Thando Hopa is a legal adviser and model. She’s also an activist fighting to change perceptions of people who suffer from Albinism. Thando and photographer Justin Dingwall have put together an exhibition that explores the counter-aesthetic of Albinism.
Skin-lightening/bleaching is a problem, but it’s only a sign of much deeper inter-related issues: self-hatred, a race-based identity crisis, and the internalisation of Western-created cultural ideas that are inimical to the mental health of black people.
A Nigerian friend, with whom I went to university in the UK, had tribal marks on his cheeks. I never felt comfortable enough to ask him about them but eventually the subject came up. He wasn’t proud of his traditional Yoruba markings and was tired of explaining to foreigners that they were not accidental scars.
OPINION
LIFESTYLE
