very domination discourses that otherise them. By altering their bodies with
lethal products laced with hydroquinone, they are complicit with their own
disfigurement, without the benefit of consciousness. This inter-generational
problem is an obstacle to sustainable development and a hydra-headed public-
health crisis.
DEHUMANISED SUBJECTS
What is even more alarming is the ease with which dehumanised post-colonial
subjects have been duped by big business entities to engage in the unhealthy
practices of embodied alterations. This self-violence syndrome has resulted in the
evolution of multibillion-dollar industries of hair and skin products, laced with
chemicals, that target women of colour. The victims of this dangerous profit-
making industry are already from the low self-esteem that results from prevailing
institutionalised narratives of self-identity representation. This business model
promotes European “looks” as the benchmark of sexual and social desirability.
Conversely, being African is treated as a badge of shame. Chris Rock’s
documentary Good Hair (https://youtu.be/Qzd0Q1qfWPs), provides enlightenment
about the extent to which Africans negate their own identities while producing fake
self-representations as their idealised selves.
The value system of embodiment in colonial Jamaica persists to this day. This
ensures that the codes of colour-class definitions of privilege and disadvantage still
inform the social locations of the ethnic groups occupying this Northern Caribbean
island. These hierarchies are even more magnified in the urban grassroots, with
value-loaded distinctions being made among shades of black, even to the extent of
the self-destruction of melanin-rich skin via bleaching agents. And do you
remember the woman in Montego Bay who died from using the Jaffrey’s brand
hair straightner? In a documented response, the company representative remarked
that black women’s hair is so resistant that they put more hydrochloric acid in their
product, which was removed from the market. Women who straighten their hair
know that if this product stays in too long, they will suffer serious burns that turn
into sores. But then, such beauty drills know no pain, right? This practice alludes to
the continuation of discriminatory definitions of racialised embodiment that were
constructed in plantation society.
EVIDENCE OF EPIGENETICS
The science of epigenetics provides evidence to link the violence of the colonial
past to present excessive practices of self and community violence. Institutions of
socialisation facilitate inter-generational transmission of dysfunctional beliefs
about identity. It is no coincidence that Jamaica has the most churches per capita in
the world and also has the third highest murder rate in the world. Worshipping a
white image of God, a cultural contradiction in terms, reinforces the racialised
distortions expressed in violent self-identity compositions. Loss of African identity
is so deep that street talk is that “Black naw wear again.”
Beauty-in-reverse practices of skin bleaching and hair straightening are norms that
are abnormal. How can it be natural to use products that cause skin cancer? Why
should beauty practices cause you to dress so that you can hide from sun exposure
on a tropical island known to have temperatures of “ninety-six degrees in the
shade?” Is it worthwhile to process your bodies into imitations of yourself? What
values cause you to desire silky tressed, bleached-out interpretations of idealised
beauty? This model is not sustainable and poses a clear and present danger to the
agency of Africans in the diaspora and on the continent. There is no human tragedy
so profound as performing one’s African body in self-destruction mode. This self-
violent mechanism of retrieving erased self-concepts and esteem must have been
what catalysed Marcus Garvey to shout, “Up! you mighty race! You can
accomplish what you will!”
Skin bleaching refers to the use of products to lighten dark areas of the skin or
achieve an overall lighter complexion. These products include bleaching creams,
soaps, and pills, as well as professional treatments like chemical peels and laser
therapy.
There is no health benefit to skin bleaching. Results aren’t guaranteed and there’s
evidence that skin lightening can result in serious side effects and complications.
From a medical standpoint, there’s no need to lighten the skin. But if you’re
considering skin bleaching, it’s important to understand the risks.
People with dark skin have more melanin. Hormones, sunlight, and certain
chemicals also affect melanin production.
When you apply a skin bleaching product to the skin, such as hydroquinone, it
decreases the number of melanocytes in your skin. This can result in lighter skin
and a more even appearance to the skin.
A number of countries have banned the use of skin bleaching products because of
the dangers associated with them.
In 2006, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also issued a notice that over-
the-counter (OTC) skin bleaching products are not recognized as safe and
effective. The products were deemed not safe for human use based on a review of
evidence.
Skin bleaching has been associated with a number of adverse health effects.
Mercury poisoning
Some skin bleaching creams made outside of the United States have been linked to
mercury toxicity. Mercury has been banned as an ingredient in skin lightening
products in the United States, but products made in other countries still contain
mercury.
In a 2014 study of 549 skin lightening creams bought online and in stores, nearly
12 percent contained mercury. About half of these products came from U.S. stores.
fatigue
sensitivity to light
kidney failure
Dermatitis
Case studies and reports have linked the use of skin bleaching products to contact
dermatitis. This is inflammation of the skin caused by contact with certain
substances.
skin redness
blisters
skin ulcers
hives
swelling
itching
Exogenous ochronosis
Steroid acne
Skin bleaching creams that contain corticosteroids can cause steroid acne.
Steroid acne mostly affects the chest, but can also show up on the back, arms, and
other parts of the body with long-term use of corticosteroids.
acne scars
Nephrotic syndrome
Skin lightening creams containing mercury have been associated with nephrotic
syndrome.
foamy urine
loss of appetite
fatigue
There are no specific health benefits to skin bleaching, but it can have a desirable
cosmetic effect on the skin when used to treat certain skin conditions.
Current Version
Dec 7, 2018
Written By
Adrienne Santos-Longhurst
Edited By
Heather Hobbs
Gerhard Whitworth, RN