Zimpapers Logo

Yvonne Ncube, Showbiz Reporter
The notion of beauty has captured the world’s attention in modern society.

In Africa at large, the concept of “yellow bones” (light-skinned) has become the ideal of what beauty should look like. And in recent years, Zimbabwe caught on to this craze with the struggle between caramel and melanin continuing and sweeping the world slowly, but surely.

The term “yellow bone” refers to black people who are light-skinned, but in modern-day it has been constructed to refer to black women who are light-skinned. Yellow bones have been often used to define what beauty is as compared to dark beauties.

Yellow bones are to black people what blondes are to white people. The general consensus is that yellow bones are by virtue of having light skin tone, more attractive and appealing than other shades of black.

It is true when they say beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, people see things differently hence what may seem attractive to you, may not turn your neighbour’s head. Due to the idealisation of light skin, women have been forced to go to great lengths to achieve this complexion in hopes of appearing “beautiful”.

This fallacy has led to the rise of skin lightening products which expose women to risky products that could have long-term dangers to their skin. Others go as far as bleaching their skin to look light-skinned. These misconceptions have also given birth to pills and injections that can manipulate one’s colour to match the desired beauty.

Research has revealed that if used for a long time, these products may cause skin cancer, permanent pigmentation of the skin, liver damage and mercury poisoning.

These stereotypes have not only affected the mere society alone, but have found their way into the business world. Just a quick look through social media platforms, you will realise that most beauty products are advertised using light-skinned women who are paid large amounts by a variety of brands. No wonder dark-skinned people resort to skin lightening albeit with disastrous consequences.

Popular singer Winky D highlights the love for light-skinned women in society through his song Washora, whose lyrics include, “uchanzwa butter mayellow bone akutosvora (your eyes will be dazzled by yellow bones).”

Bulawayo’s very own Madlela Skhobokhobo has also highlighted applause for the light-skinned ladies in his recent song AMA Yellow, where he admires yellow bones. However, the yellow bones fever has not managed to sweep through the whole populace as others maintain that dark is beauty.

After all this has been said, the question, of whether one is beautiful because they are light-skinned remains unanswered and highly debated.

In different interviews, people in the City of Kings and Queens expressed diverse thoughts on what beauty is. Below are some of the fascinating responses from the public.

“Not so long ago, one’s complexion did not matter to anyone, but we cannot deny that the light-skinned women have always had that niche to outshine everyone else. We have heard of comforting praises like black beauty, however, in modern-day, this phrase has lost its touch.

“Unlike yesterday where people who apply skin lightening creams could be spotted with dark necks, knuckles and knees, nowadays the products are so efficient they can never sell you out. The reason why most women bleach these days is not a matter of low self-esteem, but it’s about meeting the standards as the world rotates.

“Most of these products are dermatologically tested, and I personally have not heard of someone who has developed any skin complications from them. So it is safe to let women decide whether they want to remain dark and ugly or move with the times,” said Ayanda Moyo (19).

Blessing Ndlovu (27) said all shades of black are beautiful, but yellow bones take the cup.

“Just like in a competition, judges are always caught between a rock and a hard place. The same applies to the different shades of black. All shades are beautiful in their unique way, but at the end of the day, there has to be one winner and in this case, the light-skinned will always stand taller outshining others in the process.

“In as much as yellow bones are the most appraised, I do not support the idea of bleaching. Bleaching is a sign of low self-esteem, it shows that you are not confident about your beauty because no rightfully minded person can do harmful things to please other people. And also, for most people who apply skin lightening products, their skin is different from the natural yellow, instead, they turn orange and their veins start showing and they tend to get affected by the sun. So I advise women to appreciate the shades of their genes,” Ndlovu said.

Lot Mathe (31) said bleaching is a sign of internal colonialism.

“We are black people, our skin is black and we should appreciate that. This vogue of pressuring women about their skin colour is a sign of immaturity. People should just appreciate their natural skin colours because these are a sign of who you are.

“Every woman is beautiful, from charcoal dark to caramel hence women should not allow such immature trends to define them.

In fact, for one to take the decision to change their skin colour to become lighter is a sign of colonialism. It shows that they are still colonised and they envy being white. I am pretty much sure that there are no benefits or rewards you get for being light in complexion. The only difference is that they have less melanin while other shades have more,” he argued.

After all this has been said, we can come to a conclusion that beauty is more subjective and is definitely not limited to one’s skin tone.

Hence it is an over-generalisation to view light skinned people as more beautiful than their counterparts. All shades of blacks are equally beautiful. – @SeehYvonne