Malian Women Bleaching Their Own Skin

Today I read a mesmeric article about the twisted views of beauty in other countries; specifically Africa. This article captured by attention immediately and horrified me once I read more. This article's subject was about how Malian women bleach their skin to appear more pallid or 'white.' In Mali, it is believed that having lighter skin is more beautiful and gives you a higher class in society. For example: in a wedding photo the darker skinned would be asked to be be in the back and blend in. A darker skinned woman would probably have a very small dowry to give to her husband before getting married. It shocks me that even though skin color is not as prejudiced against as much, that woman are being tricked into thinking they are not as beautiful with darker sin. They bleach their skin with harsh creams that are harmful to their internal body parts. It is also believed that using these creams can partially cause cancer. This proves that women all around the world no matter what class their in, will do anything to appear more attractive. Even if it means having physical pain. It seems to me that the more important things in life are being shunned and salacious media images are appearing more and more. It's hard for me to understand why the media won't promote more salubrious qualities rather than aesthetically fake images. Human beings should have an ebullient view on life and should be who they really are instead of striving for someone their not. Our world needs to embellish the good morals and start promoting real people that are just like you and me. If we begin to do this, I'm positive people will have a more jovial outlook on beauty and life.