Yellow bone ...the new definition of beauty?

YELLOW BONE… THE NEW DEFINITION OF BEAUTY?

It’s amazing the great lengths at which some people would leap all in the name of vanity. Or is it vanity or the mounting pressure to fit in the bracket of the new definition of beauty. As I walk in the streets of Harare CBD I realize that most of the ladies are looking radiant and glowing as ever. I wonder what the magic recipe behind this beauty is so that I may partake in it. Most ladies seem to have stumbled upon the fountain of youth because as a woman trust me its far from easy to admit that our fellow gender mates are looking amazing. So I must admit, everywhere I go and where my head has the privilege to turn to I encounter a full course meal of the eyes, embodied by one woman. Vakadzi vanaka mhani! And I need to know the secret behind this phenomenon.

Upon a general survey with my ever curious eyes I have reached the conclusion that in every four women, three are light skinned. Is it just a mere coincidence or there’s a reason behind this man made status quo? I will speak for myself, I’m not light skinned or even medium toned but I dapple between a darker medium tone and the dark skin tone. Right before I proceed, I need to tell you a little history about myself.

Growing up I was the sibling to one older sister and she was the epitome of beauty for me. I looked up to her in all things because she was well liked and seemed to get attention of males constantly. I always looked at myself and thought there was something horribly wrong with my family. That maybe my mother was handed the wrong baby at the hospital in the form of myself. So you can imagine how much of a shadow I felt in comparison with my sister. Anyway, fast forward, I’m sure you have guessed correctly that my sister was and is what they now call ‘Yellow bone’ or ‘Yellow Bonzo’.

People seem to have run away from the old adage that the “darker the berry the sweeter the juice” and have instead run with the saying that “the lighter skinned lady the luckier the man who wins her heart”. Any way the pressure has mounted on women to either conform or lose out. And most have chosen to conform for fear of remaining on the sidewalk whilst other women have a place on the tarmac. My question would be, where is this pressure coming from?

Firstly, men have now taken the liberty to define the new dimension of beauty. They have seen that have a darker skinned woman means that you are no valiant enough or man enough. They have seen that they want their egos to be massaged by fellow men in their circles because they have a “trophy” girlfriend or wife on their arm. Hanzi simbi yamdhara. Men no longer measure the value of a woman through her virtues but instead through the color of her skin and how appealing she looks in the crowd. It has gone so far as some husbands telling their dark skinned wives to bleach their skin or ship out. Or adversely, they decide to have extra marital affairs with these so called beautiful women to the extent that they throw in the towel to their marriages. The security of a dark skinned woman in her marriage has been left to dangle on a worn out shoelace. Thus, some give in to the tide and ride along with the situation. I mean there’s even an old saying that says “if you can’t beat them join them.”

The means to the end is the one I question. Every street corner is laden with skin lightening creams of various assortments from as far as Zambia and Angola. They have even realized that these creams do not go skin deep and have introduced pills and injections that do the trick faster and with less effort. From what I have heard from a well-established dermatologist, these creams have some side effects that some people are unaware of or have decided to ignore. She mentioned that these creams have the deadly chemical “hydro quinine” which erodes the skin cells and kill the functions of the skin cells to heal and repair themselves. Furthermore, when exposed to harsh weather conditions like extreme heat or cold the skin ceases to protect itself but instead is left exposed to such brutalities. Ultimately, the skin becomes an addict to the cream and when one attempts to stop using it suffers from severe withdrawal symptoms like unstoppable skin rush and acne and the acute darkening of the skin.

Another source of this pressure to look beautiful and fit in is the programmes we watch on TV.  We see celebrities and singers looking so radiant in their lighter skin and thus are nudged to conform. An example is in the Nigerian movies where most women are light skinned.

Why take the risk and what cost? All I can say is I want to be a part of the remaining nearly to be extinct breed of dark skinned women who are comfortable in their own skin. I want to be that woman in a photograph where people will be in awe and say ‘wow do such women still exist?’ Yes, because being dark does not rule you out as being ‘ugly’ . Look at Alek Wek , Olivia Davis and Lupita Ny’oongo just to mention a few. Women of color who are not afraid to flaunt their darkness in a bold way and say, ‘look if Hollywood doesn't want this they can jump ship because this ship is going places’. Being proudly African and patriotic to how God carved us to be is the strength of the African woman. She refuses to be defined by ever changing trends but is constant in her belief that in her darkness she turns heads.

Published by TawanaTariro