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National reflection needed to combat culture of skin bleaching

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Dr. Sandra Hamilton, rapid transformational therapist and educator as well as Dr. Llorenia Muir-Green, head of the Department of Dermatology at Cornwall Regional Hospital
 
A recent TVJ special report on skin bleaching has sparked widespread public reaction. 
 
The report highlights a disturbing case involving a nine-year-old boy whose mother subjected him to skin bleaching, believing his dark complexion needed "improvement". 
 
According to the boy, his mother regularly applied skin-lightening cream to his face. 
 
In response to the report, rapid transformational therapist and educator Dr. Sandra Hamilton is emphasizing the need for national reflection. 
 
"If you listen to all the dancehall songs, if you look at our music videos, if we look at our subculture, this is where this comes from. And so it is not a cosmetic fix. If it's something we really as a country want to deal with, it's not about cosmetic, it's about us being able to say that we are proud black people. My question is, are we willing to stand up and make that statement?" 
 
Meanwhile, Dr. Llorenia Muir-Green, head of the Department of Dermatology at Cornwall Regional Hospital, noted that people are often culturally conditioned to use skin-lightening products from a young age, which can lead to impulsive decisions without fully understanding the consequences.
 
"When you think about our children, 'brown girl in the ring' and those kind of things that we've been singing from childhood, they literally mean a light-skinned girl. It's not a dark-skinned girl they're talking about. Things like that is part and parcel of our culture, and we don't even think about it. And to them (parents), they're just thinking this is an easy opportunity for us to get my child to look better," she noted. 
 
Dr. Muir-Green and Dr. Hamilton were both guests Tuesday on Radio Jamaica's Beyond the Headlines.


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