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  • Article

When skin bleaching goes wrong

Warnings about permanent health damage don’t deter those using skin-bleaching products for years on end. Read the story of one woman who suffered from liver failure after years of striving to be paler.

  • Article

The desire for lighter skin

Discover why some Black people feel more attractive with lighter skin. Ngunan Adamu speaks to three women who explain how they got hooked on skin bleaching.

  • Article

Don’t call me a strong Black woman

Her upbringing taught Jaydee Seaforth that she could never show pain or weakness, even when her internal distress was extreme. Find out how she learned to listen to her body.

  • Article

Written on my body

Scars mean David Jesudason has never enjoyed seeing his reflection. Recounting the stories behind the marks on his face and body, he finds the only one that symbolises hope and happiness.

All stories (9)

Images

  • Machinery used in leather manufacture. Coloured engraving by J. Pass, 1813.
  • Monoemugi, Somalia (?): people of Gingyra crossing the river Shabelle (?) by carrying their belongings in the inflated skin of a cow. Aquatint by G. Gallina, ca. 1819.
  • Two men and a woman crossing the river Tigris on inflated skins. Wood engraving.
  • A man using a raft of inflated skins to navigate the River Tigris. Wood engraving.
  • Fur : there's no excuse / [PETA].
  • There's NO excuse / PETA.
  • There's NO excuse / PETA.
  • Santorini, Greece: men carrying hogskins full of water to a cistern. Photograph. 18--.
  • A young woman, posing semi-naked in a photographic studio, lying full-length on a fur-covered sofa or day-bed.
  • A young woman, posing naked in a photographic studio, lying full-length on a fur-covered sofa or day-bed, with her back to the camera. Stereo photograph, ca.1900.
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Catalogue

All works (59)