Skin bleaching

I read an article online which was quite enlightening. The article was discussing about why some women bleach their skin

Irene Before

After

Irene, a former model, originally from Cameroon, admits that she regularly uses skin lightening creams and says when her skin is lighter, she feels prettier. In the same article, Elsa, 27, agrees that the lighter a lady, the more she is considered beautiful. Elsa who is said to be Irene's younger sister, states that ‘being lighter shows you belong to a different place on the social ladder. According to her, all the rich, successful black African men marry either a white or a very light-skinned girl because they too grew up thinking that the lighter is the most pretty. Elsa mentions that this line of thought is widely believed by many young black girls. 

I really do not understand why this is the case. I spoke to a friend about this and she said to me that there is some truth in this. She said to me that many times, one sees some successful black men with light skinned women and same case goes for some black women. She said to me that the case is not limited to black men to also to black women. She said that this line of thought is rife within some black women. According to my friend, there is this competition among some black women revolving on whom is more white for example, who has the most white friends, talks like and behaves like a white lady. Another friend said that some young black women feel that by marrying a white man that they are no longer in the same league as other black women and have this superiority complex about them.

I found all that was said a bit of a shock. These insinuations on their own are just mere opinions and not substantiated by research but if this really goes on then I am in shock and must be so naive. It shows that slave trade mentality still goes on and it is a shame that some young black women cannot see themselves as beautiful and accept themselves as they are.