Yellow Bone- a thing of the past? Mass Market

The Zeitgeist in our sociological setting dictates that the lighter one is – from a pigmentation point of view – the lighter you are on the eye. Is this a complete fallacy or a truism crafted by society that would have to be adapted as a norm?

Pearl Thusi, actress and radio personality, relays in the Mail and Guardian that she suffer from what she terms MDD- Melanin Deficient Darkie and how she loathes being referred to as a yellow bone citing that there are no benefits associate with being a yellow bone.

“Light skinned nigger” can be dubbed a thing of the past with the local market and it leans towards “the dark the berry the sweeter the juice” type of guy. This notion transcends to how male models are used in any form of advertisement.

Everyone wants to interact with originality and can easily spot something that is not original. With Skin bleaching becoming a thing brands are shifting their campaigns to embody humans for who they are and the kind of lifestyle they chose to live and act as enabler of choice in contrast to giving off a look and feel that is artificial.

This topic boarder lines what and who an African is, which could either open a can of worse or broaden one’s horizon. It is, in this way, crucial that the market produces products that cater to the mass market.

About the author

Khanya Mali is a marketing and brand communications enthusiast with a penchant for building brands on both client and advertising agencies and a “creative” in his own right. “Insights are the bark to every wondering creative work”