African Studies

Everyone has seen, at least once in their live, those advertisements on lotions and skin products promising soft, and luscious skin. Well, apparently there is a skin product that will not only do all of those things, but also make you look whiter?  The actual ad that is being used throughout Western Africa Skin product giant Nivea has been receiving a lot of flack for a new product that they are pushing forward in Western Africa. This product promises to give one "fairer" skin, or in other words, tries to make a person's skin appear lighter. There is a stigma going around about fashion models and cover models, in that the skin color of whoever is modeling appears lighter than it should. What this product does is try and take that post-processed look, and make it a reality. Needless to say, a lot of people are not too crazy about this product. So much so that Nivea has been forced to take down a few of the ads, and as the BBC article highlights, there is a billboard in ...

So, in a more lighter tone then last week's post, this one from the BBC succeeds in putting a smile on my face by the sheer absurdity of it. Presently in Zimbabwe, there are talks of who is most likely to succeed the current president, Robert Mugabe. The man in which many believe to be best suited for the job is current Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa. So in a turn of events no one saw coming, he goes and makes a claim in which proves him to be a bit off his rocker. The Co-Vice-President of the country, Phelekezela Mphoko and standing president as Mugabe is out of the country, has accused Mnangagwa of lying, when Mnangawa claimed to have been poisoned at a rally this past August held by Mugabe. The method of choice? Ice cream. Mnangawa claims that he was poisoned by the president's wife's dairy firm in which the ice cream was procured. Turns out, as reported by Mphoko, the cause of Mnangawa's illness was stale food. Now, whether or not this effects Mnanagawa's cha...