What is the current beauty standard? That’s debatable. But it’s undeniable that there’s a visible effort to accommodate other skin colors and types apart from the standard white in the beauty industry.
For a long time, whiteness was seen as the pinnacle of beauty, but progress has been made to allow representation and give visibility to minority groups. But it seems like, for many, the white skin tone is still the zenith of attractiveness.
Sammy Sosa seems to be one of them. Once upon a time, the baseball star from the Dominican Republic impressed everyone with his playing skills. He first stepped on the grass as a part of the Texas Rangers in 1989, and after that, he didn’t have to look back.
Over the years, he enjoyed a prolific career and was adored for his dark and charming looks. But it seems like he didn’t find that adequate.
Sammy Sosa reportedly applied skin-bleaching cream to whiten himself and soften his skin. The baseball veteran star claimed that he wasn’t a racist and that the impact of the treatment would wear off after some time of disuse. But that doesn’t seem to be the case. In recent photos, the star appears to have the same whitened skin color as when he started bleaching.
Why Is Sammy Sosa White Now?
When Sammy Sosa, hailing from the Dominican Republic, first came to the USA, he had a hazelnut skin tone. That is the melanin-filled skin tone that stayed with him throughout his career.
But after he retired from Baseball, his skin tone has gotten progressively lighter. During the 2009 Grammy Latino Awards, fans questioned his light skin tone, which made him seem like a different person altogether.
But the star dodged those questions and blamed the strong red carpet lights for his lighter skin tone. However, over the years, people noticed that his skin color became progressively lighter. But Sosa didn’t admit to bleaching. Instead, he initially said he was undergoing a skin rejuvenation treatment that caused him to have a lighter tone.
However, he couldn’t hide the truth for long and did confess to using a skin-bleaching cream. After all, his current complexion is unrecognizable from the one he was born with. The baseball veteran admitted using the cream to whiten his skin and soften it. He also clarified that he wasn’t a racist and just wanted to enjoy living his life.
Does Skin Bleaching Last Forever?
Sammy Sosa stated that the impact of the bleaching would wear off after some time of disuse, and his former hazelnut skin tone would reappear. However, that has yet to happen even though years have passed, suggesting that skin bleaching is permanent. Internet users are divided over Sosa’s use of a skin-bleaching cream.
Some think that it’s his personal choice and everyone should let him be, while others believe that he’s an example that no matter how successful one is, there’s no way to get rid of the feeling of inferiority due to dark skin tone.
Others believe this line of thinking seems to infer too much about Sosa’s thoughts and life without knowing much about it.
However, it can’t be denied that skin whitening is a booming industry even though, over the years, efforts have been made to ban at least off-the-shelf skin whitening creams.
As per a BBC Report, the skin whitening industry is well worth over $13 billion in Asia alone, where milky skin is seen as attractive and a symbol of wealth and noble birth. So it looks like Sammy Sosa isn’t alone in his quest for whiteness.
What do you think about Sammy Sosa’s use of skin-bleaching cream to become white?
Do you think it’s because dark skin tones have historically been seen as inferior? Does the baseball star feel ashamed of his melanin-filled skin?
Let us know in the comments below.
Source: BBC
