The ideal skin complexion represented in the media in Ghana, whether through television commercials, billboards, print or digital advertisements, is of fair skin tones. Jessica Edmond traveled to Ghana to report on the role of the media in influencing women and children.
While researching "Skin Bleaching in Ghana: Media and Cultural Impact," Edmond found a diversity of views related to physical beauty and skin tone. Darker-skinned women and children tended to have greater complexion dissatisfaction. Edmond, Pulitzer Center student fellow from Southern Illinois University Carbondale asks why, "How much of this is a direct result of viewing media that promotes skin bleaching products?"
![Media file: image_a.jpg](/sites/default/files/07-25-14/image_a.jpg "Six-year-old Cecilia looks up to her older sisters and says she feels good about her skin. "My sisters are beautiful and everybody says we all look alike, so I think I am beautiful too.” Developing a positive self-image starts at home and can have positive effects on young girls. Image by Jessica Edmond. Ghana, 2014.")
