Staff Editorial: Sammy Sosa’s Lighter Skin: Is Lighter Really Better?

Sammy Sosa. He’s best known for his career as a baseball legend, the great American pastime. Recently, he’s generated quite a stir with an alarming transformation from attractive and brown-skinned, to awkwardly light-skinned.

Sosa still has the same brilliant white smile, and boasts the same outstanding stats, but he’s somehow found a way to alter his appearance in such a way that has caused uproar among people of color all over the world.

How could any individual manage to lighten their natural skin tone so significantly? The remarkable answer to that question lies in the magic of lightening creams— a billion-dollar international industry.

After making his light-skinned debut last week at the Latin Grammy Awards, Sosa attempted to defend his new five-shade lighter skin tone as some sort of skin rejuvenation process, but quickly dropped the act.

He’s now admitted to using lightening creams to achieve his new look, and is even rumored to be considering an endorsement deal with the lightening product he used so successfully.

Lighter might be better for things like toast, but for skin, it’s another issue. Whatever happened to the whole “My black is beautiful” movement?
In all fairness, Sammy Sosa isn’t the only culprit in this light versus dark dilemma.

Unfortunately, we as people of color, have been conditioned through the experiences of our past, as well as the mistakes of contemporary media, to see lighter skinned individuals as more beautiful.

As people of color, from African-American to Hispanic and Latino, we come in a variety of shades — beautiful shades.

In countries all over the nation, not just the United States, being darker skinned often comes with a negative connotation. In the Dominican Republic, where Sosa is from, it’s associated with a closeness to the Haitian race (which apparently some Dominicans aren’t too fond of). This color complex could have been the driving force behind Sosa’s apparent need to so drastically lighten his previously chocolaty complexion. Whatever the reason, it’s disappointing.

We’ll never know if Michael Jackson’s skin transformation really came from a struggle with the skin condition vitiligo, so we’ll leave him out of this.

Sammy Sosa’s blatant desire to have lighter skin is disappointing. It shows that as people of color, we might not have come as far as we think we have or as far as we should have.
 
 

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5 comments

The Black Cynic

Thu Dec 10 2009 12:30

Re: last commentor,

Based upon your displeasure with the story of "Smiling Sammy Sosa" and his "skin ligthening process", I am so inclined to believe that you're an excellent example of Blacks who try to deny and obsfucate the totality of racism and how its impacting those of the African Diaspora. Further, I find it very interesting that you can so easily tell Blacks"get over it-quick", but, you would never fathom such as thought of telling the Jewish people "get over it" regarding the Holocaust(i.e., 1933-1945). Finally, until the placating, ahistorical, and apolitical "so-called" Blacks and others are willing to be intellectually honest as to what happened to Blacks historically and still currently today, the vestiges of implicit and explicit racism will remain. Keep in mind, simply because President Barack 'The Black Judas Goat" Obama is situated in the White House does in no imply systemic and structural racism has been eradicated. If you dissent on the latter, you should ask yourself how did it feel whne that old White woman grabbed her purse when you walked towards her on a sidewalk even though you were donning an expensive suit.

Your name

Wed Dec 9 2009 15:02

Why do you guys keep writing ignorant stories? It's so offensive and egregious. Colorism is very alive in the hilltop and it is quite disturbing. I wish you guys would find better things to write about. Who cares if Sammy Sosa lightened his skin? It's his skin, his life, his choices. This is exactly why the African American community can not progress, because of BS like " Staff Editorial: Sammy Sosa’s Lighter Skin: Is Lighter Really Better," get over it-QUICK!

The Black Cynic

Wed Nov 18 2009 13:01

Regardless of when the smiling face "Al Jolson" like Sammy Sosa story first became public. This clearly shows the overall effectiveness and strength of global White racism and how its very much alive and well. So, if you consider yourself as belonging to the African Diaspora hailing from the African Continent, The Carribean, or Black America, "we" all now of many who have the same mentality as "Smiling Sammy Sosa" and the only difference is that he's a well-known professional athlete. While the people "we" know with similar traits will inflict this form of self-mutulation in the privacy of his/her own home or apartment. Case in point, if you venture to any Sally's Beauty and Supply store, you can rows of skin-bleaching creams and layer upon layer of "colored(i.e., blonde, very light brown, burgandy, etc....) hair extensions while scores of Black women are waiting in long lines to alter their natural beauty that every other women emulate consistently.

LATE

Wed Nov 18 2009 11:58

This story is two weeks old. C'mon Hilltop. And where do you have this knowledge that Dominicans aren't fond of Haitian's. Seems like a personal experience or a couple of random students were asked.

Your name

Wed Nov 18 2009 10:54

I thought MJ's autopsy confirmed his Vitilgo? I feel like the Hilltop runs an article like this once a month, it would have been interesting and fresh to know more about the 'billion-dollar industry'.

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