Believe you can, and you’re halfway there
I Rise
Empowering through health, wellness and historical knowledge
Lupita Nyong’o was awarded Best Breakthrough Performance for her work in 12 Years a Slave at February’s Essence Black Women in Hollywood Luncheon. Her acceptance speech brought a tear to my eye and to Lupita’s by the looks of things. Lupita shares snippets of a letter from a young girl who had been thinking of …
They (whoever they are) say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and another branch of ‘they’, say that beauty is only skin deep. Which bunch of ‘they’ do we believe? Are they both right? As humans, we just can’t help challenging other people’s perceptions of beauty. We get an idea in our …
Previously on ‘Black Twitter’: English Frank said some racist stuff and black folks got their feelings hurt. Some even threatened to run up in English Frank’s yard. Meanwhile, on the sidelines, some of us shrugged and said: “you reap what you sow”. Well, some (especially in the music biz) have given so many white friends …
Fair or Not? – The Snow White Complex is a short documentary about Eurocentric standards of female beauty that are held across most post-Colonial cultures. You will see from this film that Black people are not the only ones who suffer from shadeism and pigmentocracy within their community and without. Some of the topics covered …
When the sun comes out I seem to notice a lot of women with that horrible red tinge to their skin caused by skin bleaching. I don’t know why I notice this more in summer. Maybe I pay more attention to beautiful things when the sun is shining. When a person bleaches their skin the …
Divide and conquer. You’ve heard that saying right? In the art of war and in terms of slavery, divide and conquer is a rule of thumb. But slavery is long dead (on the surface) and I stay far from war games but that doesn’t mean I don’t encounter that term on a regular. You may …
I’ve heard some men say they don’t like weaves or make up, but women insist on spending money on them. Some men do, however, like a big butt on a woman. Is this why some women will go to crazy extents to enhance their buttocks, including illegal operations? A Los Angeles woman has become a …
This is a video interview featuring Soweto-born singer, Nomasonto Mnisi, commonly known as Mshoza. In this interview, Mshoza talks openly about bleaching her skin and admits she wants to be as white as Christina Aguilera. Mshoza wants to “look more white” because she truly believes its something that will make her happy. Watch part two In …
My Murder on BBC last night told the story of Shakilus Townsend and how he died at the hands of a mindless gang of thugs. The fact that fair-skinned actress Simona Zivkovska played the role of Samantha seemed to throw people off the point of the story. During the show, people tweeted using the hashtag …
A Sky News investigation has discovered shops in London selling unlicensed or prescription-only skin-bleaching products. In Peckham, southeast London, they purchased a tube of Fashion Fair Cream from two shops. This product is unlicensed in the UK and contains Clobetasol Propionate, a prescription-only steroid used to treat conditions such as eczema or psoriasis. Due to …
I like banter – who doesn’t? Twitter can be a great place to catch jokes and if you are following the right person, learn something new. It can also be a source for consternation and anger as people tweet some offensive statements. I’ve seen tweef flare up over misunderstandings or people just deliberately baiting people. …
Fans of Vybz Kartel were shocked and outraged earlier this year when the Jamaican dancehall artist appeared several shades lighter than his normal brown complexion and exclaimed: “This is my new image.” He has been brazen about bleaching his skin. And, despite the fact that it is actually quite an ugly look, he seems convinced …
This month a new documentary called Dark Girls will make its debut at film festivals. Made by Bill Duke and D Channsin Berry, two black American males, the film is about shadeism in the black community and how it affects black women in particular. By now you should know how we here at I Rise …
Colourism and shadeism is a form of discrimination that favours people with lighter skin over those with darker skin. It is often discussed in relation to skin tone but can also refer to hair texture, eye colour, and other physical features. The preference for light skin is an old and deeply-rooted issue that has its …
Skin whitening creams can make women infertile and sprout hair on their backs, doctors have warned. Medics fear that the creams, which are sold under the counter in cosmetics shops, have hormones that can also damage the liver and kidneys. News of the health dangers means that thousands of women across the country could be …
