Diary of a Photoshopped blogger | This Is Miss Petite Nigeria Blog

Sunday 2 December 2012

Diary of a Photoshopped blogger

Real me vs Photo shopped me

I received a Blackberry broadcast and it read “Limited vacancies in a reputable communication firm for beautiful ladies between 20 -26, a degree in any arts discipline, fluent, tall, MUST be light-skinned.”

Light-skinned?!When did skin color become a per-requisite for employment?
This craze for a light complexion has left many women looking like bleached whales just so they could measure up.



Funny enough, they do get the attention they crave even at the risk of cancer and its likes. So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the World Health Organization revealed Nigeria has the highest users of skin bleaching products in the world – nearly three-quarters of all Nigerian women?

I was a victim of this craze to be light-skinned. It wasn't intentional; it was a means to an end.
I had been told severally that I had the face of a model (I see you double checking my picture. :)
My agent made me take a new set of photos which he would submit to agencies. When I saw the photos, it wasn’t me.

I had been photo shopped into a white girl. I complained about it and he shrugged it off and said he wanted my photos to catch their attention. He also said if they liked my photos, I’ll be invited for castings.

True to his word, I was invited for many but never heard from them again. I went from one casting to another, hoping to clinch a billboard deal to no avail.

When I had lost hope, my agent called me and said, “Emeh, you are very beautiful but the problem is they call you for castings based on your pictures. When they eventually get to meet you, they find out you are darker and in this industry, the lighter you are, the better for you.”

I was stunned. I now had a reasonable explanation for the rejection. So, I did what 77% of Nigerian ladies do – I decided to lighten my skin.

Fast forward to 2 weeks later, I got my first job as a ‘waka-pass’ in a TV commercial. And then he said, “I like what you’ve done with your face, you could tone it a little more and be perfect.”

A couple of days later and different mixtures in my palm, I looked in the mirror and asked myself, “What’s wrong with being black and beautiful?”

At that moment, I discarded the idea of bleaching and gave up my modeling dreams.

But the scar remained because it isn’t restricted to the modeling world. Men have been fine-tuned to believe a light complexion woman is more attractive or beautiful, music videos and movies flash painfully light-skinned women in our faces; bosses believe having a light skinned complexion woman in your organization means more patronage.

A while back, renowned rapper, Lil Wayne, showed his preference for light-skinned ladies when he said,
    “Beautiful black woman, I bet that b-tch look better red.” “…my daughter is the first and last dark skin child I’m having. The rest of my baby moms [are] light-skinned chicks. I even got an Asian baby moms to make sure I have a daughter with good hair. Too bad we had a son.”

    Neyo came under fire for saying: “All the prettiest kids are light-skinned anyway.”

    Tyrese (on not having Black women in his video)

    “I welcomed all women and went with the best…. I don’t do favors.”

But have we really sat down to think of the implication of this on our future generation? I mean, will our great grandchildren even know what being black really means? Why don’t we leave the white skin to those who really are white and those who are naturally light-skinned?

This is not a personal vendetta against naturally light-skinned African girls, I’m not exactly “dark-skinned”, but I have a problem with our society pushing across the message that, being dark-skinned makes you less beautiful.

Skin-bleaching is a cancer eating deep into the very fabrics of our societal values and what we represent. There is beauty in diversity.

Africans rock. Let’s be black and proud.

Read my other Diaries
Diary of an Embarrassed blogger
Diary of an unworn black dress
Blogger's Diary:Rebound Relationships,my story
Diary of a Gangsta chick

26 comments:

  1. Ur malaysian husband2 December 2012 at 19:40

    Love you Emeh.I swear very soon I'm coming to Nigeria to marry u.ur too beautiful and intelligent
    One day,u'll know me

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is so beautiful.As a dark skinned girlni know what I face to get modelling jobs.They always choose the fair girls first.I haven't lost hope coz ladies like Genevieve,Annie,stephanie are dark and successful.thanks miss p

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  3. Ur so on point Miss P, am black nd beautiful,words can bring me down

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  4. U dey write shaaaaaaaaaaaaa blogger of life.U rock

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  5. God bless you for this writeup.Ladies,accept who you are.I know the bleached ladies wont like this article but you cant please everyone.
    Go girl.

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  6. Is obvious that all the comments came from dark bitches,personally a light skin girl is always preferable,imagine fair nipples/boobs/ass on bed,unlike the black dirty lOoking ass,I pity the dark girls shaa cos I can never date a dark skin bitch!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. oh my GOD,i feel so sorry for you! who messed you up as a child?

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    2. Gbam thank you for telling him! dem don really mess you up as a child, chai awolamo! Na real sorry for u!

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    3. U can express ur opinion without calling dem bitches u know. Not just nice. We all have our preferences but didn't choose what skin colour we were born with.

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    4. U stupid fool..rot in hell goatish cow

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  7. Excellent writng skills!super proud of u Miss P!young,beautiful and intelligent!

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  8. Malaysian husband, better get that idea out of your big head cos I'm dying for her too. Leave her for me.ok

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  9. You are so on point. I doff my hat.keep it up.

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  10. Funny enugh,ds write up came @ d ryt tym,3days bck a colleque @ wrk tld me I was gettin darker,2 her amazemnt I was xcited cos am so dark n wish 2 stay dat way.ama mk it in modelling,watch out 4 me.DARK BEAUTIFUL N LOVING.

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  11. I cnt imagine bleaching,I love me dark,thugh my light skinned sis gets more attention,buh who cares?modelling is my calling,anon 11:48,I trowy cap 4 ur DARK buitiful n LOVING it

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  12. Miss P u rock joor!
    Mercy

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  13. I can't imagine dating a fair guy. I don't know why but irritate me. Am dark in complexion and I love dark complexion guys. And fair ladies get old quick.

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  14. Shut up!!!! Maybe u r scared cos fair dudes are always attractive

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    Replies
    1. You shut down!!!! My man is brown chocolate&hawt!! Fair guys irritate me whether you like it or not cos I feel they smell, expecially the ones with hairs.#tongueout# Shoot me!

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  15. Wen a fair guys dick gets hard it turns red #big turnoff#.black rocks anyday anytym

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  16. hehehehe @ coments above.miss p u rock.unfortunately for me,i used a mosturiser which made me get good comments fast forward months laters,i've ended up with serious hair on my face.not funny

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  17. I am black and beautiful also a show stopper with my complexion.. I am so liking me. Even in d next life if dey will be sha.lol! Wuld still love 2 be a black.

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  18. Oh well a lots benn said here... I am not too dark myself but  am tired of hearing things like...if only u were lighter,if only u were taller, ud jus be perfect.  go like 'woah there  am perfect already'... Any bleachist like  call em have serious complex issues..... Never let people define you...when describing urself hold the pen.

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  19. don't worry, usher has dark skinned ladies in his music video and to me he has always been my fav male artist. check out 'let me see' with rick ross. don't be over ambitious. there are ways of making money whiich don't involve bleaching. improve ur mind and not ur body in ways that are harmful. We women should play 'men' at their own game without being played as the fool.

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